From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 10/21/18
We had our first Virtual Kabbalah Convention this weekend with participants from all over the world. Here are some numbers: there were 170 physical Bnei Baruch groups connected, 27 virtual groups connected (not including beginners), a total of 3,482 men and women from the Middle East to the Far East! Thank you all for being with us.
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 10/11/18
Hurricane Michael Devastation Only Tip of the Iceberg
Powerful Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle with terrifying winds of 155 mph Wednesday, splintering homes and submerging neighborhoods before continuing its destructive march inland across the Southeast. It was the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in nearly 50 years. (AP)
Nature has not gone crazy – we’ve gone crazy. Scientists have been warning us for many years but since we are not making any significant changes in our life, the situation will continue to escalate.
Former Vice President Al Gore warned that “time is running out” after the release of a U.N. special report that gives the world 12 years to head off climate calamity by radically transforming “all aspects of society.”
The conclusion from the report is simple: if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced by 2030, the Earth will be irreversibly damaged. You can also add blows from the rest of nature, such as tsunamis, floods, storms, fires, extreme cold and heat waves, melting glaciers, and more.
In order to understand the bleak situation we’re in, we need to understand the reason for what’s happening.
Earth Is a System of Forces That Must Maintain Balance
The natural system we live in is a system of forces operating at different levels of inanimate, vegetative, living and human beings. It is a closed, integral system, where even the most remote elements are completely interconnected. The relationship between the pieces is so interdependent that each part affects the entire system.
Think of our body as an example for a harmonious system. When any organ is out of balance, it throws the whole body out of balance and causes an illness. Physicians examine the balance across the systems in our body, and when they receive the test results, they diagnose the state of our body in relation to the norm. If certain parameters are too high or too low, it means that our body is not in good health.
Until the last fifty years or so, we lived in relative balance on Earth. In other words, this nice home that feeds and sustains us, was relatively “healthy.”
The illness emerged as we breached our balance with nature. We have been emitting carbon dioxide, polluting the oceans with non-biodegradable waste, fertilizing the soil with chemicals, feeding cattle and poultry with antibiotics, and the list goes on. The chemical and non-natural compounds don’t break down in the soil or the air, and ultimately we feed on them again and again. As a result, new diseases emerge within us and around us.
Why Earth Is Sick
As long as the human ego controls our actions, the situation will only get worse. Greed drives corporations to use toxic substances in agriculture and medicine, and the integrity of nature is the least of their priorities. Governments are subject to tycoons, and scientists conduct their research according to the interests of the heads of industry and commerce.
Thus, we’ve thrown the natural system out of balance, and as a result we witness “natural diseases.” Just like a person who shows symptoms that indicate he is on the way out of his health range, our planet is getting sick. The “physicians of nature,” the scientists who study the various climatic conditions, are noticing that we are facing a terrible outbreak of disease.
Even if it seems that the climate is wonderful in one region and stormy in the other, this is all temporary. The planet is round and the natural system is integral. Ultimately, just like a foot infection can gradually spread throughout the body, the diseases of nature will spread throughout the planet.
But instead of working towards balance with nature, we continue to work for the short term benefit of the rich and powerful. In turn, inequality and polarization grow within human society, and society as a whole grows increasingly out of balance with nature. As the gap continues to grow, the blows of nature will cost us a great deal of suffering, sickness and death. Just consider the amount of damage that one earthquake can cause.
The Human Ego Blocks the Healing Process
Ultimately, climate destabilization will force us to change our ways. We will have to become conscious and wary of our balance with nature, and our connection with each other inside this integral system.
In fact, this change should have happened from the middle of the twentieth century, as we began to be bound through global interdependence in commerce, industry, economics, media, and so forth. The human race should have begun to act in mutual responsibility. That is, to take care of the needs of all mankind, while maintaining balance with nature.
But the reality is that we cannot even deal with our global challenges and their rapid spread because our own ego stands in the way. The human ego doesn’t care about climate change and is ready to trample any agreement on its way to getting its hands on every single penny.
