Question: What can we learn from nature about education?

Answer: We cannot learn anything from nature because we are not part of the animate level. We can envy animals’ ability to interact with each other correctly.

We have to choose the method that will put us right with regard to all the levels of nature, ourselves and society. This method is the wisdom of Kabbalah.
[198729]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 7/3/16

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Question: People don’t like it when you educate them. What does the idea of education mean according to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: If we look at animals, for example, we will see that they develop instinctively and thus learn certain skills from their parents. The mother takes the cubs hunting and helps them in every way. Nature teaches them how to adapt to the environment correctly. We can see how developed this instinct is, especially among mammals.

However, this instinct does not exist in man. If we remained on the animal level, we would be the same, of course, but since we quickly develop and in totally different directions, we often lack the understanding of how we should interact with each other.

In animals, the interaction is very simple: friend or foe, your pack or stranger. There are many possible relationships between humans. Between animals the connections are also either positive or negative. They are instinctive, whereas a man has to develop them according to a system that is unfamiliar, especially in our days when the world is becoming increasingly more mutually and integrally connected.

The human essence is absolutely the opposite of the correct relations between us, in which people refer to each other kindly, think of each other as a good family – just like their relatives who are closely connected and invoke the same response from others. Unfortunately, such a corrected attitude is not part of our nature and we are in fact the most corrupt animals. You will not find such an attitude among animals. Animals don’t harm each other; they feel no envy or jealousy. Their relations are only on the instinctive level and nothing more.

Animals examine who is strong and who is weak, and accordingly the power is distributed.Totally different impulses emerge in the human pack: cruel, conscious impulses that stem from our unrestrained egoism, which feels good when another feels bad. These impulses do not exist among animals. They act according to very simple instincts. An animal that wants to eat kills another animal but not because it wants to harm its prey. An animal doesn’t hunt more than what it needs to eat to survive, whereas man acts in an unrestrained manner ready to kill the whole world although he has no need for it.

Therefore, what we need is to educate people. We have to insert the positive force from the world around us into our cruel, negative egoistic nature.

This force is found in nature, but we have to pull it out of nature. We have to know how to extract the positive force, how to place it against the negative force, and how to raise ourselves in the connection between the two forces.
[198581]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 7/3/16

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New Life 472 – The Contrast Between The Greek Approach And The Jewish Approach
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What can we learn about man by the contrast between the Greek approach and the Jewish approach? Where is the system of nature leading us, and according to which approach should we act in order to bestow goodness unto the world?

Hellenization is a perception of reality according to which man is whole and does not need to correct his nature. There is an opposite approach that says from the outset our nature is evil and we need to correct it. The difference stems from the question of who is more important: me or others?

The Jews were different from everyone else since the days of Abraham, as they considered the other more important than oneself. Thanks to this approach, they perceived reality in a totally different manner. They saw the upper world and discovered the upper force. Their unique approach to life is not abstract but is very practical and can be applied in our daily life.

Today we have to return to the perception of the world that stems from connection and love and lead everyone to this. Humanity needs to develop the ability to feel the upper force. The word “Creator – Bore” stems from the Hebrew words “Bo  reh – come and see” the upper reality.

The process of exiting our self interest takes place according to a special method, in a group of people. Every person is born with the Greek perception and has to develop the human spirit in him, the Jewish approach. Developing the attribute of bestowal and love of others develops the sense with which he can feel the upper world, the world of giving.
[150275]
From KabTV’s “New Life 472 – The Contrast Between The Greek Approach And The Jewish Approach,” 12/14/14

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New Life 471 – The Hellenization Process Then And Now
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Which world views represents the Greek ideology in contrast to the Jewish world view? How will it help us understand the true reality if we understand them, and how is this related to the meaning of Hanukkah?

The Jewish people were educated to love others, to ascend above the egoism. They were on a spiritual height. Jewish ideology is totally different from any other ideology: the body in contrast to the soul.

Philosophy and science are also perceived in our ego so they are considered earthly. We perceive the world by absorbing it and we have developed this perception into science. For everything beyond this there is mythology.

In Judaism it is the opposite: a person does not perceive internally, inside himself,  but exits himself in love and bestowal.

