Entries in the 'Egoism' Category

Don’t Believe The Sweet Promises Of Haman

Dr. Michael LaitmanDuring the expansion of the Light from above downwards from Keter, to Hochma, and to Bina, a stop should have happened because Bina is already the quality of bestowal that does not need anything for itself. So how is it possible to develop any further?

That is when Bina feels the desire of the Creator that is in Keter, the desire to unite. Thus, Bina divides into GAR and ZAT, which feels a connection with Keter and therefore develops reception within itself in order to bestow to the lower ones. Otherwise further development would not take place.

In the same way, when we ascend upwards and attain Bina, first we acquire Galgalta Eynaim, the quality of bestowal for the sake of bestowal, Hafetz Hesed, which is called Mordechai. That is when we have to decide how to use our desire to enjoy. For us, this is ZAT de Bina, connected to our Malchut of the Reflected Light, the highest Sefira that attains Keter of the Direct Light.

This is the point where a decision has to be made. This makes the difference of how the desires of Haman are to be used—egoistically or for the sake of bestowal. If we begin to bestow egoistically, then we return back down. And if we choose bestowal, then we use the desires of Haman with the intention of Mordechai, meaning we receive for the sake of bestowal.

This is the “fatal point” of Purim. Pur means “lot” or “fate,” when we decide: What to do next? That is, we have to decide: In which direction will we incline? But this is impossible to understand for now. We do not see all of our qualities from aside, besides Mordechai. In all other directions besides him, only total darkness awaits us. This is the true point of a person’s choice and it is very thin. After all, how can I understand that bestowal for my own sake was not part of the Creator’s program?

That is why we have to reach the very end until we see that Haman buries all of the bestowal we have attained. Otherwise we won’t feel that this quality disappears. We have to feel that if we give power to Haman, then nothing will remain of our bestowal!

The same thing happens to us now as well. Sometimes we become so confused that we think that by making some sort of actions we will be able to reach the goal. We still don’t feel that this completely separates us from our foundation, from bestowal, and nothing remains here besides egoism, and all of our bestowal is also done for our own sake. Only if we verify this until the very end will we be able to decide that we have to annihilate Haman and come out of his power.

At first it seems that this was useful for our progress toward the goal, but now you reveal that everything is completely opposite and it can bury your entire advancement, goal, and your entire path. But you only discover this at the very end, when you are walking along together with egoism, Haman, and it slightly steals little portions from you, taking away everything you have, until you are left with nothing. That’s when you see that there is no choice: You have to run away from his rule.

We are yet to go through such suffering on this path where Haman can clothe into real people or just ideas….
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/11, Shamati

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Purposeful Development Of Egoism

Dr. Michael LaitmanTrue egoism develops within us when we wish to unite. It begins after the “usual” egoism. We naturally hate others, are eager to take advantage of them, and want to rise above them. This doesn’t exist on the animate level since it characterizes only the speaking level: We need to feel superior to others at least in some way.

But when a person still wants to become one with the others above his egoism, he discovers resentment of an unprecedented magnitude. It turns out that a force that opposes unification is instilled in his nature, and hence, even while willing to unite, a person cannot accomplish it. His desire to receive cares and thinks about itself, while hating and rejecting another.

Despite all my effort to bond with the others, I detect this force, that very egoism which we define as purposeful. It is not merely hurting the others, but the property which resists oneness. Only this kind of egoism leads me to transformation. I feel that it is exactly what I need to reform. It is a kind of supplement to the final, fourth stage of the development of desire.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/18/2011 on The Principles of Global Education

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Purim: The End Of Correction

Dr. Michael LaitmanUsually it is customary for different nations to hold holidays as a way of honoring certain historical events that took place in this world. But since the nation of Israel once separated from the other nations to carry out a special mission, to realize the correction of human nature upon itself and then to bring all of humanity to this, its holidays, therefore, have a special meaning related to that.

The Scroll (Megilat) of Ester, which is devoted to Purim and which talks about Mordechai, the King Ahashverosh, and Queen Ester who saved the Jews from destruction after the evil Haman planned to kill them, actually explains how to attain that goal. That is why it is written that all the holidays will be canceled in the future with the exception of the holiday of Purim because on that holiday, on that level, the greatest Light shines, which includes all of the previous levels.

All the holidays of the nation of Israel are symbols of special states on the ladder of the spiritual levels which we ascend from this world to the world of Infinity, attaining increasingly greater equivalence to the Creator through bestowal, love, and unification among us. Therefore, every higher level includes all the lower levels as its constituent parts. Purim, the highest level, obviously includes all the previous, smaller levels which are canceled before it and enter it. In the end, not a single holiday remains besides the holiday of Purim.

