Entries in the 'Daily Kabbalah Lesson' Category

The Patient Agrees To Surgery

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is the understanding that we are part of the general integral system and should make every effort to take care of it considered the first step into the spiritual world?

Answer: Yes, it is. As much as possible, we should disseminate the knowledge of it and the inner basis, the support for this view. In other words, working with people, we employ two channels: on the one side, studies and information, and on the other, education and upbringing.

A person should know the system in which he or she exists. Similarly, children should be taught about the laws of the country and the work of various government agencies. The most important thing for a child is to understand in what world he lives. Thus, humanity should be collectively taught integral laws, to bring it closer to the real case.

Then people will understand the principle of the global system in which we find ourselves and will be able to accept the new principles that we should adopt. Their implementation should be desirable to me so that I happily agree to the impact of the environment that will “operate” on me. I am ready for anesthesia in order to wake up refreshed again and again. Time after time, I will discover the new forces of bestowal in me, and thus, I will be included in the integral world.

Alone, I am not capable of anything. The only thing that I can do is to want to be cured, like a patient who is admitted to a hospital to be healed. He doesn’t know the healing process, and everything else except for his consent doesn’t depend on him. So, I turn to the environment to help me, ready to trust it: “Produce changes in me.”

In principle, this is my job. It is not difficult. I need only not to waste myself on those areas in which I will not succeed on my own. There is no need to enter the system, where strict laws act. I have no chance to learn its gears. Only one thing is required of me: to want and to give the environment an opportunity to bring me into motion so that my gear starts turning as necessary. More precisely, my mind and feelings should coincide with its rotation because it turns correctly. I only reveal what is already there.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/2/2011, “Peace in the World”

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 10.05.11

Shamati #42 “What Is the Acronym Elul [1] in the Work,” Start with: “This is the meaning of ‘righteous at once to life’”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Pekudei (Accounts)” “Gold From Below Upward, and Silver From Above Downward,” Item 82, Lesson 4
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Talmud Eser Sefirot Part 6, Chapter 15, Question 143, Lesson 7
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Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 143, Lesson 61
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“The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)“
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The Privilege To Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Creator made creation in order to bestow total goodness to it, which means giving us the opportunity to bestow and love. When we do so, it will mean that He fills us with all the pleasures.

Delighting creation does not mean satisfying its egoistic desires in all kinds of ways. Rather, when my desire changes from egoistic to bestowing, this opens up the possibility of bestowal for me, which becomes my pleasure. This is called being filled by the Creator’s pleasures, by the Light that fills the entire universe.

Our attitude to this new creation, at whose threshold we stand, is similar to entering a certain privileged club where the only people allowed to enter are those having special, outstanding qualities, and by special invitation only. Before entering there, you have to receive permission, an entry pass, and for that you must first study the system of relationships that exists among all its members.

In this “club” some participants are more important and some less, and they have all kinds of relationships with one another: familial, amicable, business, and others, meaning they are connected through all forms of connections. If you establish contact with every person and become included in this connection between everyone, combining yourself correctly with this entire system and knowing how to activate it, then you will be able to use it to your benefit.

That is how the system of worlds operates, the spiritual net which we are entering. I have to know what relationships exist between all of its elements. And that means I have to study its constant structure, which is called VAK (small state).

Besides, I have to know how to activate it with my request (MAN), how it will react to me entering it and influencing it. Then I see how motion begins to happen in it: how Sefira Daat ascends to YESHSUT and Aba ve Ima, how Hassadim and Gevura descend from there, evoking further ascent, and so on.

This is what we have to learn from the science of Kabbalah ahead of time, before entering the upper system. The study forms special qualities inside us and brings us closer to entering the upper system. By the force of our desire to attain this system, I awaken an influence from it upon myself, and some kind of fluids or energy flows reach me from there, bringing me closer to it.

After all, I want to get there! It is written, “I am for my Beloved and He is for me.” This is called the month of ELUL (the acronym for “I am for my Beloved and He is for me”), the preparation for ascending into the upper system. And when I finally enter there, this is called a new beginning, the celebration of the New Year (Rosh HaShana).
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/4/11, Shamati

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Learning For The Sake Of Daily Bread

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe have to give people an explanation of what the solution to the modern problems is. Even if it won’t be possible to avoid the troubles, people will nevertheless hear us eventually. They won’t have any other choice left.

