Remark: Facebook recognizes its influence. This social network no longer denies that it can cause people to become dependent on it and spread false information. On its official blog, the company representatives confirmed that social networks directly affect democracy, and not in the best way.

My Comment: There is nothing to be done about it. They will continue to do it in every possible way. It is a very profitable business, which provides the most powerful way to influence the world.

Specialists in social technologies, in fact, program a person, determine his way of thinking, his feelings and views. It is impossible to resist them because we see only the tip of the iceberg.

While we do not want to be guided by the upper management, the program of our internal development, our own domestic “fate programmers” will cause us trouble again and again. Under their “keen guidance,” egoism will take power over all spheres of life and turn people into a herd. It already does.

There is only one solution: realizing the evil that lies within our nature. Then, we will “expose” ourselves to a different program that develops us, rather than “trains” us. In direct communication, with the help of Kabbalah, a person will discover a system of relationships that elevates him vertically upward into the upper world, above the surface of this network that will choke him to the last.
[226045]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 1/30/18

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In the News (Wired): “Twitter launched a new initiative Thursday to find out exactly what it means to be a healthy social network in 2018. The company, which has been plagued by a number of election-meddling, harassment, bot, and scam-related scandals since the 2016 presidential election, announced that it was looking to partner with outside experts to help ‘identify how we measure the health of Twitter.’ The company said it was looking to find new ways to fight abuse and spam, and to encourage ‘healthy’ debates and conversations.

“In a series of tweets, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged that his company didn’t ‘fully predict or understand the real-world negative consequences’ of how the platform was designed, like harassment, trolls, bots, and other forms of abuse. ‘We aren’t proud of how people have taken advantage of our service, or our inability to address it fast enough,’ he wrote.”

Question: This begs the question, what is a healthy social network?

Answer: I suppose that to give an answer to the question, it is first necessary to understand the significance of our development. Then it will be possible to evaluate scientific and social platforms according to the degree of benefit or harm they cause, relative to the attainment of the goal in the best way. Then the “diagnosis” of the social networks will be severe: “terminally ill.”

I understand the disappointment of the creators of the Internet with what people have done with their brainchild. The problem here is not about the Internet itself, but the ego that controls us. We must correct ourselves, not the Internet. Without correcting ourselves, nothing will help. People will bypass everything because the ego is what motivates them.

Twitter in particular and the Internet in general must begin to be involved with only one thing: re-education. It is necessary to fill the virtual space with what is useful for the development of positive mutual connections among people.

I am not an ascetic and I do not advocate restriction. However, people have stopped reading, stopped consuming normal information, have forgotten how to think, analyze, and empathize. In fact, they are unhappy, duped.

Today in the network where the majority are entangled, most engage with everything except what is most important—themselves! A person is captivated and mesmerized by the flickering screen and doesn’t desire anything higher, the next level.

It’s time to use the same system differently, for ascent, to benefit all people.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/13/18

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In the News (Project Syndicate): A Nobel Prize laureate in economics, Joseph Stiglitz, writes:

“I’ve been attending the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos, Switzerland – where the so-called global elite convenes to discuss the world’s problems – since 1995. Never have I come away more dispirited than I have this year. …

“The CEOs of Davos were euphoric this year about the return to growth, strong profits, and soaring executive compensation. Economists reminded them that this growth is not sustainable, and has never been inclusive; but such arguments have little impact in a world where materialism is king.

“So forget the platitudes about values that CEOs recite in the opening paragraphs of their speeches. They may lack the candor of Michael Douglas’s character in the 1987 movie Wall Street, but the message hasn’t changed: ‘Greed is good.’ What depresses me is that, though the message is obviously false, so many in power believe it to be true.”

My Comment: Contrary to Joseph Stiglitz, I do not feel depressed because I understand humanity’s egoism and from the start do not expect any good deeds from the economic elite. Moreover, I would wish them luck. Because the more they descend into their own greed, the quicker the world will see the truth and will finally become mature enough to apply the wisdom of Kabbalah.

The wisdom of Kabbalah says that we need to unite and demand the realization of the methodology for the correction of the world from the people of Israel. Even in ancient times the Egyptian Pharaoh understood that the Jews were running from him to true unity, to the ascent above egoism. This has to be understood by the nations today even more clearly.

