Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 9: Plurally Speaking
Affecting Social Cohesion Through the Social Environment

Why Form a Society That Touts Cohesion?

In Chapter 1, we discussed the concept of “equivalence of form” saying that if you are similar to something, you can see it, identify it, reveal it. It will be easier for us to understand that concept if we consider how radio receivers work. A receiver can pick up waves only when it creates identical waves within it. Similarly, we detect things that seemingly exist on the outside—but only according to what we have created within. This is how we discover the Creator, the quality of bestowal, by forming that quality within us, thus also discovering it outside of us.

It is this principle, “equivalence of form,” that made Abraham’s method so successful. His group created that quality among themselves and thus discovered the Creator. That is, by moving from the “me” mode to the “we” mode, they discovered the “one” mode, the Creator, the only mode that really does exist.

In today’s world, the obtaining of social cohesion is of paramount importance to our survival. We might consider the revelation of the Creator an “accessory” of sorts, were it not for the fact that the Creator is the quality of bestowal, a trait without which we will never achieve unity, and hence never mend the global rift that is threatening to wrench the world into a global confrontation. This is why it is vital that we expedite the spreading of Abraham’s method for achieving unity through equivalence of form.

To do that, we must first abandon a common belief in our society—the idea that we have “free choice.” Science shows that there is no such thing, at least not in the way we normally think of it—that we do what we want by our own free choice. In recent years, data that proves our dependence on society has been piling up. These studies show that not only our sustenance depends on society, but even our thoughts, aspirations, and chances of success in life. In fact, even the very definition of success is subject to the whims of society. And last but not least, to a great extent, our physical health is significantly affected by society.

On September 10, 2009, The New York Times published a story titled, “Are Your Friends Making You Fat?” by Clive Thompson.[i] In his story, Thompson describes a fascinating experiment performed in Framingham, Massachusetts. In the experiment—which was later published in the celebrated book, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives—How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do—the lives of 15,000 people were documented and registered periodically over fifty years. Professors Nicholas Christakis’ and James Fowler’s analysis of the data revealed astonishing discoveries about how we affect one another on all levels—physical, emotional, and mental—and how ideas can be as contagious as viruses.

Christakis and Fowler had found that there was a network of interrelations among more than 5,000 of the participants. They discovered that in the network, people mutually affected one another. “By analyzing the Framingham data,” Thompson wrote, “Christakis and Fowler say they have for the first time found some solid basis for a potentially powerful theory in epidemiology: that good behaviors—like quitting smoking or staying slender or being happy—pass from friend to friend almost as if they were contagious viruses. The Framingham participants, the data suggested, influenced one another’s health just by socializing. And the same was true of bad behaviors—clusters of friends appeared to ‘infect’ each other with obesity, unhappiness, and smoking. Staying healthy isn’t just a matter of your genes and your diet, it seems. Good health is also a product, in part, of your sheer proximity to other healthy people.”[ii]

Even more surprising was the researchers’ discovery that these infections could “jump” across connections. They discovered that people could affect each other even if they did not know each other! Moreover, Christakis and Fowler found evidence of these effects even three degrees apart (friend of a friend of a friend). In Thompson’s words, “When a Framingham resident became obese, his or her friends were 57 percent more likely to become obese, too. Even more astonishing… it appeared to skip links. A Framingham resident was roughly 20 percent more likely to become obese if the friend of a friend became obese—even if the connecting friend didn’t put on a single pound. Indeed, a person’s risk of obesity went up about 10 percent even if a friend of a friend of a friend gained weight.”[iii]

Quoting Professor Christakis, Thompson wrote, “In some sense we can begin to understand human emotions like happiness the way we might study the stampeding of buffalo. You don’t ask an individual buffalo, ‘Why are you running to the left?’ The answer is that the whole herd is running to the left.”[iv]

But there is more to social contagion than watching one’s weight or heart condition. In a lecture on TED, Professor Christakis explained that our social lives, and hence—judging by the previous paragraphs—much of our physical lives, depend on the quality and strength of our social networks and what runs through the veins of that network. In his words, “We form social networks because the benefits of a connected life outweigh the costs. If I were always violent toward you … or made you sad … you would cut the ties to me and the network would disintegrate. So the spread of good and valuable things is required to sustain and nourish social networks. Similarly, social networks are required for the spread of good and valuable things like love, and kindness, and happiness, and altruism, and ideas. …I think social networks are fundamentally related to goodness, and what I think the world needs now is more connections.”[v]