When the crisis worsens, when factories close down and banks become empty, mass turmoil will begin. The people will rise up with demands, not caring how realistic they are. The government might be able to reasonably justify itself, but the people don’t care about that, and will say, “You’re in power so you’re responsible!”

Moments like that or the breaks between them is precisely when people will hear us. And it will be both the regular people and the powerful ones who will hear. The tycoons will want to build the system of upbringing we are talking about of their own accord in order to pacify the people and raise them above the poverty line. Otherwise people will take away everything from them, as this has already happened in history on several occasions. The danger will force them to take care of the agitations and explanations and to aim people toward mutual unification, to a global, integral system, which nature requires us to create.

After all, this is not someone’s whim, but precisely nature’s call, which we cannot run away from. The more we do in this direction, the less troubles and problems we will have.

Obviously, we won’t start talking about fair distribution right away. The first task is to provide people with whatever amount of money they need to survive. And in response they will be required to make efforts in studying.

When unemployment increases, masses of people will be left with nothing to do. People will have to distribute their time so they will work for half or a third of the work day, and devote the rest of the time to compulsory study. In essence, this will become the real work: A person will work on himself. In order to make bread from wheat, it is necessary to awaken a force that will raise wheat.

This year we will already see how uneasy it is to produce bread in conditions of economic and ecological crisis. And studying, together with efforts to create an environment, is part of our work in this world. We thereby awaken the force in the world that is necessary for our material existence.

A person will study in order to bestow to others, in order to provide their daily bread for them. As Baal HaSulam writes, bestowal to the neighbor and bestowal to the Creator are the same thing. That is how people will reach spirituality—without suffering and without studying the science of Kabbalah.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/4/11, “Peace in the World”

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Big Things Begin With Small Steps

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Isn’t it possible that the global, integral system is egoistic? Why does globalization reveal to us specifically the system of bestowal?

Answer: If we depend on each other, we can’t help but to be considerate of each other. And egoism is namely my indifference to everyone but myself. Today I discover that I exist in a system of cogwheels, and my negative influence over others comes back to me. Therefore, I must consider the interests of others as my own.

This is mutual bestowal—a very simple, egoistic altruism. We don’t speak with people about faith above reason, but we use facts from this world: “You see it for yourself that all of us are dependent on each other. In the general mechanism, all evil indeed returns like a boomerang. This implies that there is no other choice, and everyone must influence in a positive way in order to receive positive feedback.” What isn’t clear here? What’s more, if we are in danger, the connection between us becomes even closer.

From this we reach an obvious conclusion: Our ego disturbs us. If we were connected above our ego, absolutely and in a nice way, then the system would be ideal. We would reach a state where we would never receive anything negative from any place. All the cogwheels would turn as they should: I relate positively to everyone, with all my soul, and in response, I receive only good from them.

So, does it mean that we need to reach some unrealistic situation where everyone goes around with good desires for each other, like ants in an anthill? After all, they work together instinctively. Must we connect in this way against our ego? Is that possible? It seems that this will happen only on condition that the crisis, which in the meantime gets worse, will oblige us to reach specifically this: a mutual, complete connection in spite of all our hatred, envy, and rejection. But from where will we get this strength?

Let’s begin the advancement to a state of connection between us, let’s sign a “declaration of intentions” that we, nevertheless, want to be connected to some extent. Let us first sweeten the situation a little.

If this is the case, we will need to think of how we need to operate systems of connection between us: education, matrimony, social relationships, relations to nature, and especially the financial-economic system. We must reach a certain degree of social justice, of a balanced economy and to decrease the gap between different sectors of society. We will need to consider others as we do ourselves at least a little bit.

Let’s say, I will always give a part of what I take for myself to others. Let’s say everyone would pay a tithe, and then afterwards the money from the tithe would be divided between everyone, according to their situation. This won’t be like Social Security, which at times grants allowances regardless of one’s real income. No, we would all pay and then divide it according to the income of each and every one so as to somehow bridge social gaps between us.

Every big thing is done in stages, and it needs to start with realistic, simple steps, to be followed, of course, by additional ones.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/2/2011, “Peace in the World”

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Who Wants Change?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Our New York group went to Wall Street today to feel the mood and the desires of the demonstrators. What we heard from them was very similar to our message. We sang together our song “Who Wants Change?” How can we convey the idea of mutual guarantee to them?