The essence of the wisdom of Kabbalistic methodology, inherent in the people of Israel, is such: connect with one another to such an extent that egoism will no longer separate us or disturb us. Demonstrating this possibility to all, the Jews will fulfill that which the world awaits from them, even if unconsciously.

Having found themselves at a dead end, people will feel this. Humanity will begin to become aware that the solution to the problem is hidden in the people of Israel.

And everything else depends on how capable the people of Israel are of realizing the idea of unity within itself—then showing and presenting it to the world.

Today, the Jews are hated, without a clear understanding as to why. Instead of an inherent cause, reasons and excuses are offered for this hatred. Therefore, this hatred requires a correct orientation in consciousness so that everyone together gets down to business: on the one hand, those who aspire toward internal correction—the “people of Israel,” on the other hand, all others.

In reality, these two parts together solve one mutual problem. It is simply necessary to begin with someone and that’s why unity begins with those who are already ripe for it. And then, on a voluntary basis, based on desire, by way of positive example, wider circles connect to them.

In this manner, it is entirely unnecessary to drive the Jews out of their land; it’s not necessary to kill them. It is necessary to motivate them to create a strong, interwoven society, spreading the upper Light to the entire world.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman,” 2/13/18

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We live in a unique time, a time when we are given the chance to succeed. But there is no guarantee that we will actualize it. We were gifted this time in order to gain strength and understanding of where we are and what we need to do.

Baal HaSulam calls this “the time of open opportunities for liberation.”

We have been given this chance, and our entire work consists of trying to implement it and to bring into life all that is written in the Kabbalistic books. No one knows how this will result in the end. Baal HaSulam wrote about the existence of the danger that this chance will remain unrealized and that the State of Israel will fall apart. After all, there are very powerful forces against us.

The Creator has arranged these enemies for us, enemies who possess patience, power, great quantity and quality. We must understand that we need the power of the Creator to battle with them. If we understand this, then we will win. But if we do not, then the State of Israel has no future.

This is because the only condition for the existence of the State of Israel is our unity. Therefore, neither a military power nor America with Trump will help us—no other power, other than the power of our unity.

The only question lies in whether the nation of Israel is ready to hear this and when it will hear it. So far, it is only growing stronger in its pride and ever more distant from the truth, ever more distant from each other, and is ever more hated by all others.

The Jews are very proud of their material success, which has no connection to their inherent mission. The Israeli, European, and American Jews each have their own particular symptoms of the disease, but they are all still united by one thing: hatred of the nations surrounding them. Let us hope that this path will not bring us to a Holocaust similar to the one that already occurred in the past.

Time is running out, we have wasted much of it, and the nation of Israel still has not changed internally for the better; even to the contrary, it has become worse. We have no one to depend on other than ourselves and the Creator. It is a terrible problem when there is a possibility to achieve correction and complete our mission, but the people do not hear it. Only 70 years have passed since the Holocaust and its lessons have apparently already been forgotten.

We were given the opportunity to unite, to leave the countries where we were hated, and to begin together to discover the inner essence of the nation of Israel known to all, both religious and secular, about which it is written: “Love covers all transgressions.” But no one wants to accept this law; the opposite: separation and interpersonal conflict continue to grow stronger. We see that history teaches us nothing.

Only through dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah and attracting the Light that reforms can things be improved. The entire world is suffering and will continue to suffer even more.

We are all sliding down an inclined plane. Let us hope that with our participation in the correction, the pressure of the world on us will be relatively soft, but nonetheless will obligate us to unite.

If we do not awaken our inner Egyptians ourselves, if we do not feel that they are hiding within us, hindering our connection, then maybe the world will help us in this and will demand the methodology of connection.

At one time it was not so apparent, but today everyone understands that the unity created in the last 30 to 40 years is destroying the world. Initially, everyone was thrilled that society became global and integrated, thinking that this will bring us prosperity. But now, it is already clear that it is not so. Today real wars are already beginning: China, the US, etc.

