My new article on Linkedin “If You Can’t Beat Them, Fear Them”

The terror attack at a restaurant in downtown Tel-Aviv last Thursday evening killed three civilians and injured fourteen others. But terror attacks do much more than kill innocent people; they terrorize entire populations. The recent spate of terrorist attacks in Israel inundated emotional support call centers with people suffering from anxiety. The atmosphere is so tense that centers remain flooded with calls even on days when there are no attacks. So far, the terror seems to be winning. But it is not because terrorists are good at what they do; it is because we are not doing what we should.

If we cannot, or will not deal with terror and with terrorists the way such people should be dealt with, we should at least offer emotional help at every turn. Either we fight the terrorists, or we fight the consequences of terror, or both. ‎At the moment, I see us doing neither.

We need to understand that Palestinians have no desire to cohabit with us, let alone live in peace with us. They want us out of here, and they will go to any length to get what they want.

We should not be so naïve as to think that we can live like all other nations. We are not like other nations, and the rest of the nations will painfully remind us every time we forget that.

Our calling, which we have spurned for two thousand years, is to unite among us and set an example of unity above all the differences, divisions, disputes, and hatred. Our calling is not to unite with other nations, but among ourselves. If we forget this and offer them our hand in piece, they bite it to prove to us that we have nothing to expect from them.

Those who disrupt us from uniting among ourselves should be expelled from the country. However, if we try to hit back at those who attack us without working on our unity, we will not be able to repel our attackers. On the contrary, they will grow stronger, more brazen, and more determined, while we will grow weaker and more indecisive until we are driven out of Israel by fear. In fact, this process is already underway in Israel.

There is only one way to resolve the situation positively: to think and act confidently on the military level and on the spiritual level. On the military level, we must kill those who come to kill us, plain and simple. On the spiritual level, we must work with all our might to strengthen our unity. We will earn the world’s approval only when we approve of our being here for the sake of forging an unbreakable union. When we present the world with such a resilient bond between us, the nations will support our presence here, and we will find peace and security, not only for us, but also for all our Arab neighbors.
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Question: In what case do Jews have the right to exist?

Answer: Only if they declare to the world that they truly have the key to the happiness of humanity, to its normal existence, to reach a perfect state, and offer it to the entire world.

If we do this, no matter how ridiculous or absurd it may seem, people will take it seriously.

After all, antisemitism toward such a small nation, which consists of an insignificant number of fifteen million people out of all of humanity, and the claims against them that they are the cause of all the world’s suffering, in principle, is a claim that this nation is special.

Nations of the world feel that we are special. Only so far, we are special in the bad sense of the word because we do not reveal the meaning of life, the possibility of reaching a real, eternal, perfect existence, thus limiting all other nations.

We are the cause of their suffering. They are absolutely right in this. Without the middle line, the nations of the world cannot come to the thought of creation. It is impossible.

All of us come from ancient Babylon. But only we took this middle line and the rest went on the way of egoistic development. Today we meet.
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From KabTV’s “Close-up. The Formula of the Creator” 8/7/10

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My new article on Linkedin “Israel’s Defense Against Terrorism”

Terrorist attacks are not just another headline in the news, it is the shattering of people’s lives cut short, and it is the panic and chaos that rip through an area in their wake. Fear ripples through and takes up residence in the psyche of the people who live through it. For two weeks terrorists have targeted a series of brutal attacks in Israeli cities, and again just last night in a popular nightlife spot in Tel Aviv that claimed the lives of three young men.

Anxiety has overpowered people’s mindsets. Everyone walks down the street with caution, suspicion, alertness, and looks automatically for a place to escape if another terrorist motivated by Islamic fundamentalism strikes again. Every ambulance howl evokes thoughts of despair and concern.

As Israelis, there is no need to pretend like nothing is happening and act as if everything is normal. We all need to take care of ourselves and take care of each other and be vigilant. We also need to open our eyes to what is happening on a more internal level, and open our hearts to what Israel’s sages wrote: “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” (Maor vaShemesh – Light and Sun).