But we are not only affected by the people around us. We are significantly affected by the media, by politics, both national and international, and we are affected by the economy. In Runaway World: How Globalization Is Reshaping Our Lives, renowned sociologist Anthony Giddens succinctly, yet accurately, expresses our concurrent connectedness and bewilderment: “For better or worse, we are being propelled into a global order that no one fully understands, but which is making its effects felt upon all of us.”[vi]

In recent years, the corporate world has picked up on the notion, and trainings and courses galore have surfaced on the internet, offering to leverage from the new trend: social contagion. In Homo Imitans: The Art of Social Infection: Viral Change in Action, psychiatrist and business leadership consultant, Dr. Leandro Herrero, offers a witty summary of human nature in regard to the influence of the social environment: “We are intellectually complex, rationally stylish, highly enlightened, unsophisticated copying machines.”[vii] And to complete his irony on the merits of human nature, he writes, “The threads of the rich tapestry of behaviors of Homo Sapiens are made of imitation and influence.”[viii]

However, the problem is not with our behavior toward each other or toward Earth, not that there is much to pride ourselves on regarding our treatment of each other and of Mother Earth. And yet, our behavior is a symptom of a deeper change, an outburst of egotism at the speaking level of desire, to which no one has a solution.

That said, many people already understand that the change must come from within us. Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), stated that “The real challenge today is to change our way of thinking—not just our systems, institutions or policies. We need the imagination to grasp the immense promise—and challenge—of the interconnected world we have created. …The future lies with more globalization, not less, more cooperation, more interaction between peoples and cultures, and even greater sharing of responsibilities and interests. It is unity in our global diversity that we need today.”[ix]

Indeed, Lamy is right in many respects. In recent years, neuroscientists have been abuzz over a relatively new discovery, mirror-neurons. In brief, mirror-neurons are cells located in a region between the prefrontal and motor cortices of the brain, and are involved in preparing and executing limb movements. However, according to Dr. Christian Jarrett, as published in Psychology Today, they also play a vital role in our social interconnection. “In 2000, Vilayanur Ramachandran, the charismatic neuroscientist, made a bold prediction: ‘mirror neurons will do for psychology what DNA did for biology.’ …For many, they have come to represent all that makes us human.

“For his 2011 book, The Tell-Tale Brain, Ramachandran took his claims further. …he argues that mirror neurons underlie empathy, allow us to imitate other people, that they accelerated the evolution of the brain, that they help explain the origin of language, and most impressively of all, that they prompted the great leap forward in human culture that happened about 60,000 years ago. ‘We could say mirror neurons served the same role in early hominin evolution as the Internet, Wikipedia, and blogging do today,’ he concludes.

“Ramachandran is not alone. Writing for The Times (London) in 2009 about our interest in the lives of celebrities, the eminent philosopher, A.C. Grayling, traced it all back to those mirror neurons. ‘We have a great gift for empathy,’ he wrote. ‘This is a biologically evolved capacity, as shown by the function of ‘mirror neurons’.’ In the same newspaper this year, Eva Simpson wrote on why people were so moved when Tennis champ Andy Murray broke down in tears. …‘Blame mirror neurons, brain cells that make us react in the same way as someone we’re watching.’ In a New York Times article in 2007, about one man’s heroic actions to save another, those cells featured again: ‘people have ‘mirror neurons,’’ Cara Buckley wrote, ‘which make them feel what someone else is experiencing.’”[x]

According to Jarrett, it seems that “mirror neurons play a causal (emphasis in the source) role in allowing us to understand the goals behind other people’s actions. By representing other people’s actions in the movement-pathways of our own brain, so the reasoning goes, these cells provide us with an instant simulation of their intentions—a highly effective foundation for empathy.”[xi]

While there are quite a few dissenters to the theories surrounding mirror-neurons, it is clear that our bodies dedicate portions of the brain explicitly for communication with others. In that manner, we physically connect with others without having physical contact with them, but only eye contact. In a sense, these cells validate the words of Christakis and Fowler, “The great project of the twenty-first century—understanding how the whole of humanity comes to be greater than the sum of its parts—is just beginning. Like an awakening child, the human superorganism is becoming self-aware, and this will surely help us achieve our goals.”[xii]

[i] Clive Thompson, “Are Your Friends Making You Fat?”, The New York Times (September 10, 2009), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/magazine/13contagion-t.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

[ii] ibid.

