Why Fashion is Going Out of Style
Posted on June 20th, 2018
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/13/18
People are getting tired of relating to each other based on appearance. So what will come next?
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/13/18
People are getting tired of relating to each other based on appearance. So what will come next?
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/17/18
Father’s role is to point at the goal of life and direct his children to a path that leads to it. Mother’s role is to cradle the children with warmth and support them all along the way. Father provides authority and confidence. Mother provides abundance and nourishment.
Their mutual complementarity is necessary for the natural and healthy development of every person in our world.
In the spiritual world too, there are two forces called “father” and “mother,” which develop the soul. Two forces through which the Creator presents himself to the created being, and develops the created being.
Father’s day is a great opportunity to learn more about the father’s role within the family unit >>>>>
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/15/18
The film The Social Network of the Third Reich produced by my students won a prize in the category of “Best Documentary” at the “Not far from Nazareth” festival.
You can watch the movie here (turn on English subtitles)>>>>>>
About the film: In June 1940, about a year before the German attack on the Soviet Union, an extraordinary newspaper called The Nation was published in Tel Aviv. The publisher was no less than the Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (“Baal HaSulam”). In his poignant articles he urged the Jewish people living within the borders of Israel at that time to unite – in order to prevent the terrible catastrophe that was approaching. The paper was his last attempt to promote the importance of uniting the nation.
Russian with English subtitles.
Filmed in Israel and Germany.
Genre: Documentary – December 2017
Director: Michael Rosenstein
Actors: Sasha (Israel) Demidov, Henry David, Yigal Reznik
Want to know more about the reason for the hatred of Jews and how can we solve this?
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/14/18
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off tonight with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia, starting a month of wins and losses, ending with a single team from a single country declared the world’s football champion.
Undoubtedly, it’s a month of sheer joy and excitement for many millions around the world, sitting in front of their plasma TVs with a beer in their hand. I remember when taking walks near Ramat Gan football stadium with my teacher, the Rabash, he used to say it’s a respectable place since it gives people a sense of joy and gratitude in life.
So for a month, the world cup adds a globally conscious atmosphere to humanity, helping all people across the globe feel somewhat connected, while they are all glued to their screens as one.
But outside the stadium and farther from the cameras, the dark side of this event goes rampant. Drugs, gambling, and mafia all play a role behind the scenes. Hostility, racism, and extreme violence among hooligans is also happening. And don’t forget the billions of dollars involved, along with advertisers, agents, politicians, and a lot of corruption.
Thus, just as the world cup brings humanity together, it also reflects all of humanity’s banes.
If we truly want this event to do good for humanity, the first thing to do is take the profit motive out it. For instance, by directing the proceeds toward social causes, such as helping the needy, medicine, or education.
But there’s also hostility built into the competition itself. They say it started in ancient Greece with the aim of connection between countries, but I don’t see that this is the goal it serves today.
Ideally, our sports should employ positive competition to foster a greater sense of unity in both players and spectators, through demonstrating connection and practicing collaboration. It should be a highly educational experience.
For instance, what if teams were given a ball and their goal was to keep it in the air, dynamically passing it between all players? What if the crowd was cheering to a collective global success, rather than the triumph of their nation over others?
If we went ahead and developed this new kind of sports, we’d score some major points for global unity as well.
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/14/18
“Will Trump be able to extend his deal-making skills to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and kick-start a dramatic change in the region? Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening. And once again, the reason has to do with nature itself.
3,800 years ago in ancient Babylon, a special “deal” was made at the cradle of human civilization. Representatives from the various groups, tribes and clans decided to come together and coexist under the principle of unity above all their differences.
It was nature’s way of planting the seed of unity for the entire human race. In other words, nature made a deal with them: making them a mini-model of global unity, which ultimately has to set an example for the world.”
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/13/18
The Trump-Kim summit generated a renewed sense of hope along with questions about the future. Will we witness a new and peaceful North Korea? Will Trump’s deal-making skills become instrumental in promoting world peace? And specifically among Israel analysts: Will Trump be able to make a deal to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Firstly, when major changes happen in international politics it’s not due to specific characters and personalities. It is the accumulation of various circumstances leading to an urgency for change. It’s part of how nature works.
As Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag writes, “the duration of every political phase is just the time it takes to unveil its shortcomings and evil. While discovering its faults, it makes way for a new phase, liberated from these failings. Thus, these impairments that appear in a situation and destroy it are the very forces of human evolution, as they raise humanity to a more corrected state.” (The Nation).