Likewise, The Book of Consciousness writes, “We are commanded at each generation to strengthen the unity among us so our enemies do not rule over us.”

All of Israel is an amalgamation in which everyone is connected to each other, but we do not see it and certainly do not feel it. But the spiritual connection is direct: the connection of our hearts radiates favorably to the whole of society. Therefore, along with the phenomenon of terrorists who need to be uprooted, we must act with all our might to unite and be guarantors of each other.

Only if we can support each other wholeheartedly can we gain a sense of security on our streets. But as long as we prefer to live in our own bubble, caring only about our personal well-being, then this cold snowball of indifference forms between us, it rolls down a slope picking up more layers of coldness and alienation, and wraps each in an icy shroud that keeps us apart, until the next disaster forces us to briefly ward off peril.

Our Torah is all about love. It includes the greatest rule, “love your neighbor as yourself.” We must apply it in moments of peace, not just in times of terrorist attacks, but always because, like our ancient wisdom tells us, awakening to the love between us will awaken a supreme power, and it is He who will protect us from all evil.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “World Jewry Will Be with Us When We Are with Us”

Last week, Tzedek Chicago Synagogue officially designated itself “anti-Zionist.” In its statement, the synagogue decried the establishment of Israel as an “injustice against the Palestinian people.” The synagogue also posted on its twitter account that “Members of Tzedek Chicago voted to affirm anti-Zionism as a core value of our congregation.” Several major Israeli newspapers in English reported on the statement, which seems to have made an impact. As I see it, the synagogue’s position is a direct result of our own behavior in Israel. As long as we are disunited and cater to our enemies, Jews abroad will disassociate themselves from us and cater to our enemies, as well.

Over the years, I have seen Jewish groups from many denominations—from Orthodox to Reform—opposing the State of Israel, and to be honest, I do not see much of a difference between them. Indeed, Tzedek Chicago, too, states that “Since the founding of the Zionist movement in the 19th century, there has always been active Jewish opposition to Zionism.”

It would be convenient to blame anti-Zionists for their antagonism to the State of Israel, but we would be wrong to do so. People’s feelings toward the Jewish state are not determined by them, but by the Jewish state itself. When Jews in Israel are united and understand what Zionism means, the resistance to Israel subsides and even turns to sympathy. But when the Jews in Israel object to their own country, when they denigrate and vilify each other and glorify Jew-haters, the world hates the Jews, and the Jews hate the Jewish state.

Unless the Jewish public in Israel strives for unity instead of division, American Jewry, and the whole world with it, will demand the cancelation and eradication of the State of Israel. It is already what the world, and much of world Jewry wants, but they are still not acting on their wish. If Israel continues to exhibit internal disintegration, the world will become more vociferous in its demands and more assertive in its actions to revoke the Jewish state.

We perceive anti-Zionists as being against the State of Israel, and this is also how they feel. In truth, however, Zionism is a spiritual movement, an aspiration to restore the core value of Judaism: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we do not focus on our core values and pay attention only to our physical presence in the Land of Israel, we have no right to complain that no one supports our presence here. If we did focus on it, everyone would support our work here and wish for our success.

Therefore, if we want to unite and live in mutual responsibility, follow King Solomon’s motto, “Hate stirs strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12), and strive to love our neighbors as ourselves, the whole world will be happy we are here, including Tzedek Chicago. If, alternatively, we find any excuse to disparage and slander one another, the entire world will turn against us.
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My new article on Linkedin “Taking the Fear Where It Should Go”

At such times, when people are afraid to walk out of the house, to go to work, or to take the kids to school, we should remember that there is a purpose for the fear: to bind us all together. If we direct our fear toward unity, it will vanish along with its cause.

It may not feel this way, certainly not in times of strife and terror, but humanity is one entity. Our ancestors, led by Abraham, felt it and formed a nation that accepted into its midst anyone who subscribed to the principle of unity and love above all differences and hatred. King Solomon canonized this principle in the verse (Proverbs, 10:12), “Hate stirs strife, and love will cover all crimes.”