We naturally perceive the world through a filter of “what do I gain from this.” And we can transcend that. When we change our approach to reality, we perceive a wide reality that is whole and eternal.

This is what the Macabbees fought for. Today we all perceive the world according to the Greek approach, and the time has come for an upgrade.
[150175]
From KabTV’s “New Life 471 – The Hellenization Process Then And Now,” 12/14/14

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In the News (The Telegraph): “Men finally grow up at the age of 43 – a full 11 years after women ‘mature’, according to a new survey.

“A study into the differences in maturity between genders revealed both men and women agree men remain ‘immature’ well into their late 30s and early 40s.

“But the average age at which women mature emerged as 32.

“Alarmingly, eight out of ten women believe that men ‘never stop being childish’…”

My Comment: During my childhood when I looked at the girls in my class, I was surprised at how early they matured in their thinking and their outlook on life. I felt that I was still far from them. I was very interested in understanding the enormous difference that exists between boys and girls. Girls have an attitude toward life like little women, whereas boys are only interested in soccer, volleyball, etc. Males’ development occurs much later, if ever.

Today it is difficult for a woman to find a partner and marry a man who will provide her with a feeling of support. She wants a man by her side who will give her a feeling of support, psychological support more than physical, because in the modern world a woman can provide everything for herself materially, but simple psychological support is imperative for her. Unfortunately, men do not receive the appropriate training for this.

Question: Why is the maturity of men in our day so impeded?

Answer: It is because we are living much longer, our lives don’t require us to mature. A man can remain in his parents’ home all his life, do any kind of work for a salary, and live with peace of mind. Everything is ready for him, electrical appliances and prepared food; he doesn’t need anything more than this.

I don’t think the age of 40 is the line at which he becomes a man. I see that today even men at the age of 50-60 are still children. They don’t want to take on any responsibility, shoulder any burdens, or work for the family.

A woman is ready to take responsibility for the sake of a family and children. A man is not ready even for that.

We must educate a person to be a spiritual person so that he will understand that he has a higher goal and must create a particular environment around him for this. He needs to understand why he exists and how to build himself.

If we begin to educate him this way, he will begin to mature at the age of 15-20, and toward the age of 20, he will have already been shaped into a man.
[198812]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 12/5/16

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Question: In the first year of the development of an infant, should a mother pay attention to something more than love and concern?

Answer: A mother should pay attention to all the states that she gets from the Creator, primarily through her love for her child, and through her child as well.
[198499]

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New Life 470 – Hanukkah Then And Now
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

What special meaning awakens from this holiday specifically nowadays, and why in each generation do they rise up to destroy us, and what miracle do we expect to happen for?

Hanukkah talks about ideological clashes between two approaches to life: materialistic versus spiritual. The Jewish elite adopted the materialistic approach from the Greeks. They abandoned the altruistic approach of love of others.

Abraham taught connecting with love, being one, and discovering the one supreme force. When we unite and become one, we are similar to the one supreme force, and then it shines on us. But a connection like this requires a struggle against the egoistic tendencies that naturally awake in us.

When we stopped working on connection, we lost the connection with the upper force, the Light of life left the world. As a result, troubles from the outside world come upon us. They forced us to once again connect. It happens in waves. Today we are in a similar state. We live in Israel, but there is no connection and love between us during normal times.

During two thousand years we were living among the other nations of the world and caused their development There is an upper energy in nature called Light, which can connect between differences. Our task is to bring this Light to everyone. We want to be as Europe is, each one for himself and to just be left alone. And this is anti-Israel. Mutual guarantee is the foundation of the nation of Israel and without it we have no right to exist.

The darkness of day is the lack of our ability to grasp that if we don’t unite, we are not a nation. Strong egoistic urges awaken in us, hatred and separation, so that we can help each other to rise. Each person is like a keg of gasoline, which can explode at any moment. It is specifically from within the great darkness that the Light arrives.

Hanukkah symbolizes that the world is waiting for us for the Light, for the force of life that will connect everything in harmony.
[150125]
From “New Life 470 –  Hanukkah Then And Now ,” 12/11/14

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Question: By what criteria will society assess a person in the future? According to one’s wealth, looks, or status?

Answer: I don’t think people will relate to physical appearance in the future, not even men. This will gradually disappear from our perception and it will include only the internal attributes of a person and one’s correct internal balance.