This is an obvious sign that unity is not possible until the egoism is corrected. And until that happens, unity will always be harmful, as it is written: “Unity of sinners will bring harm to them and to the world.” In the end, it will bring tremendous wars.

Today, especially for the upcoming Holocaust Remembrance Day, the world is very much in need of such clarification (and the antidote).
[224648]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/18, Shamati article No.190, “Every Act Leaves an Imprint”

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Question: From what must humanity eventually despair?

Answer: From the fact that it wants to build a good life through egoistic attitudes. This is impossible. Humanity must despair of this and choose a completely different path.

Question: Does the Creator not want us to live well?

Answer: The Creator wants us to live well on the highest, eternal, and most perfect level.

Question: To do this, do you need to reach the lowest level? After all, in the past humanity somehow progressed with egoism.

Answer: Humanity progressed by developing the ego; therefore, it felt that it was growing and developing. Now, the ego has developed and reached its final state. Baal HaSulam clearly felt that this is the last generation, and today we are in a process of the disintegration of egoism. It is only a matter of time.

I hope that in 2018 we will discover the complete inadequacy of egoism and the necessity to rise above it, and we will choose a completely new source of existence—bestowal.

Question: Is this about inner awareness?

Answer: The world does not change at all. This was said even in the days of Maimonides. Only our mutual relationships change.

Question: Does this mean that we can live for 200 years and technologies will continue to develop?

Answer: Everything will change, but only as a result of good relations between us instead of the current selfish ones. Then we will see a completely new world. So, let’s direct our thoughts toward this together and see it in the new year!
[220491]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 12/24/17

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Remark: American and British scientists submitted an official report to the National Academy of Sciences of the United States that the Earth will become unfit for life by 2200-2400, regardless of the estimated decline in population growth by 2100.

Experts point to the danger of climate change, unavoidable due to the increase in energy consumption, which will continue even with the greenhouse gas emission reduction into the atmosphere. In addition, there are other global risks. (Kathmandu Tribune) Following in the same direction, Stephen Hawking has recently suggested finding a new home for humanity in space. (NBC News)

My Comment: The problem is that such projects are unrealistic. People are inextricably linked with this planet by an invisible “umbilical cord.” We are a single whole, we are intertwined with it with an infinite number of threads and we cannot function without it.

But let’s say, for example, that we moved to Mars. What happens next? We will pollute it or squeeze out all of its resources, just as we did with the Earth. And besides, we will face personal and social problems because having changed the place of residence, we would not have changed our nature. So, what will we do? Will we roam from planet to planet escaping ourselves? It won’t help.

We bring death around us because this is our nature. “Death” is the egoism that wants to devour everything. It enjoys that it destroys everything around. We will not survive on any planet. After all, we do not know how to take into account the global nature and its basic laws.

We take into account only what is beneficial and convenient for us. This very attitude is already destructive for the Earth because it poisons the common planetary system.

The negative charge of egoism is what really shakes the noosphere. Growing imbalances in society, among people, undermine the balance in everything. What is the future preparing for us? In the worst case, after going through the hardest suffering—up to nuclear winter and other anti-utopian “delights”—we will finally realize the need to get rid of egoism.

Then people will finally rise above their egoistic nature and correct this Earth, ceasing to pollute and ruin it in all kinds of ways. After all, the Earth has great regenerative potential. It can recover if people stop harming it and if they accept the laws of nature that establish interaction, harmony, and homeostasis.

In other words, having risen above egoism, we will be as if on another planet, which heals the wounds and relates to us benevolently. Then we would not have to go anywhere. We will find that if we give up self-love, then everything will serve our prosperity. And there is only one question left: Why not do it right now?
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 1/23/18

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Why was it beneficial for Pharaoh to raise Moses in his house? Just think, how much has the world gained from the Jews? The world owes its entire development to the Jews because the upper Light is conducted through them, through the quality of Bina to Malchut, bringing it everything: the start of all religions, beliefs, and knowledge.

Even the corporeal desires for food, sex, and family develop because the Light shines on them from above in addition to the animal level. And this is all because there is an intention to bestow, represented by Israel. Therefore, more Light keeps coming and develops desires. And the desire itself does not develop, it is dead like dust.