Therefore, it is the human ego that we must balance first if we are to reach any stable agreements between us. Treaties such as the “Kyoto Protocol” or the “Paris Agreement” only serve to show us the futility of any attempt to solve our problems without taking the human ego into account.
Balance with Nature Starts with Balance between Us
To change our fate on this planet, we must begin with harmonizing the connection between all human beings.
The world is a single creation, and even our psychology and our inner forces interact with nature in ways that we don’t see or understand. Our thoughts and our intentions have a lot to do with our balance with nature.
We’re at a unique point in human development, where everyone can begin to see the need for harmonious human connections on a global scale, and yet, we don’t have the power and method to make that happen.
This is why the wisdom of Kabbalah is being revealed today. Authentic Kabbalah is not a new or ancient religion, it’s not mysticism and it’s not a philosophy. Rather, it is an empirical method that teaches us how we can achieve balance with nature through activating our deep wiring for human connection.
Everything depends on the relationship between human beings. When we realize that and begin to consciously act on that, the whole system of nature will give us positive feedback. We will begin to sense that we are a global human family, and Earth is our only home.
Reuters images
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 10/8/18
Tragic Barkan Killing Bursts Bubble of Coexistence
The tragic killing in the Barkan industrial zone, where Kim Levengrond Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi were murdered, has left us with nothing except to embrace our grief. To embrace the lost children, the broken parents, the suffering siblings.
Along with the sorrow and pain, a dream has vanished. The bubble of coexistence between Jews and Arabs was shattered, and the illusion of life based on mutual respect and cooperation blew up in our faces. But was there ever coexistence between us to begin with?
True coexistence will occur only when the people of Israel are united. The Jewish people was created when Abraham gathered representatives from the various tribes and clans who lived in ancient Babylon, some 4,000 years ago. They were all strangers and very different from each other, but they preferred to maintain unity over the division.
Their efforts to connect with each other above all differences evoked a positive, powerful and connecting force from nature itself. It is only the discovery of this natural force that allowed the people of Israel to live in unity and coexistence. As Rav Kook writes: “the secret for the unity of the world lies within Israel.”
However, the unity was shattered and the people of Israel parted and dispersed throughout the world for two thousand years. Only when we reawaken the connecting force that lies between us will we rise above our egoistic nature and be able to live in coexistence – within our country, with our neighbors and with all the nations of the world.
Before we correct the human ego, we can sum up the talk of living in peace and coexistence as a naive aspiration and nothing more. Coexistence and connection between human beings requires the capacity to rise above the growing ego, not any temporary cooperation.
Human egoism will only grow and continue to complicate our lives. It is the natural course of human development. If we do not balance the ego, it will lead us to a bitter future. The horrific murder in Barkan is another eruption of the human ego, and unfortunately, will not be the last case.
The Barkan industrial zone will no longer be marketed as a symbol of peace in the chaos of the Samaria region. But if the people of Israel set the example of unity, Israel will become a symbol of peace within the chaos of the world. Then, we will not only live in coexistence, but in global coexistence. We will feel ourselves as one united people, and we will shine like a lighthouse to the world, fulfilling our duty to become a “light unto the nations.”
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 10/7/18
I’m happy to see that students of our online Kabbalah university came to Pocono Springs, Pennsylvania, for a “Spiritual Bootcamp” with their instructors, where they experience the power of connection in the most ideal conditions. Thank you to the delegation that made the trip from Israel, and thank you to all my students who have volunteered so much of their time to make this event so special.
The event site>>>>>>>>>
KabU Course>>>>>>>>>
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/29/18
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly was impressive. The rhetorical talent, the perfect English, and the ability to communicate complex messages all stand to his favor. As much as one may criticize him, he fulfills his role in representing the state of Israel in the world with great dedication.