[iii] ibid.

[iv] ibid.

[v] “Nicholas Christakis: The hidden influence of social networks” (a televised talk, quote taken from minute 17:11), TED 2010, http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html

[vi] Anthony Giddens, Runaway World: How Globalization Is Reshaping Our Lives (N.Y., Routledge, 2003), 6-7.

[vii] Dr. Leandro Herrero, Homo Imitans: The Art of Social Infection: Viral Change in Action (UK: Meetingminds Publishing, 2011), 4.

[viii] ibid.

[ix] Pascal Lamy “Lamy underlines need for ‘unity in our global diversity,’” World Trade Organization (WTO) (June 14, 2011), http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl194_e.htm

[x] Christian Jarrett, Ph.D, “Mirror Neurons: The Most Hyped Concept in Neuroscience?” Psychology Today (December 10, 2012), url: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-myths/201212/mirror-neurons-the-most-hyped-concept-in-neuroscience

[xi] ibid.

[xii] Nicholas A. Christakis, James H. Fowler, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do (USA, Little, Brown and Company, January 12, 2011), 305.

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 9: Plurally Speaking
Affecting Social Cohesion Through the Social Environment

The Warrior’s Legacy Left for His Progeny

Today, enough people understand that the only way to avert a global catastrophe is to unite. It may be called by other terms, such as “collaboration,” “coordination,” or “consideration,” but whatever the term, it is fair to say that we already understand that we are interdependent and interconnected. This reality creates a situation where we are de facto united in all our global systems. However, to the extent that we are connected, we are also emotionally alienated and resentful about the situation.

One way to resolve this contrast is to try to “de-globalize” ourselves. While there is no doubt that breaking down the supply chain from developing countries and producing everything inland would cause massive economic and financial challenges, some may say it is worth the price. Perhaps, but worth it or not, no one denies that isolationism will have a hefty price tag. Moreover, in the eyes of some, this notion is completely unrealistic. Economist Mark Vitner, for one, described attempting to untie the global interconnectedness as “trying to unscramble scrambled eggs. It just can’t be done that easily.”[i]

The contrary option to de-globalization is to embrace globalization, expand it, coordinate it, perfect it, and at the same time learn to like each other so that everyone benefits from the prosperity. All we need in order to achieve it is the method by which we shift our thought patterns from me (focusing on myself), to we (focusing on all the people), to one (focusing on society as a single entity).

Today, nearly 4,000 years after Abraham’s escape from Babylon, the world is ready to listen. We have all suffered enough, and we have all grown too smart to think that we can make it on our own, that we can show Mother Nature, or God, that we don’t need her because we are stronger and wiser.

[i] Associated Press, “Recession will likely be longest in postwar era,” MSNBC (March, 2009), http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29582828/wid/1/page/2/

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 9: Plurally Speaking
Affecting Social Cohesion Through the Social Environment

Recall the First “Ego-Warrior”

When the speaking level of desires first erupted as egotism, Babylon was at its peak, and Abraham was the one faced with trying to solve the mystery of his people’s social decline. His countryfolk were so immersed in building their tower that they completely abandoned their camaraderie. They were no longer “of one language and of one speech” (Genesis 11:1); all they cared about was the tower.

The book, Pirkey de-Rabbi Eliezer (Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer), portrays Abraham’s dismay with his people’s new passion: “Rabbi Pinhas says that there were no stones there [in Babylon] to build the city and the tower. What did they do? They fashioned bricks and burned them like artisans until they built it [the tower] seven miles high. Those who would lift up the bricks climbed up from the east, and those who climbed down would descend on the west. And if a man fell and died they would pay him no mind. But if a brick fell, they would sit down and wail saying, ‘When will another come up in its stead?’ When Abraham, son of Terah, walked by and saw them building the city and the tower, he cursed them in the name of God.”[i]