The only reason that a desire develops is for the sake of it reaching the next degree. And if all four stages have already been reached: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human, then further development can only come from above, through Israel.

This can be seen by the displacement of the Jewish people experienced in Europe as they were exiled from one country to the next. If not for this small group in our world that is somehow connected to the upper Light, the world would not have developed. Why would it? All the development is done for the sake of achieving bestowal, adhesion, and the end of correction.

And if there is no such group and no connection between the upper Light and Malchut, then Malchut does not develop. Therefore, the world blames the Jews for all its problems. It is the Jews that caused the world’s development that has now come to the end. The world is up against a wall, the global crises is unfolding, and the Jews are obviously going to be blamed for it.

The Jews are astounded by these accusations because they gave the world so much good, so many new inventions. But this is a misunderstanding of our role, because we are meant for something completely different.

It is similar to the story of the exile in Egypt. At first, the Jews brought a lot of benefit to Egypt, and then life went bad. These parts of Bina are supposed to start rising from Malchut and to elevate it to the next level of development. It is like a woman who is ready to give birth, but is unable to. Can you imagine what would happen to this child?
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/11/18, Lesson on the Topic: “Preparation for the Pesach,” Part 1

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In the News (Business Insider): “Bill Gates has funded genetic research into how to create the perfect cow — one that will produce more milk and be able to withstand temperatures beyond that of the average cow.”

My Comment: I think the problem is not in how much milk is produced, but how it is distributed and marketed. For example, Israel is first in the world in the production of milk, but milk here is by no means cheap, because the market is completely regulated.

There are many obstacles in the marketing of the milk, which includes dumping, customs, duties, monopolies, and so forth. They undermine any efforts of the “benefactors.” Because of the mutually corrupt relationships, humanity is unable to take care of anything useful and really effective for those in need.

Attempts have been made, but self-interest ruins everything and clings to everything. That is why, even if at some point super cows will produce four times more milk, it will not make it to its African and Asian addressees. As a last resort, it will be dumped so as not to knock down the market prices.

Before we invest in these kinds of projects, we need to invest in the connection of humanity. Without it, our good intentions are powerless.

It is unnecessary to invent something new if the appropriate conditions for it are not created first. By just saving the excess produce, which goes to the garbage dumps, we could provide for a large number of those who are starving. However, with our current economic and social relations, this is unrealistic.

Therefore, the problem is not in the production, but in the people. More specifically, in their dissociation and disregard for each other. By uniting, we will see how to utilize resources appropriately, which right now we actually have in abundance. If humanity becomes one family, it will find real ways to distribute produce and then it will be possible to think about production. Until then, milk, as all else, will disappear in the bottomless pit of our egoism.
[222321]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman,” 1/30/18

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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 3/23/18

Trump works to make good on his promise to improve the position of U.S. trade in the world economy. His next target is the World Trade Organization, which hinders U.S. business, especially in Mexico and Canada. But eventually, the main casualty in the war between the U.S. and WTO will be the EU.

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Six months ago in Mexico there was a devastating earthquake and another one recently. In times of such disasters, people become very sensitive and seek unity. A good connection between people can create a better atmosphere in society and thus affect nature.

Nature in general consists of four levels: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and people who are on the top of this pyramid. If people achieve even a small amount of positive connection, it has a very powerful effect on all of nature’s lower layers, especially on the inanimate level where earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and typhoons occur.

We just need to correct ourselves a little—our attitude toward each other to bring peace and harmony to human society, and this will have a huge impact on inanimate nature, the environment and the Earth we live on. We can soothe all the lower layers of nature under humanity.

Human society has a very strong influence on nature in general. Presently we speak a lot about the fact that we have destroyed the ecology so much that the changes are irreversible and that life on Earth will soon become impossible. Indeed, we will be unable to live on Earth and this will force us to change the relationships between us. Then, nature will return to the corrected state.

Nothing disappears without a trace; it is possible to bring nature back to life from almost zero: disappearing species of animals and plants, melting glaciers. Nature in its entirety will return to equilibrium as soon as we balance our relationships.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson “Questions And Answers”, 2/18/18

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