Indeed, unity had been our primary tenet from the very beginning. We were pronounced a nation only after we agreed to unite “as one man with one heart.” Immediately thereafter, we were tasked with setting an example of unity to the rest of the world, namely with being “a light unto nations.”

Because of our unique calling, our success or failure has always depended on our unity or lack thereof. Our sages throughout the ages have repeatedly stressed this point. The book Maor VaShemesh asserts, “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. … [If] there is bonding among them, and no separation of hearts, they have peace and quiet … and all the curses and suffering are removed by that [unity].” The book Maor Eynaim echoes these words: “When one includes oneself with all of Israel and unity is made … at that time, no harm shall come to you,” as does the book Shem MiShmuel: “When [Israel] are as one man with one heart, they are as a fortified wall against the forces of evil.”

The book Maor VaShemesh asserts, “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.

Unity is not only for our defense, it is our mission to set an example of unity to the world, and the only time when the nations of the world accept us in their midst. During World War I, Rav Kook felt compelled to outline the connection between the world’s troubles and Israel’s unity. In his book, Orot (Lights), he wrote, “The construction of the world, which is currently crumbled by the dreadful storms of a blood-filled sword, requires the construction of the Israeli nation. The construction of the nation and the revealing of its spirit are one and the same, and it is one with the construction of the world, which is crumbling in anticipation for a force full of unity and sublimity, and all that is in the soul of Israel.”

Therefore, while we must do all that we can to protect ourselves and our families on the military level, we must work equally hard on our unity, as the lack of it is the root cause of our problems. When we achieve this, we will bring lasting peace to ourselves, and to the entire world, which is, as Rav Kook said, “crumbled by the dreadful storms of blood-filled swords.”

You will find more on the connection between Jewish unity and peace in my book The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Times That Call for a Tough Hand”

There is a tense atmosphere in Israel these days. Within a week, a total of 11 people have been killed in terrorist attacks perpetrated either by Israeli Arabs or by Palestinians who entered Israel illegally. There is no question that we should not let fear overwhelm and disrupt our lives, but at the same time it is obvious that there is panic in Israeli society. The recent attacks inspired by the tactics of ISIS have proven that such acts can happen anywhere and at any time.

Any city in the world that has been affected by terrorism can relate to the sense of panic and anxiety that permeates every street, every inch of entire neighborhoods. Fear, mistrust, anger and sorrow are all feelings that describe the current state of mind of Israelis who feel that their right to live a normal life has been taken away from them.

Our sages wrote, “He who comes to kill you, kill him first” (Midrash Rabbah, 21:4) and “If one comes to kill you, kill him first” (Midrash Tanchuma, Pinhas, Chapter 3). This ancient law also applies to those who protect themselves or others from an existential threat. It aims at saving lives from those who deliberately want to kill us or others.

The terrorists today are not afraid of anything; even their own death is no deterrent. They know that if they succeed in inflicting harm, they will be hailed as heroes in their hometowns, their pictures will adorn squares, and candies will be distributed in the streets where they lived to celebrate the murders they have committed. We have seen this many times in previous attacks. On top of that, the murderer’s family will receive generous financial compensation from those who support terrorism. And in the event that the terrorist survives and goes to prison, he or she will find better conditions there than some of them had at home.

Even if we covered every street and every neighborhood with security personnel, we would not be able to eliminate the threat and the fear that plagues us. However, if we begin to respond with an iron fist to those who seek to kill us, as we are commanded to do, we could effectively combat terror. If, on the other hand, we continue to cringe, the circle of terror will widen, and we will keep witnessing violent and extreme events that befall us, and will again and again face the heartbreaking images of orphans and widows.

We are in a constant struggle for our safety here in Israel. From attack to attack, we feel shock waves that force us to question ourselves: Why should I live this way, for what purpose? If not here, where could I live?

If we assess our situation correctly, we will eventually arrive at the simplest truth: Our external foes can only be neutralized by our internal unity. Our existence depends on how much we support and help each other. We must build a society that lives in mutual guarantee over our differences, because “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18) is the great rule of the Torah. If we lived according to it, all people would feel a positive enlightenment emanating from the Jewish people, and thanks to it, the rest of humanity would also come closer to the realization of this rule.