But Abraham did more than curse the builders. First, he tried to mend the rift and bring his people back together. Midrash Rabah tells us that Abraham brought together all the people in the world,[ii] and Rabbi Behayei Ben Asher tells us how he exposed Nimrod’s pretence of supernal powers. In his Midrash, Rabeinu [our Rav] Behayei, he writes, “[Nimrod] said to him, ‘I created the earth and the heaven with my power.’ Abraham replied, ‘…when I came out of the cave, I saw the sun rising in the East and setting in the West. Make it rise in the West and set in the East, and I will bow unto you. But if not, the one who gave my hand the strength to burn the statues will give me strength and I will kill you.’ Nimrod said to his counselors, ‘What shall be the sentence of this one?’ They replied, ‘He is the one of whom we said, ‘A nation shall come forth from him and inherit this world and the next world.’ And now, as the sentence he had decreed, so shall be done unto him. Promptly, they threw him into the furnace. At that time the Lord filled with mercy over him and saved him, as it is written, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans.’”[iii]

Following his heated debate with the king, Abraham took his family, his students, and his possessions and fled from Babylon. Along the way he collected into his entourage people who agreed with his message—“When faced with egotism, unite above it.” In other words, when hatred breaks out among friends, make the common goal of revealing the Creator—the quality of bestowal, the fundamental force that creates reality—more important than the rivaling parties, and thus unite above the rivalry. The bonuses of such deeds are enhanced unity, subsequent acquisition of the quality of bestowal by the former adversaries, and consequently, the revelation of the Creator.

The above sentence describes the essence of the fusion, the mending of the rift with which Abraham attempted to furnish his countryfolk. And that essence—unity above differences enhances cohesion and (if you want it to) reveals the Creator—has never changed. In fact, it will never change, as it is Nature’s Law of Bestowal.

As detailed in the Introduction to this book, Abraham’s group succeeded in uniting and grew into what became the people of Israel, a nation whose common trait is the desire for the Creator. Through unity above differences, as explained in Chapter 1, Israel developed a method by which to shift one’s thinking from the “me” mode to the “we” mode, thus perceiving the “One,” the Creator.

Thus, while Israel was going from strength to strength by employing unity over egotism, the rest of the world was experiencing episodes of ebb and flow, with empires rising and falling and the hedonistic culture of self-indulgence assuming predominance. For this reason, even today, in the most hedonistic of all eras, Abraham’s monotheism is the predominant notion of deity, while the Tower of Babylon is a symbol of human conceit and folly.

This is why the only ones who can educate the world as to the way one can grow as wise as Abraham are those who were his students, the children of Israel, known worldwide as Jews. This wisdom was Abraham’s legacy to them, and passing it on as he did is their obligation to the world.

[i] Pirkey de-Rabbi Eliezer (Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer), Chapter 24.

[ii] Midrash Rabah, Beresheet [Genesis], Parasha 39, Paragraph no. 3.

[iii] Rabbi Behayei Ben Asher Iben Haluah, Rabeinu [our Rav] Behayei, Beresheet [Genesis] 15:6.

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 9: Plurally Speaking
Affecting Social Cohesion Through the Social Environment

From Me, to We, to One

With our current knowledge of human nature, we cannot avoid this competitive and alienating attitude because it is coming from within us, a dictation of the fourth, speaking level of desire. We also cannot stop the evolution of desires, just as we cannot stop the evolution of the whole of Nature. Moreover, if we are to achieve the purpose of creation of becoming similar to the Creator, we will need a robust desire as the fuel thrusting us forward, which means that we must not diminish or oppress our desires, or we will not attain our life’s goal.

And yet, not being able to stop the heightening of our self-centered desires does not mean we must yield to a trend of worsening human relations on all levels. Our society does not have to decline to a point where all we can do is to stock up on supplies, take cover, and lay low in wait for some miracle to save us from our fellow men and women.

In fact, even if we chose to try to shield ourselves, our nation’s mournful history indicates, and the law of Nature dictates that the nations will not permit us to remain passive. When troubles ensue, it is guaranteed that the Jews will be blamed for it once more and consequently tormented, perhaps worse than ever. However, contrary to past ordeals, there is much we can do to prevent this from unfolding.

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 9: Plurally Speaking
Affecting Social Cohesion Through the Social Environment

The Drive for Superiority

In Chapter 2 we introduced the words of our sages concerning the fundamental desires at the foundation of Creation, and the four levels that make up the desire to receive. Briefly, we said that reality consists of a desire to bestow pleasure and a desire to receive it. We learned from those sages that the desire to receive pleasure is divided into four levels, known as “still,” “vegetative,” “animate,” and “speaking.” However, it is still essentially one desire that wears different attire at different levels of development.