How do we reach this holiday? Our entire work is based on raising a prayer (MAN) for unification and love among us, which we are trying to attain. All of our work is devoted to correcting the division. At first we have to unite on the level of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal,” which means the quality of Mordechai.

When we reach “the king’s gate” (as the story tells about Mordechai who sat by the king’s gate), there we meet our Haman, the huge and horrifying egoistic desire that becomes revealed to us. Then we have to correct it and receive Light into its Kelim with the intention of Mordechai, “for the sake of bestowal.” That is how one can receive the Light of Mordechai into the Kelim of Haman and attain the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun).

We have to take the force, the “spiritual vessel” from our nature, our egoistic desire, and add to these desires the intention “for the sake of bestowal” so it would begin to rule over us, “to saddle the desire” like Mordechai who rides on top of a horse.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/11, Shamati

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Haman And His Family

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The holiday of Purim symbolizes the opposition of two forces: Mordechai and Haman. Then why are we commanded to get so drunk on this day that we can’t tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai?

Answer: This happens after the analysis where you use all of the Kelim, when everything is already clear to the utmost. You have hung Haman and his ten sons on a tree, or in other words, on the tail of the letter Kuf (ק). No more illumination comes beneath the Tabur in order to give life to the impure forces (Klipot). There are no Klipot since you have destroyed all the egoistic intentions.

Previously intentions for the sake of reception, Klipa were below. Klipa lives by virtue of the illumination from above. Above the Tabur are the letters or qualities of Kuf (ק), Reish (ר) , Shin (ש), and Tav (ת). Previously the tip of Tav also descended down, but its “leg was cut off” and now only Kuf descends beneath the Tabur. This means that the Lights descend down, giving life to the Klipa.

This is necessary because the Klipa helps us. It has to exist in order to give us the opportunity of free choice, to place us between good and evil.

Here, below, are Haman and his “family”—all of the egoistic qualities that have joined him. It is important to remember that this is talking precisely about intentions for the sake of reception, rather than about desires. After all, desire is just matter.

After that, from Yesod of Zeir Anpin to Nukva comes the illumination of Mordechai. It comes as a result of the ascent of a plea (MAN) from the souls of Israel, which are below, under the rule of Haman. Then they are all able to ascend upwards with the help of the illumination called Purim—the illumination of Mordechai.

In that case only Haman with his family remain below. After that the leg of the letter Kuf is annulled so the Klipot would no longer receive an illumination, or in other words, Haman is hung on the tree. Then the Klipot inside each of us die because they no longer realize or feel the opportunity to steal or to attain anything.

That is where it all ends. All the egoistic intentions disappear due to not having a footing and everything shifts above the Parsa, into the intention for the sake of bestowal, into the approaching end of correction. Now all of your Kelim are covered by the altruistic intention and you fill them with the Light of Hochma without any restrictions. That is because you have created great, perfect screens which free you from the necessity to make calculations.

The entire matter of Haman, who is under the power of the egoistic desire, has shifted to the altruistic intention. Stated differently, all the desires that were below have ascended upwards. They divided into two groups of 248 and 365 desires, and now even the lowers ones are above because you have cut off the egoistic intentions from them. Thus, nothing remains below.

And since there is nothing below, holiness (Kedusha) expands from Raglin until Sium, until the Mount of Olives.
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/11, Talmud Eser Sefirot

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Egoism On The Global Scale

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: There are many nongovernmental charitable organizations in the world which honestly yearn to help people. What is wrong with them? After all, these philanthropists seem to feel that their well-being depends on the welfare of the world.

Answer: That’s the root of the problem: They are helping so that they may feel at peace. A small part of the world population feels that it has to help others. A person feels more at ease, and this is what gives him or her personal satisfaction.

In charitable organizations, there are many people who have a natural need to tend to others. They are programmed with an instinct. They have to assist in order to appease themselves. Baal HaSulam writes that in the world, there are 10% of such individuals, and according to the statistics, it is 7% or 8%.

However, all of this derives from egoism and is one of its manifestations. I love the world as my own child, and I feel bad if the world feels bad. I must help Africa in order to get rid of bad feelings. That’s all.

Such assistance won’t help anybody. On the contrary, it only brings harm since the more altruists give, the more their beneficiaries get used to doing nothing and do not evolve.

A similar problem surfaced in Russia today. It turns out that high oil prices are undesirable. On the surface, it fills the treasury daily, but it’s not worth it. After all, we won’t develop like this. We will just sit on our oil pipe, make a feast, and build golden palaces, but at the same time, as a country, as a nation, we will keep degrading. It is impossible to evolve without a need. Hence, despite basic logic, they don’t wish to collect “oil money” any more and are becoming aware of such things.