If we implement this principle and unite with each other like members of a close-knit family, no one will be able to harm us. Thus, internal solidarity and cohesion are the true and lasting defenses against our enemies.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Canada Students’ Hitler Salute Proves Entrenched Antisemitism”

Last week, “A Jewish teacher, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, was surrounded by students who flashed the Heil Hitler salute in class at a North York school,” the Toronto City News reported. This was neither the first nor the second such case in Canada. CBC reported that this is the “third incident this month involving students performing a Nazi salute within the Toronto District School Board.” It may surprise some people that there is antisemitism in Canada, but it shouldn’t. Jew-hatred is spreading rapidly, and will proliferate around the world until we Jews take the required action to eliminate it.

It should not surprise us that there is antisemitism in Canada, since many of its residents come from inherently antisemitic nations in Europe. The displays we see today merely express what has been kept hidden in their hearts until now, but nothing fundamental has changed in how they feel toward Jews.

Moreover, antisemitism will not go away until we dry up its well. Since Jew-hatred is expressed by non-Jews, we attribute its origin to them. But they are not the origin. Our own sages tell us countless times that when we hate each other, we bring about the hatred of the world toward us. Even if we do not feel that we hate other Jews, the very existence of antisemitism means that hatred exists among us, even if covertly.

Our sages referred to Jewish self-hatred as sinaat himam (hatred without cause). They explained that this is what caused our downfall in the days of the Second Temple and the exile from the Land of Israel. While we refer to it as self-hatred, in essence, it is the same ailment that destroyed us two millennia ago.

Therefore, we may use antisemitism as a sensor for self-hate. Even when we do not sense it, if there is antisemitism, it means that we are hateful of each other. Consequently, the antidote to antisemitism is to strengthen Jewish unity. This is the action we must take.

We have always known this, and we have always spurned it, even in the face of the most demonic perils. In 1929, Dr. Kurt Fleischer, then leader of the Liberals in the Berlin Jewish Community Assembly, stated that “Antisemitism is the scourge that God has sent us in order to lead us together and weld us together.” Regrettably, it did not happen and we did not come together.

These days, as antisemitism rears its ugly head once more, we must not forget that we hold the key that can lock it up for good, and that key is our own unity. If we turn toward each other with good intentions, we will lock antisemitism outside our world. If we keep treating each other with contempt, loathing, and conceit, as we often do today, the door to Jew-hatred will open all the way and a tsunami of antisemitism will wash upon us.

You will find more on this topic in my books Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord
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Question: Can the behavior of Jews around the world, and American Jews in particular, lead the world to the Holocaust?

Answer: It depends only on the Jews themselves. Our world is arranged in such a way that Jews exist in it for a reason. They must bring to humanity the method of unification first of all among the Jews and then among all the other people around them. Without any difference! So that the world will eventually come to an absolutely general state.

And if the Jews do not move toward this state, then terrible world excesses will begin at the level of nature and climate, at all levels, until nature breaks us. And nature is the Creator.

It will nevertheless make us understand that rapprochement between people is the main factor that will enable us to find the right life.

Question: It turns out that we as the chosen people slightly anger the Creator with our behavior. As I understand it we are elected or is this also a myth?

Answer: Yes, we are elected. But we were chosen in order to unite and show the whole world the possibility of uniting. And if we do not do this, then the whole world instinctively turns against us. And this is the reason for anti-Semitism.
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From KabTV’s “Meetings with Kabbalah” 1/5/22

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is Israel treating Palestinians the same way Nazis had treated Jews?“

This was one of the questions on a survey of the Norwegian public, published by the Oslo-based Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities, and more than a third of those who answered believed that Israel treats Palestinians the same as how Nazis treated Jews during the Holocaust. Such an attitude coincides with Norwegian schools and media presenting Israel as the great villain of the Middle East. It thus raises the question of what will future generations think about Israel if such is the material being circulated, and have we not progressed beyond such attitudes?