For example, the most basic desire in existence is to sustain oneself. At the human level, that desire would appear as being content with a shelter, be it even a tin hut, and the means to keep warm, clothed, and fed. This is the still level of desire. Just like inanimate materials that keep their atoms and molecules together but do very little else, such a person will wish only to sustain oneself, seemingly “keeping one’s atoms and molecules together” and very little else.

At the vegetative level of desire, a person will want to sustain oneself on the same level as everyone else. As all plants of a certain kind blossom and wither at the same time, such a person will want to be the same as everyone in one’s town or village, or follow the latest trend seen on TV.

If everyone is poor, that person will not feel poor as long as his or her standard of living is on a par with that of the social environment. And if the new trend in clothing is to wear the left shoe on the right foot, and vice-versa, the vegetative-level person will be more comfortable wearing the wrong shoe on the wrong foot, so long as he or she is in line with the prevailing trend in fashion.

The animate-level person differs from the vegetative-level one in that he or she begins to seek self-expression. Such a person no longer settles for being like everyone else, but needs to establish one’s individuality. For the most part, this level leads to enhanced creativity and distinction in that person’s subject of choice.

The speaking (human) level is the most complex and tricky. Here it is not enough to express oneself. On this level, the desire is to be superior. This is the desire that makes people want to be recognized as special, even unique. In other words, on that level we constantly compare ourselves to others.

Moreover, these days we cannot settle for being the best at something; we strive to be the best ever. Think of the sports statistics we constantly hear about: Michael Phelps’ ambition to break Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in swimming in the 1972 Olympic Games, or basketball players comparing themselves to Michael Jordan, or Roger Federer’s drive to keep winning tennis titles, even though he has already won more Grand Slam tournaments than anyone before him. And yet, he is still troubled by the fact that he has not won an Olympic gold medal.[i]

Sports may be a conspicuous example, but it is certainly not the exception; it is rather the norm. The film that earned the most money in its first week, the album that sold the most copies, the company that sells the most phones/computers/cars—competition and comparisons are everywhere. Ask a high school student, “Are you doing well in school?” and you will probably get an answer along the lines of, “I’m on the top five percent of my class” (assuming you have asked a good student). Thus, being good is no longer good enough; superiority has become the motto of our lives. We call it “being somebody.” Being me is not good enough; if I am not somebody, I am nobody.

There is a Hassidic tale about Rabbi Meshulam Zusha of Hanipol (Anipoli), brother of the renowned Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, one of the founders of the Hassidut. Rabbi Zusha used to say, “When I go to heaven, if I am asked, ‘Why weren’t you Elimelech (Zusha’s esteemed brother), I will know what to say. But if I am asked ‘Why weren’t you Zusha,’ I will not know what to say.”[ii] The moral is clear—be yourself and actualize your potential; this is what you need to do in life.

But Rabbi Zusha lived in the 18^th century. Today, such a moral would be unacceptable because what matters is not who you are, but who you are compared to others, your position in the class percentile. When the primary motto in society is so alienating and antisocial, it is no wonder that our society is falling apart.

[i] “Roger Federer: 2016 Games possible,” Associated Press, July 26, 2012, url: http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/tennis/story/_/id/8202865/roger-federer-leaning-competing-rio-2016-body-holds-up.

[ii] School for Culture Education, Be’eri Program, Shalom Hartman Institute, June 26, 2011. url: http://www.school.kotar.co.il/KotarApp/Viewer.aspx?nBookID=98518913#24.9572.4.fitwidth. url: http://medaon.org/files/zehutariel.pdf.

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 9: Plurally Speaking
Affecting Social Cohesion Through the Social Environment

Persecution and anti-Semitism, or in its more contemporary term, Judeophobia, have been the lot of our people for (at least) the past two millennia. And yet, as we have seen throughout the book, the hatred of Jews did not spring up out of thin air. It is rooted in the fundamental, though usually unconscious demand of every human being that the Jews must and will usher them into the attainment of life’s purpose: to receive boundless delight and pleasure.

Thus far we have discussed the goal and role of the Jewish nation, and the reason for our anguish throughout the ages. Henceforth we will discuss the principles we need to follow in order to achieve our goal, which coincides with the goal of humanity.