All present development of the world, along with charities and the commonwealth market, is nothing but egoism’s domain. Nothing good will come out of it, no matter where it is. On the contrary, all parties are only pressuring each other. We have found the law of integral interconnection, but everyone wants to use it egoistically. “Ah, that’s what it is! Global interdependence? Let’s take over the world then. We’ll put everybody in his place, and if anybody rebels, we’ll threaten to cut off their oxygen.” This is how they wish to utilize the integral network that nature reveals to us.

We are now in a very dangerous predicament since if our egoism is tied to global interconnection, it allows it to control the entire world globally, over everyone at once. This is what is threatening us if people lack wisdom and the perception and understanding of what the future holds in store for us.

They quietly decide the fate of the world to fit their petty objectives, having no clue what it will lead to in the near future and even tomorrow. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran are vivid examples of that. In the end, everything will produce the opposite result.

The games are over. We can’t give power to our egoism any longer. When the world locks into a global system, you can’t act as you did before, ruling by gold or force. It won’t work. Iraq is a vivid demonstration of it. America’s shame is before the entire world, and they are still at it. It’s all about lacking the understanding of the integral laws. No might and no brain will solve this problem. Russia has fallen, despite all its riches, and the United States will fall even lower.

Today, the approach must be adequate to a world-wide tendency toward global integration. Otherwise, you will lose.

A little time will pass, and we will witness how even terrorist organizations will start to understand it. It will be impossible to control the world by force any longer. The arising problems will make everybody think about what to do next.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/14/2011 on An Integral World

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A Person Riding A Donkey

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: I understand what you say in my mind, but in my heart I feel that I am completely not ready to cancel myself in order to unite with others. How can I desire this?

Answer: We will never desire to advance to higher spiritual states. And it’s good that we realize this ourselves! A person understands that he does not desire true spirituality on any condition, as opposed to some kind of fairy-tale world he invented where he will fly with angels and do anything he wants, where he will receive total power and see all the worlds from one end to the other.

If we begin to understand the meaning of real spiritual reality, which is above any egoistic benefit, we can only imagine, then obviously we do not want it. We have to understand that all the changes in us are made only by the upper Light that reforms. It has to elevate us and give us new qualities. Only by way of realizing these qualities, by understanding, feeling, and controlling them, will we be able to look at the world through them. That is how I will gradually become a new person.

I will begin to feel that above the animate body with which I identify myself today, a certain equivalence with the Upper One becomes built inside me —a new form or Kli called “the human” in me, meaning “one who is similar to the Creator.” ("Adam," "man," comes from the word "Domeh," "similar"). This person will be riding on top of my “donkey” ("donkey," "Hamor," comes from the word "Homer," "matter"), on top of my previous desires. Thus, a person who has straddled a donkey understands and feels the Creator. But the donkey doesn’t!

This formation of the human in us takes place by virtue of the Light that reforms. It’s not that we desire this on our own, of course not! Our donkey (meaning we today) does not want the human to come! After all, the human will begin to rule over the donkey.

Meanwhile, the donkey wants to receive what it wants. That is why, naturally, today we do not desire the true spiritual state. The more we advance, the more we gradually begin to understand that the spiritual world is completely not what we expected and we no longer want it.

Further advancement is possible only by virtue of the influence of the group, which will imbue us with the importance of spiritual attainment. Only to this degree will we be able to advance, but we will not find the forces to do this in ourselves.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/16/11, Writings of Rabash

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The Point In The Heart Is The Trampoline For Leaping To The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanIf I don’t take forces from the group, then I will inevitably reach the state of total emptiness where I won’t have any forces to advance (and in general, I have to reach this state). That is, I won’t want to advance an inch closer to spirituality the way it appears to my egoistic desire.

Then I won’t know what to do. Should I leave everything behind and go home? But what will happen to me next? Thus, I find myself in a position like a car in idle, unable to force myself to move forward. But I also can’t move in reverse or make a turn to the side because no matter where I look, 360 degrees all around, I don’t see any way out.

A person can remain in this state for years! It continues until he finally begins to understand that the group is the only means, the source from which he can receive the force to “endure” spirituality. And when he receives this force from the group to tolerate bestowal, as well as the understanding that it’s important to go out to attack and conquer this spiritual state, then he begins to advance.

From here it becomes clear that only the connection with the environment opens up the opportunity for us to take a step forward. It’s similar to a seed in the soil that has to absorb all the salts and minerals from the soil in order to grow. The growth of the soul in this person later on will take place under the influence of the forces he received from the environment.