And Bibi is not the only one who deserves credit. Behind him are mighty forces and brilliant minds who serve the Israeli intelligence and security, geniuses who turn Israel into a technological superpower, talented researchers and entrepreneurs who have brought about tremendous developments in the fields of water, agriculture, cyber, health and the list goes on.
But even when Netanyahu exposed the secret nuclear site in Tehran, the precision missile factories in Beirut, the fact that Iran never abandoned its nuclear weapons program, it did not leave the desired impression. The world is already beginning to take apart his outspoken revelations by claiming that the facilities contain documents and not missiles.
“I am the son of a historian,” Netanyahu declared during his UN speech, directing his words to European leaders who promised to give Iran more money. “I ask it not merely as historian’s son, as a Jew, as a citizen of the world, as someone who lived through the 20th century: Have these European leaders learned nothing from history? Will they ever wake up?”
With all due respect to history as represented by historians, there are also Kabbalists in mankind – a handful of people with spiritual attainment who see a deeper picture of reality.
The Kabbalists point to a clear trend in the attitude of the nations of the world toward Israel. They expect a wave of anti-Semitism to sweep all Jews around the world, hatred that will rise to new heights – both toward the Jews and the State of Israel.
When hatred gets out of proportion, no nation will need to justify its negative and hostile attitude towards Israel. Nations may even be proud of their despicable acts, just as it happened in the 1930s, and no leader will be able to lower the flames. Not even Trump.
Kabbalah is the only wisdom that explains the irrational hatred towards Jews. It describes the phenomenon of anti-Semitism as a law that stems from the nature of reality, and takes on a new face in every generation. Rather than trying to deny it, we have to learn how it serves the purpose of Creation.
According to Kabbalists, the Jewish people have a unique attribute, the potential to bring unity to all of mankind. Once they learn how to realize this potential, they will not only neutral anti-Semitism, but also enable the whole of humanity to rise above the human ego and discover a life of social harmony.
This was Abraham’s unprecedented discovery: when human beings make a common effort to build positive relationships above their inherent egotism, a new spiritual space opens up between them, where they can sense the wholeness and harmony of nature. This is the true meaning of “Love thy neighbor as thyself” and it is the essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah.
“Am Yisrael” – the people of Israel – started from a group of Kabbalists who gathered around Abraham in ancient Babylon some 4,000 years ago. They were, in fact, representatives of the various tribes and nations that existed back then. Therefore, the Jewish people acts like a central “hub” within humanity, designed to enable global unity across all of mankind.
Nature is a globally integrated system that binds together all people in total interdependence. The connections are hidden, yet they are stable and intricate. The phenomenon of anti-Semitism arises when the people of Israel fail to fulfill their role in the system – abandoning their unity, social solidarity, and positive connection. In this respect, it is sad to see that we haven’t learned our lesson from history.
A relationship of hatred among us, Jews, determines the hatred of the world toward us. Humanity does not hate Israel by choice. Even without their awareness, the hatred that erupts from the nations of the world is destined to motivate the Jews to realize their spiritual purpose.
Today’s Iran merely plays the leading role in the international anti-Israeli movement. Speech after speech, diagram after diagram, another discovery of a nuclear facility – and the world’s attitude toward Israel does not change.
Subconsciously, humanity expects us to be more than a technological superpower. They expect us to be a spiritual superpower, because when the people of Israel activate their spiritual unity, they enable a life of peace and happiness for everyone.
This is the kind of spirit that humanity is waiting for, along with a practical work plan to follow. Ultimately, only this action will generate waves of sympathy and affection among the nations toward Israel.
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/23/18
Prof. Eliezer Schweid, a contemporary scholar, on the work of Baal HaSulam – Rav Yehuda Ashlag.
For the fascinating story of Baal HaSulam’s life>>>>>>
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/20/18
“I find a great need to break an iron wall that has been separating us from the wisdom of Kabbalah,” wrote Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag a.k.a. Baal HaSulam (“Master of the Ladder”) for his Ladder commentary on The Book of Zohar.