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 8: Together Forever
Unity, Unity, and Unity Once Again

Unity Means Redemption

Elijah comes only to correct the deficiency that was present at the time of his arrival. This is why Elijah comes primarily to settle the dispute, for that certainly unites and ties Israel as one, until they are worthy of redemption from the exile. It is so because Israel are not redeemed from exile before they are completely one, as it is said in the Midrash, that Israel are not redeemed until they are one.
-Judah Loewe ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Innovations of Legends, Part 4, Masechet Matrimony, p 63

It is a wonderful thing that two prophets prophesied a very significant prophecy regarding the time of redemption: “And I will give them one heart” (Jeremiah, 32:39, Ezekiel, 11:19). Indeed, they knew what they were prophesying; the devil of separation-of-the-heart has been lurking for our nation from time immemorial.
-Avraham Kariv, Atarah LeYoshnah [Restoring Old Glory], “The State and the Spirit,” p 251

It is also clear that the immense effort required of us on the rugged road ahead requires unity as strong and as solid as steel, from all factions of the nation without any exceptions. If we do not come out with united ranks toward the mighty forces standing in our way then we are doomed before we even started.
-Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Nation,” p 487

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 8: Together Forever
Unity, Unity, and Unity Once Again

Unity—Israel’s Salvation

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. …Even if they worship idols, but there is bonding among them, and no separation of hearts, they have peace and quiet, and no Satan or evildoer, and all the curses and suffering are removed by that [unity].

This is the meaning of what is said, “You are standing this day, all of you.” It means that although you have heard all the bludgeons of the covenant that are written above, you are standing nonetheless, and you will have revival by your heads, judges, elders, officers, and all the men of Israel being all with one heart and with love… Through bonding you will be able to walk through the bludgeons and they will not reach you or harm you at all.

“That He may establish you today as His people” means that by that you will have revival, you will be saved from all calamities. Afterwards He said to them, “Now not with you alone am I making this covenant,” meaning that being saved from any harm by bonding was not promised only to Moses’ generation. Rather, “But with those who stand here with us today … and with those who are not with us here today,” meaning that all future generations have been promised it—to pass through all the bludgeons of the covenant, and that they will not be harmed, through the unity and bonding that will be among them.
-Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein, Maor VaShemesh [Light and Sun], Nitzavim [Standing].

We are commanded at each generation to strengthen the unity among us so our enemies do not rule over us.
-Rabbi Eliyahu Ki Tov, The Book of Consciousness, Chapter 16

The Lord said to David: “When troubles come upon Israel for their iniquities, let them stand before Me in one association and confess their iniquities before Me… When Israel gather before Me and stand before Me in one association, and say before Me a prayer for forgiveness, I will grant them.”
-Tanna Devei Eliyahu Zuta, Chapter 13

When one includes oneself with all of Israel and unity is made, the Lord is present in the unity. At that time no harm shall come to you.
-Rabbi Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl, Maor Eynaim [Light of the Eyes], VaYetzeh [And Jacob Went Out]

When they [Israel] quarrel and there is unity among them nonetheless, then unity is more precious. This is why “Moab was in great fear of the people,” for although it is quarrelling, it is still It (singular form), hence the “great fear.”
-Rabbi Moshe Taitelboim, Yishmach Moshe [Let Moses Rejoice], Balak, p 71b

Therefore, he said, “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,” precisely “Gather together,” for he revealed to them that the primary element of correction is the advice to gather together, meaning that there will be unity, love, and peace in Israel, that they will gather together to speak to one another of the final purpose. Thus they will be rewarded with completeness of the counsel, for Israel and the Torah [Law of Bestowal] are all one, to the extent of peace and unity in Israel.
-Rabbi Nathan Sternhertz, Likutey Halachot [Assorted Rules], “Rules of the Ninth of Av and Fasts,” Rule no. 4

Thus, Israel will be a holy congregation and one association, as one man with one heart. Then, when unity restores Israel as before, Satan will have no place in which to place error and external forces. When they are as one man with one heart, they are as a fortified wall against the forces of evil.
-Rabbi Shmuel Bornstein, Shem MiShmuel [A Name Out of Samuel], VaYakhel [And Moses Assembled], TAR’AV (1916)