Answer: There is a lot of work before you now. First you have to build a website and give its address to the protesters. It should be on this site and not on the street that you start a big, true debate about the relevant issues. You should lead people to the virtual court, in which they will discuss the issues related to our message.

The processes in the U.S. are accelerating, and we have to organize the preliminary stages of our work as soon as possible. There is no doubt that we are actually starting to work globally now. Each group will operate at its own pace, according to the local conditions, but in the next few months, we will eventually all be part of this.

As a result, we will understand, feel, and connect to the internal, spiritual system. We already begin to see it as the end result of the process: the ascent to the last degree, the revelation of the Creator to the created beings, the revelation of the attribute of bestowal, the system of bestowal in which we participate in practice. The people perform external actions in it, and we join them with internal actions. It is all before us.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/2/2011, “Peace in the World”

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The Allure Of Communism

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe situation in the world today already shows us that unification is worthwhile. It is indeed feasible for us to connect and to care about one another. We would benefit if we organized a fair system in which every individual works according to his abilities and gets as much as he or she needs, and not more.

Actually, what can be better than that? It is a very simple and sensible formula. Even children are impressed by this idea. You should see with what joy and enthusiasm they read about it because it is like a fairy tale that they want to come true.

But here several questions arise. First, why aren’t we like that to begin with? Why did nature initially make us corrupt? Second, can we attain this using our own power? And third, why haven’t we done it until now? Didn’t we see the benefit in such a life from the beginning?

Actually, this is exactly how people used to live ages ago. A communist society was the first phase in human civilization. The first humans who climbed down from the trees were communists: They shared everything, and they all lived like one family, each working for its welfare.

However, later the world developed in the opposite direction. We can only long for the blissful, innocent days of the past. Everything was so simple then: Every tribe used to hunt some mammoth and eat it together. No one even imagined cheating anyone else and taking more than his share. People felt that they were a single whole, and this feeling was preserved until the days of ancient Babel.

What happened afterwards? Is it possible to return to the way it used to be? No one agrees to that. On the contrary, our life tends to be totally opposite: We are detached, we isolate ourselves from one another. People get divorced, everyone needs a room of his own, his own place…. And so it follows that we will not be able to return to the same naive altruism. We see that it is against evolution. We can learn this from the sad examples of the Soviet Union and the kibbutzim (collective agricultural communities in Israel).

So what can we do? The global crisis has shown us clearly that we depend on one another and are tied to one another like cogwheels. On the other hand, we hate one another, we can’t stand each another; everybody would like to be all alone in the whole world just so that the others wouldn’t disturb him. How is it possible to combine these two trends?

This is the problem the world is facing today. Discount rate manipulations will not suffice. The economy reflects the connection between us. So how can we direct it towards mutual cooperation?

We see, for example, that Germany is bailing out Greece only because at the moment it is cheaper than throwing the Greeks to the wolves. This is how the Creator plays with us, until we abandon all the old methods and find a true solution.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/2/2011, “Peace in the World”

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Pass On What You Have Received

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What helps a person nullify himself?

Answer: Most importantly, a person shouldn’t be too self-confident and self-reliant because all of his desires, strength, and thoughts, all that there is within him is always opposite to bestowal and to the upper one. A person’s main weakness is his mind because it prevents him from overcoming his ego and nullifying himself. There is noting else but this.

Our desires to receive are not suitable for the spiritual world. You can only nullify them before the upper one. Thanks to this annulment, you will obtain His desires.

Within the desires of the upper one you begin to nullify yourself in relation to others and thereby obtain all of their desires. On the account of bestowing to them, you connect the whole Malchut of the world of Infinity to yourself.

One might ask: “When do I finally start receiving?” However, there is no such thing as receiving in the spiritual world. Reception does not exist there, only bestowal! Even when you receive, it essentially happens in the form of bestowal. In spiritual reality, the form of reception simply does not exist.

It’s just as in our world we only know how to receive and don’t understand what bestowal is. Each moment of my life I think of, live in, and subsist only on reception. Whereas in the spiritual reality, there is only bestowal and no reception. Even when you receive, you don’t make any calculations, but think only about how much you can turn this into bestowal.