By himself, he has only a Reshimo (spiritual gene). He lived like a “donkey,” existing on the animate level, and then he attained the “neutral” state (like idle mode) where he did not want to keep advancing anymore. This means that his material, animate Kli has exhausted itself like a grain that decomposed in the soil, and from then on there was nothing more he could do.

That is when it becomes clear whether or not he had a point in the heart because now it becomes the only point that separated from the entire egoistic desire! Now it remains alone and a person does not want to advance forward with it. However, if he now attaches to this point the desires and impressions from the environment, the inspiration from the greatness of the goal, then he will be able to advance with that point. There is no other means.

That is why our entire soul is outside of us; it is in all the forces, thoughts, and values that we receive from the environment. All that remains of us is a tiny point, the only thing we have. This point is the means of connecting between our “donkey” (egoistic matter, desire) and the human in us. It is called “the point in the heart,” the drop of the spiritual seed.

Just like there are intermediate, transitional levels between all the levels: corals between the still and vegetative, the mythological “Kelev Sadeh” which is half plant and half animal, and the monkey between the animate and human degrees, so the point in the heart is the means or trampoline for jumping upwards, from man to the Creator!
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/11, Writings of Rabash

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What You Have Inside Is What You Get Outside

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we convey the idea of the global world to a child?

Answer: It is possible to give a clear example to older kids by bringing them to younger kids. For example, bring a group of ten-year-olds to a group of five-year-olds. After spending some time together they will see that the younger kids understand the world on a completely different level, completely differently.

We are all egoists and even if we grow up and get smarter, we are still in an egoistic system, which is the prism through which we look at the world. A five-year-old child sees the world according to his age. In the same way, according to our egoism we do not see the true world, but an egoistic one.

Therefore, when we call the world global and integral, we give these words an egoistic meaning. If “everyone is interconnected,” that means we have to use this situation for our benefit.

We do not understand that we have to change and create the same global and integral system within us. This means that out of all people and souls and all of the interconnections between them, I build the model of the whole world inside of me. I have to reflect the external world inside of me in order to maintain the right connection with it.

If the whole world outside of me lives by the altruistic law, if all of its parts are united for the sake of one goal, for the sake of the common harmony, then inside of me I must always be willing to include all the desires and souls, everything I am able to, according to the law of altruism. Through this system, which is my soul, I have to turn to the world.

Is it possible to make contact with the world by means of a dysfunctional instrument, not by the law of equivalence of form? In that case I don’t understand the world and it cannot get through to me.

Through these examples we can show children this principle: At every age we see the world differently, and likewise, in order to see a global, integral world, I must also be global and integral inside of me.

The science of Kabbalah brings us this correction. That is why it is being revealed in our days, and opposite to it, the global world is being revealed as well. It is necessary to disseminate this method which enables us to reach harmony with the modern world. Otherwise we will suffer.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/11

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Are We Really That Different?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How is it possible to unite the whole world if nations, countries, and religions are so different from each other in every way?

Answer: These are egoistic differences. When we unite spiritually they disappear and we all become as one man with one heart.

The earthly differences actually don’t separate us at all. One person likes to spice up his food with pepper and another one doesn’t. One person holds ceremonies this way and another person that way. This doesn’t make us different at all. On the contrary, that is exactly when we begin respecting one another.

Being dissimilar does not obstruct us from coming together spiritually. On the contrary, by uniting above our egoistic differences, we make them even more powerful and all of that power is aimed at spiritual unity.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/11

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Many Methods, Little Success

Dr. Michael LaitmanEducation is the most important thing. We see that this is rooted in nature: Even animals educate their young until they grow up. Education is even more crucial for human beings since they need time to get started in life and acquire skills necessary to live in the world.

People do not acquire this naturally, but do so through complicated systems which every generation constructs for itself. What separates man from animals is his need to gain knowledge. People need to seriously learn and educate themselves, and it takes a lot of time to do this.

We see that the primary difference between this generation and the previous ones is increased egoism. Respectively, we need to update our educational system for this part that has grown in man. This is our problem. We do not fully understand that we need to do.

We flawlessly accept the natural component. In reality, this, too, is no longer the case today, although until recently, mothers took care of small children and nurtured them. However, when it comes to artificial things which are meant to prepare a person to enter the world and help him find his place in society, regrettably, there are a countless number of methods. Everyone chooses whatever they want, and in the end none of them leads to success.

But it is specifically the area of education that nature has left to our discretion. Essentially, nothing is more important: A person will become what we make of him. And this is why it is so important to explain to the world the Kabbalistic view of this problem.
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From Lesson 3, Metzoke Dragot Convention 2/25/2011

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