This is the mutual guarantee on which Moses worked so hard before his death, to unite the children of Israel. All of Israel are each other’s guarantors [responsible for one another], meaning that when all are together, they see only good.
-Rabbi Simcha Bonim Bonhart of Peshischa, A Broadcasting Voice, Part 1, Balak

All the souls of Israel are in complete unity and at the same level, like a caravan traveling in the desert among evil beasts with arms and other tactics, but the evil beasts are afraid to approach them. But when they journeyed from the place where they had parked, a man had stayed there alone, and he was promptly put to death by the animals for he had separated from his party.
-Rabbi David Solomon Eibenschutz, Willows of the Brook (related to Rosh Hashanah that occurs on the Sabbath)

The foundation of the wickedness of evil Haman, on which he had built his request of the king to sell the Jews to him … is what he had begun to argue, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed,” etc. He cast his filth saying that that nation deserves to be destroyed, for separation rules among them, they are all full of strife and quarrel, and their hearts are far from one another. However, He put the healing before the blow [took preventing measures] … by hastening Israel to unite and adhere to one another, to all be one, as one man, and this is what saved them, as in the verse, “Go, gather together all the Jews.”
-Rabbi Azarya Figo, Binah LeItim [Understanding for Occasions], Part 1, Sermon 1 for Purim

Because they sinned, that force of unity was taken from the wicked and was given to the children of Israel… This is the great mercy we should always remember. Also, we should trust it for because our intention is good, we are certain to succeed, since the force of unity … assists us.
-Yehuda Leib Arie Altar (ADMOR of Gur), Sefat Emet [Language of Truth], Beresheet [Genesis], Parashat Noah [Portion, Noah], TARLAV (1875)

The matter of social unity, which can be the source of every joy and success, applies particularly among bodies and bodily matters in people, and the separation between them is the source of every calamity and misfortune.
-Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom,”

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 8: Together Forever
Unity, Unity, and Unity Once Again

Unity—The Heart and Soul of Israel

Although Beit Shamai and Beit Hillel were disputed, they treated each other with fondness and friendship, to keep what was said (Zachariah 8), “Love truth and peace.”
Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, Chapter 1, p 14b

In Israel is the secret to the unity of the world. This is why they are called “men.”
Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (the Raiah), Orot HaKodesh [Lights of Holiness], Vol. 2, p 415

It was established on Mount Sinai that the children of Israel became one nation. This is why it is written, “I,” in singular form, because to the extent of the unity between them, His Godliness is present over the children of Israel.
Yehuda Leib Arie Altar (ADMOR of Gur), Sefat Emet [Language of Truth], VaYikra [Leviticus], Parashat BaHar [Portion, On the Mount], TARLAV (1893)

It is known that from the perspective of the mind, each person is an individual … but from the perspective of the heart, there is unity in Israel.
Rabbi Shmuel Bornstein, Shem MiShmuel [A Name Out of Samuel], Shemot [Exodus], TAR’AH (1915)

When Israel entered the land, they were completely one nation. The evidence of that is that as long as Israel did not cross the Jordan and did not arrive at the land, they were not punished … until they crossed and became responsible for one another.

Thus, Israel did not become responsible for one another because one is called Arev [guarantor/responsible for] when one is Meorav [mixed/mingled] with another, and Israel did not become connected into being entirely one nation until they arrived at the land and were together in the land, and had one place, the land of Israel. And through the land of Israel, they are completely one nation.
Judah Loewe ben Bezalel (the Maharal of Prague), Eternal Paths, “Path of Righteousness,” Chapter 6

Because the 600,000 souls of Israel are all tied to one another like a woven rope, united as one without separation, should you shake the beginning of the tightened rope, you will shake all of it. Therefore, should one man sin, wrath will be upon the entire congregation. The reason is that all of Israel are responsible for one another.