Today, on the 64th anniversary of his demise, we pay our respects to one of the greatest Kabbalists in the history of mankind. A unique soul that descended to our world to bring us the wisdom of Kabbalah, and bring us closer to a life filled with joy, peace and unity.
Indeed, he was the first to interpret the entire Zohar and the writings of the Ari, the first to adapt the ancient wisdom to every person, the first to publish a Kabbalistic newspaper (The Nation) and spread it publicly. His deep concern for the fate of humanity pulsated in his heart, a concern that dictated the entire course of his life.
Read more about Baal HaSulam in our new archive >>
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/13/18
On a cold, rainy night in 1979, I could not sleep, my thoughts troubled me. Suddenly I found myself at the wheel, driving without direction. A large sign cut through my thoughts: “Bnei Brak.” I went in. The streets were deserted. At the corner of “Chazon Ish” Street I ran into a passerby. “Where do you study here?” I asked. He looked at me and answered, “Drive to the end of the street, where you will see an orchard. It’s on the other side of it.”
This is how I came to meet my teacher for the first time, Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag (the Rabash), the eldest son and successor of Baal HaSulam—the greatest Kabbalist of the twentieth century. From that moment on my life was never the same.
For the next twelve years I served as his personal assistant and disciple, and I absorbed from him everything that I know in the wisdom of Kabbalah. Every day he would lock himself up on the second floor and write. This is how his profound articles were born, which paved the way for anyone nowadays to carve the spiritual path most suited to them. No one before him had written in such a simple and practical manner. Like a father who guides his children along the path, he takes his readers by the hand and guides them until they discover the true meaning of life.
“And once I have acquired the clothing of love,” he wrote to his students at the end of the well-known letter “Love of Friends,” “Sparks of love promptly begin to shine within me.
“The heart begins to long to unite with my friends, and it seems to me that my eyes see my friends, my ears hear their voices, my mouth speaks to them, the hands embrace, the feet dance in a circle, in love and joy together with them…” (the Rabash).
After his departure in 1991, people who felt a burning desire in their hearts to reveal their purpose started coming together. Gradually, the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute was formed, named after Kabbalist Baruch Ashlag. Every morning we study the writings of the Kabbalists, such as The Study of the Ten Sefirot, The Zohar with the Sulam commentary and the writings of Baal HaSulam and the Rabash. We work to share the method with anyone interested, just as my teacher gave me the wisdom of his father.
This evening marks the 27th anniversary of the passing of my teacher, the Rabash, the greatest of the generation. I hope that we will succeed in following his path faithfully.
More about the life story of my teacher, The Rabash >>
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/12/18
North Carolina’s Governor Cooper says residents should plan to be without power for days, as Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall early Friday and bring life-threatening storm surge and rainfall to the Carolinas.
While electrical power may be unavailable, we have a greater power at hand that we should learn how to harness.
As I have been saying for many years, we live in a single, integrated system. It’s hard for us to recognize that all layers of nature are interconnected and interdependent. From earth’s plants and minerals to human thought and behavior, and everything in between.
Within the natural system, humans make for a highly qualitative element, and the way we relate to each other has impact on all the other layers of nature. It is an indirect, and intricate influence. But just as it’s hard for us to identify, so it is vital for nature’s balance.
We don’t fully understand how and why earth’s tectonic plates are shifting after millions of years, earth’s mantle incorporates volatile compounds from the atmosphere, and radiation is coming from the belly of the planet.
But if we saw the inner workings of nature’s system, we would see how much of it relies on human relations. We would see that nature’s law of balance and homeostasis must be kept on the human level as well.
The planet is awakening and working to bring us into balance with each other and with the rest of nature.
Read more in “Why Nature Will Always Win” >>
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/9/18
I wish all of us what we lack most, love and connection between us!
It has always saved our people, it is in our DNA. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is what we must realize between us for the entire world.
Happy Rosh HaShana!
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