In the spiritual world the word “receiving” has a completely different meaning than in our world. In our world I know I will receive pleasure and it will remain in me. I am the final stop of this pleasure. However, in spirituality I simply pass the pleasure on.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/2011, “Pticha”

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How We Help The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Man got used to exploiting the environment for his own benefit. Even when we speak about social justice, many see it as an opportunity to grab something for themselves.…

Answer: Therefore, education must come before anything else, as the first necessary condition. Man needs to be brought up differently and should be taught about the system we live in.

For instance, we are familiar with the realities of our world. I know what a bank is, what work is, what a medical clinic is; I know about pension funds, social security, roads, traffic lights, police, and the government. But a baby doesn’t know all that yet, and so we teach him how to live in this world.

In exact same manner we now have to teach humanity how to live in the new, integral world. The egoistic mechanisms will gradually stop working. We will soon see that the power of receiving doesn’t lead to anything. We see that even people who have a lot of money don’t know what will happen with the economy in the near future. Soon they will find out that they have a lot of power, but they can’t do anything. Everything disappears, everything is lost, everything breaks down, falls apart, and stops working. No system will work except for the system of bestowal, which we will have to establish.

Question: This may happen in a year or two, but I have problems now….

Answer: So start acting now. Do you want to have a good life? Pay for it with bestowal upon others. This is your work, which is called “the Creator’s work.” We are about to see a world in which we will not be able to provide for ourselves by using the power of egoism, but only by the power of bestowal. If you bestow upon others, upon society, you will be able to receive food, clothing, and other necessities from society. But it won’t happen if you don’t bestow. This is because the new world is dominated by the altruistic power.

Question: How will people shift to the new paradigm?

Answer: By the blows. It was Pharaoh who brought the children of Israel to the Creator. Haman caused the Jews to finally escape the Babylonian exile and return to the Land of Israel, and the King supported him. It is impossible to advance if the ego isn’t revealed to us as the evil force, as our enemy.

Eventually, nature’s blows and the positive influence from our part, circulation, will bring about the change. People cannot change instantly and agree with us. Their desire is opposite to bestowal. The principle of “love thy neighbor” seems childish to them. They don’t understand yet that it the basis for everything, that it is the correction of the soul. The evil of their egoism hasn’t been revealed to them yet.

They will be able to feel it after many blows, until Pharaoh will finally admit: “I’m sinful, and the Creator is righteous.” He didn’t think so before. But then you will realize that everything is because of you, because you are corrupted, not the surrounding nature, or a neighbor, or anybody else. Then you will feel the need for correction, and it will come. In your search for a method, you will find us and ask us to teach you.

But we don’t want you to suffer and so we disseminate the method in advance, although it spurs hatred in you. This is how we help the world.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/2011, “The Nation”

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A Tycoon As A Punching-Bag

Dr. Michael LaitmanI don’t understand people who go out to the streets and demand to be given something. Why do they deserve it? If it were my child, it would be different. But I didn’t give birth to you, so why should I take care of you?

Even if I were a tycoon, so what? I made my money, so why do you come to me? What is unjust here? What is illegal here? Why do you demand something from me? Why do I have to feel ashamed of what I have earned, of my social status?

Let’s take an athlete for example, who worked out in the gym for twenty years and has lifted tons of weights. Now he has muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he is proud of it. Suddenly some demonstrators come to him and demand to “take off” some of his muscles. How would he see that?

So if a tycoon has worked hard and has earned his wealth, he also has his own “muscles,” but they are expressed in his bank account. What right do you have to put your hand on it?

Another example: A musician has practiced for years, fifteen hours a day. Does he have to give up what he has achieved for you?

So why do we look at a rich man differently? Hasn’t he worked as hard as the athlete or the musician? And even if he has it as a result of his father’s efforts, so what? If you think that there is social injustice here—go and change society, do something. But it is wrong to just come and demand. And besides, if you destroy the tycoons, you will destroy society. Who will provide people with jobs? Who will enable them to make a living?

As long as the world is egotistic, we cannot change it for the better. We have seen it in Russia. Instead of correcting things, we will only create a bigger lie and new ways of stealing. In an egotistic society, every organization and every individual operate according to their own interests, and there is nothing we can do. We cannot build a more just society than the present one on the basis of the same desires, the same egoistic “fuel.”

There is no other choice but to change the engine.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/2011, “The Nation”

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