…

One who blemishes, blemishes all the souls of Israel until he returns to mend what he had corrupted in his soul. …It means that since the parts relate to one another, they will not be separated.
Rabbi Eliyahu Di Vidash, Beginning of Wisdom, “Gate of Fear,” Chapter 14

The soul ascends and becomes complete primarily when all the souls mingle and become one, for then they rise toward the sanctity, for sanctity is one. …Therefore, first, one should take upon oneself the commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” as our Rav wrote that it is impossible to utter words of prayer unless by peace, when one connects with all the souls of Israel.
Rabbi Nathan Sternhertz, Likutey Halachot [Assorted Rules], “Synagogue Rules,” Rule no. 1

Although the bodies of the whole of Israel are divided, their souls are a single unity at the root. …This is why Israel are commanded to unity of the hearts, as it is written, “And Israel encamped there,” in singular form [in Hebrew], which means that they were corresponding below, meaning they had unity.
Rabbi David Solomon Eibenschutz, Willows of the Brook, Nassoh [Take]

Israel were not given the Torah [Law of Bestowal] before they had acquired complete unity, as we wrote regarding the verse (Exodus 19:2), “And Israel encamped there before the mount.” Moses too would not receive at all, as our sages said, (Berachot [Blessings], 32a) that the Creator said to Moses concerning the calf, “Come down from your greatness, for I have given you greatness only for Israel.”
Rabbi Moshe Alsheich, Moses’ Law, concerning Deuteronomy, 33:4-5.

When Israel have unity, there is no end to their attainment.
Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk, Noam Elimelech [The Pleasantness of Elimelech], Pinehas

“Jerusalem that is built as a city that is joined together” (Psalms, 122:3)—a city that makes all of Israel friends.
Jerusalem Talmud, Hagigah, Chapter 3, Rule 6

You, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, henceforth you will not part from one another, until the Lord rejoices with you and declares peace over you. And by your merit there will be peace in the world, as it is written, “For the sake of my brothers and friends I will speak, ‘May peace be in you.’”
Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Book of Zohar with the Sulam Commentary, Aharei Mot [After the Death], item 66

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Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, Michael Laitman, Ph.D.

Chapter 8: Together Forever
Unity, Unity, and Unity Once Again

As has been said throughout the book, unity has been Israel’s “insurance” against all evils, the ultimate panacea. And yet, by now our egotism has so evolved that we can no longer maintain unity unless our very survival depends on it. This fault was noticed by friends and foes alike.

In a paper he published in June 1940, Baal HaSulam noted that our troubles come from lack of unity. He wrote that we are “like a pile of nuts, united into a single body from outside by a sack that wraps and aggregates them.”[i] However, he continues, “That measure of unity does not make them a uniform body, and even the slightest movement of the sack inflicts racket and separations among them, by which they come to constant partial unifications and separations. All that is lacking is the natural unification from within, and the power of their unity derives from external situations. Concerning us, it is a very painful matter.”[ii]

In Chapter 5 we mentioned Baal HaSulam’s essay, “There Is a Certain People,” in which he writes that Haman relied on the Jews’ separation from one another as the key to his triumph over them. Haman knew that separation among them meant that they were also separated from the Creator, the quality of bestowal, the force that creates reality. For this reason, Haman believed he could exploit the weakness of the Jews to do away with them. Much to his regret, Mordechai perceived that danger just as well as Haman, and “went to correct that flaw, as it is explained in the verse, ‘the Jews gathered,’ etc., ‘to gather themselves together, and to stand up for their lives.’ That is, they saved themselves by uniting.”[iii]

A more contemporary “Haman,” Adolf Hitler, also noticed the trait of unity in Jews, and noted the lack of it among us today. In Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote, “The Jew is only united when a common danger forces him to be or a common booty entices him; if these two grounds are lacking, the qualities of the crassest egoism come into their own, and in the twinkling of an eye the united people turns into a horde of rats, fighting bloodily among themselves.”[iv]

Therefore, before we go about discussing how we can achieve unity and thus prevent future calamities such as those that our people has experienced throughout the generations, we will dedicate this chapter to excerpts from rabbis and Jewish scholars of all generations. These will remind us of the wall-to-wall agreement concerning the paramount importance of unity and solidarity. Since our essential substance is the will to receive, to succeed in uniting, it is vital that we first come to want unity—even if merely as a shield against afflictions—before we go about establishing it. Below are our sages’ inspiring words.

[i] Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Nation” (Ashlag Research Institute, Israel, 2009), 489.

[ii] ibid.

[iii] Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag, Shamati [I Heard], essay no. 144, “There Is a Certain People” (Canada, Laitman Kabbalah Publishers, 2009), 300.

[iv] Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (The Noontide Press: Books On-Line), 219, url: www.angelfire.com/folk/bigbaldbob88/MeinKampf.pdf

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