We have not progressed beyond any of these attitudes because we have not corrected anything. Antisemitism does not pass, but only on condition that Jews change themselves, i.e. that Jews start relating to themselves, to their lives, to their place and to the world differently and truthfully.

We need to know why we exist, and who we are as a nation. We exist in order to show the world the corrected form of human society as a whole. The corrected form is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we make progress in that direction, then we will be able to influence the entire world, Norway included. This is the rule by which we all need to live. If we lived by it, then all people would feel a positive illumination coming from the Jewish people, and thanks to the Jews, all people would also come closer to realizing that rule.

Today, we are condemned for how we treat the Palestinians. However, if we in Israel will start implementing relations of love for one another, even if only a little, then the extent to which we reach mutual love for each other will accordingly change the world’s view of us. We would then also find ourselves closer to Palestinians, Norwegians and everyone else.

We Jews once held relations of mutual love, but we since lost it. We developed a common hatred toward each other in its place, and that is the source of our every problem. If we fix our broken connections, then we would also correct our relations with the rest of the world. The cure for antisemitism is thus in the love between us.

Based on the video “Does Israel Treat Palestinians the Same Way Nazis Treated Jews?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi.
Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Comment: A letter from Irina: “We were together since the first grade at school, and we never quarreled. He used to carry my school bag already in the third grade, and all the boys laughed at him. But we became even better friends, and everyone envied us. After school, we studied at the Institute of Technology together, in the same department. In the third year we got married. Our parents were friends. We gave birth to two children. I do not understand where the irritation, rejection, and hatred have come from, we knew each other thoroughly!

Today we are already divorced. Until now court trials and disputes have been going on. It was a terrible break-up! I cannot hear his voice, I cannot see him! I have constant inner pain! I do not understand how this could have happened to me! I do not know what I did wrong!”

My Response: You did not work on yourself. You thought nothing would change. But a person is constantly changing, not to mention two people, and even more so those who have known each other and have been together all the time. They change a lot throughout their lifetime. And since they were used to each other, for them the slightest changes lead to very sharp internal reactions.

It turns out that I can suddenly see another person as mean, disgusting, opposite to me, constantly perceiving me and my attitude ambiguously, and so on. It is precisely because they know each other too well. Therefore, now even the slightest change causes huge disturbances between us.

Comment: According to human logic, the better we know each other, the closer we are and the greater is the love between us. And you claim that it is the other way around.

My Response: The bigger the commotion can be. Therefore, we need to constantly arouse all sorts of allegedly negative properties and relationships between us so that we can train with them and turn them into positive ones.

Question: So you say that marriage is a constant exercise?

Answer: A permanent one! As my teacher said: “Love is a beast that lives between you, an evil beast. And if you constantly feed it, then everything is fine.”

Question: What does this beast grow into if it is constantly fed?

Answer: It will be big next to you. And you will be dealing with it together until old age.

Question: And this beast is called love?

Answer: Yes. And in fact, it is very, very scary.

Question: So they must see in advance that their relationship will change sharply and oppositely?

Answer: Yes, they should foresee it. And they should even play it.

Question: What do we feed this beast with?

Answer: With concessions. That is, we can deliberately annoy it and learn to concede.

Question: Please, reveal the secret of a long married life together. What does this mean for you?

Answer: For me, it means to let the husband live his life.

Question: And what about the wife?

Answer: The same about the wife. And if they have something in common, it is, of course, children.

But neither with my studies nor with my profession do I in any way invade her respective area and she does not invade mine. In this way we give each other the possibility of life—inner life, basically, after all.

And the most important thing is taking care of children. It is our common area. In principle, after all, people couple and get married in order to give birth and raise children and grandchildren.

Question: What is love?

Answer: Love is the desire to let another person exist next to you in a way that is comfortable for him. This, I think, is the secret of love and a long, normal life together, although it is very, very difficult because we live for a very long time, twice as long as we used to. And that is why it is not easy.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/9/21

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