A person’s behavior and character will be the outcome of his internal state because not only will he begin to relate to everything correctly, but he will also aspire to bring the whole world to the middle line.
[198685]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 7/3/16

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New Life 469 – The Meaning Of Hanukkah
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

What is the meaning of the holiday of Hanukkah, what do we celebrate and what is the important role we have toward the whole world that it reminds us of?

The nation of Israel was born from the mutual commitment to be as one man with one heart, with love of others. Whenever there is separation between us, others rise up to destroy us. Then something comes to remind us we need to unite.

We also need to increase love between us in the family, until we become “All Israel are friends.” Today, in Israel, there are many security threats. If we unite between us, everything will disappear.

The miracle of the oil symbolizes that it is possible to reach the Light, the upper force, that will help us to connect. The Temple symbolizes the connection between the hearts when they become one large heart. The menorah symbolizes what we attained: through connection it’s possible to be rescued from all problems and to defeat everything.

The Maccabees symbolize the tendency to connect, and they awaken the whole of Israel from its hibernation. Man himself includes the Greeks, the Hellenists, and the Maccabees. The Greeks symbolize the egoistic attributes, the Maccabees symbolize the small tendency to connect and to love, the point in the heart. If man wants to find these forces of the soul, he can win the inner war within himself.

The Hellenists symbolize the Jewish tendency to be like Europe, each one only for himself.

The Jewish spirit is to be connected and loving, to discover the upper force between us, and to bring Light to the nations. Jewish life is when everyone is concerned about everyone else and each one thinks of how he can do good for the collective.

When we as Israelis adopt the European approach of individualism, we have no Light.

The world depends on the Light that we bring, the energy of life. The lack of Light brings hatred to Israel.

When there is no mutual concern and everyone is for only for himself, troubles befall a person. And when there is connection and love, then everything works out, i.e., at home, with the children and the family, with health, and at work.

At the political level, if we ignite the Light between us and light up the world, the world’s attitude toward Israel will change for the better.
[149990]
From KabTV’s “New Life 469 – The Meaning Of Hanukkah,” 12/11/14

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New Life 654 – Hanukkah: Light And Darkness In Life
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

The desire to enjoy: If I am the one who benefits, the Light doesn’t enjoy, darkness. There are more upper desires that aren’t in us from birth—the desire to fill others, to give, to bestow. It isn’t the bestowing that brings us joy, but rising above the ego, in this way man becomes the source of light.

Then a person matches the general source of Light in nature, the Creator, discovers Him, and feels immense pleasure.

Spiritual life is connecting to the source of Light and the influence of the Light on others; today, our duty is to learn this. The pursuit of fulfilling your private desires is the “Greeks” and bestowing fulfillment to others is the “Maccabees.” The real development of your personality is only when you learn to be equivalent to the Creator, meaning bestowing.

The Greeks sanctified the ego, pleasure for oneself with no consideration of others, only one’s personal achievements. The Jewish approach says that in this way we destroy ourselves and the world, like a cancerous growth that swallows everything. The pursuit of fulfilling your private desires brings you a little spark of light here and there, nothing more than that.

The Jewish approach is that it is possible to attain great Light only when you, yourself become the source of Light. And then man becomes eternal and complete, and bursts through all borders of perception, and becomes equal to the upper force.

When you become the source of Light for others, you become unlimited. You don’t have to produce Light, but to be the source of Light, with the Light passing through you, like an electric outlet. When you want to pass Light from one to the other, you discover that everyone is connected to a network and connected to the source of life. An unending stream of energy fills our emotions, intellect, consciousness; it is the life of the soul.

Today we give and receive from within the desire to exploit all for our own benefit. Spirituality is loving one another. It’s not just to understand what this is, you should come and study seriously and achieve this in practice.

Hanukkah is the holiday of light, we need to learn to ignite the Light through connection between us. When we connect to others, their emotions and intellect pass to us. And we become infinitely smarter and more sensitive. My blessing for Hanukkah is for the Light to come between us and fill us and direct us to the good upper life.
[171645]
From KabTV’’s “New Life 654 – Hanukkah: Light And Darkness In Life,” 12/1/15

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