The newly improved relationship between the U.S. and North Korea is a positive step, and it sends a message to other countries that it’s worthwhile to relieve nuclear tension. Yet, I don’t consider it something that is bound to change the world dramatically. While North Korea has made a lot of noise, it is a secluded authoritarian regime whose global influence is very limited.
In regards to implications on Israel, I believe we will see some gradual changes happening. As the Trump-Kim relationship moves forward, we can also expect North Korea to stop the provision of weapons to countries like Iran and Syria.
So, will Trump be able to extend his deal-making skills to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and kick-start a dramatic change in the region? Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening. And once again, the reason has to do with nature itself.
3,800 years ago in ancient Babylon, a special “deal” was made at the cradle of human civilization. Representatives from the various groups, tribes and clans decided to come together and coexist under the principle of unity above all their differences.
It was nature’s way of planting the seed of unity for the entire human race. In other words, nature made a deal with them: making them a mini-model of global unity, which ultimately has to set an example for the world.
That group of representatives later became what we now refer to as “the people of Israel.” The deal is that they are like a central junction within the vast network of humanity, through which the influence of unity can spread to all nations, including Israel’s neighbors, whose actions depend on this influence the most.
Therefore, solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a different deal altogether. The only way to move from the current hostility into a state of friendship and coexistence, is when Israel generates the healing force of unity, first within itself and then onto the world.
And as with all natural processes, the accumulation of circumstances will eventually lead us to the urgency for change.
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 6/5/18
Buying clothes used to be a ritual. You go to the mall with friends, spend most of the time window shopping, try something on and debate whether it is the right one, stop for a cup of coffee, and perhaps buy some clothes on the way too.
Much more than matching a garment to a physique, it was about the social ritual and the fulfillment of an emotional need.
However, tech giants such as Amazon and Alibaba have sent their long virtual tentacles to revolutionize shopping for clothes as we know it, turning it into another swiping experience. Today, you just have to snap your fingers and the clothes of your choice, at the right size and color, are already making their way to your house.
By the end of last year, more than 1,875 fashion stores in the U.S. had announced closure, and about 10,000 more stores are projected to close this year – 53% more than the number of closures during the financial crisis of 2008.
And yet, the evolution of shopping is only a superficial layer of what is happening. We, as human beings, are evolving as well.
At the core of our evolution is the engine of human desire, which drives all our choices and preferences, including what clothes we wear. In general, we can divide all our desires to two groups: bodily desires such as food, sex, and shelter, and social desires, such as status, honor and power.
So what is the nature of our desire for clothing and fashion and how is it evolving?
On the one hand, clothing belongs to our bodily desires: we need clothes to keep our bodies warm and comfortable, for which our pajamas actually do a great service. But at the same time, our clothes are also our social calling card: There were times when only kings could have custom-tailored clothes, times when grandkids inherited their grandparents’ clothes, and don’t forget professional dress codes which stayed with us to this day.
Fashion transforms and adapts itself according to the evolution of human desire, and so it reflects the desires of society as a whole. And where is our desire headed these days? It is looking for a more inner fulfillment.
That is why it is becoming increasingly challenging for advertisers to sell us the illusion of unattainable beauty. They invest billions trying to market the idea that you are a class B member of society if you haven’t purchased the latest coveted brand. But this is beginning not to work as they are losing their grip on our desire.
Many millennials, for instance, are not buying into the story anymore. They prefer to wear something plain and comfy, reject labels and brands, and mostly want their apparel to be affordable. Likewise, the aspiration to wear expensive clothes from prestigious brands is fading all over the world.
Our desire is developing to a qualitatively new level. The fulfillment we look for is less apparent and more internal, less material and more spiritual. The younger generation may not know exactly what they’re looking for, but they’re beginning to sense that it’s not in their external appearance.
Driven by the qualitative development of human desire, new social norms and values are gradually forming. What used to be respected and prestigious yesterday is losing its value today. Thus, fashion as we know it today will eventually disappear. We will no longer strain ourselves to wear clothes that prioritize social acceptance over convenience. We will gradually find that our hearts are the center of attention, and that will become the new global fashion.
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/23/18
Now in Amsterdam: a spontaneous meeting with the Dutch group—are preparing together for a conference in Europe to be held at the end of June. Glad to have the opportunity to meet physically with my dear students. See you tomorrow evening in Israel!
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/17/18
Reception of the Torah is the reception of the light that connects our hearts as one.
From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 5/18/18
Happy Shavuot!
Shavuot has a special message to all of us. Like all Jewish holidays, it represents a state in our spiritual development. The state of Shavuot marks the point where we are given the Torah—the law of life. But we are given it only after we, the whole of the people of Israel, proclaim “with one voice” (Exodus 24:3) that we will do as the law dictates.
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