My new article on Linkedin “Virtual High Holidays and What They Mean”

Now that Covid-19 has imposed social distancing on us, many establishments that rely on physical attendance have a problem. Among them are shuls. According to a story on Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), “The pandemic’s first High Holiday season has synagogues wondering: Will people pay dues?” This is a very good question, and it remains to see how Jewish establishments such as synagogues and JCCs will cope with the absence of income from participants who come to attend services and activities.

If only those who can afford the hefty entry fees may pray to God inside the shul, and if only those who pray by “our prayer book” are allowed to join the service, and the rest are told to find their own kind, then we are an example of sinaat hinam (unfounded hatred), the very cause of our exile and dispersion. If we hate our brethren, we do not deserve to congregate.

But to me, the more interesting point is the message behind the prohibition to congregate. I think that any Jew who believes in God should ask, “What is God trying to tell us by not letting us congregate on the holiest day of the year? When have Jews not been able to congregate on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)? Probably only during the Holocaust and under totalitarian or antisemitic regimes. Does He not want our prayers? How can we atone for our sins if we can’t congregate for the Yom Kippur services?”

In my view, there is indeed a message here. We are unworthy of servicing God because we are untrue to the fundamental tenet of our Torah: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If only those who can afford the hefty entry fees may pray to God inside the shul, and if only those who pray by “our prayer book” are allowed to join the service, and the rest are told to find their own kind, then we are an example of sinaat hinam (unfounded hatred), the very cause of our exile and dispersion. If we hate our brethren, we do not deserve to congregate.

I think that this year is very special. This year, we truly have an opportunity to contemplate our Jewishness, to reflect on what it means to be a Jew, on why we were told to be “a light unto nations” and what this means. And I think we should start from the basics, from unity and mutual responsibility. Before we learn to recite from the prayer book, let’s learn to pray for one another, let’s be a role model of unity rather than an example of division.

Today is a time of tectonic changes. Judaism, too, will have to change. Unless we return to our core values of love of others and mutual responsibility, Judaism as we know it will vanish.

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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 8/26/20

In less than a month, we will be wishing one another Shanah Tova (have a good year), the Hebrew equivalent of Happy New Year. But the beginning of the Hebrew year is not only a time of joy. First and foremost, it is a time of reflection. This year, it seems especially pertinent to reflect on where we are, where we are going, and what we can do to make this year, and the years to follow, safer, happier, and better for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for all of humanity.

We, the people of Israel, are a unique phenomenon in the history of humanity. Similar to the United States, we came from all over, descendants of tribes and clans from all over the Fertile Crescent. At times, those tribes were enemies, at times they were but strangers. But unlike the United States, those fugitives united under Abraham, and under Moses, they abandoned their egos and pledged to be “as one man with one heart.” Only then did they become a nation.

And when our forefathers took that oath, they were also tasked with being “a light unto nations,” to spread their method for unity above hostility throughout the world, so all the people could become one, global nation. In one of final moments of greatness, our great teacher, Rabbi Akiva, left us with a legacy, the essence of our law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This, he said, is the whole Torah.

Since then, we have forgotten it. We have succumbed to hatred of our brethren, to disunity, wiliness, slander, and derision. We have proven to the world again and again that we do not merit being “a light unto nations” since we are not true to our legacy of unity above hostility, or as King Solomon put it, “Love will cover all crimes” (Prov, 10:12).

So come this High Holidays season, I wish for the people of Israel to be the people of Israel. In fact, I wish for the world that Israel will be Israel, since I know that when Israel are what they should be—united in mutual responsibility and loving their neighbors as themselves—the whole world will rise above disputes and animosities, and peace will rule the planet.

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Remark: The 9 of Av is the day of the destruction of the First and Second Temples. In practice, the Temples were built at the height of love for one’s neighbor.

My Comment: The destruction of the First and Second Temples was foreseen even before their construction.

Question: Then why were they built?

Answer: To make sure that they could not stand in the way they were built. Each Temple personified the unity of people. And since this unity was insufficient, the Temples collapsed.

Question: Why did they collapse ?

Answer: In order to create the Third Temple. This is the most important thing. We must build the Third Temple only by our requests and prayers because the Third Temple is built from such desires, intentions, and connections that a man is not able to implement. He can only ask.

Question: That is, the Third Temple will be built on the basis of the unity of the whole world. Two Temples were built by one nation. Should the Third Temple be built by the whole world?

Answer: Yes. That is why it is written: “My house will be called the house of prayer for all nations.”

Question: In order for a new Temple to rise, must the previous one be destroyed?

Answer: Definitely. Because precisely on the basis of the destruction of the Temples, when man understands why these Temples collapsed, he can correct his attitude toward the very concept of “the Temple” and build a new one.

Question: Do you feel now that the time is coming for the construction of the Third Temple?

Answer: I do feel it, but people still do not. They do not understand the necessity of it and, in general, what the Third Temple is.

Question: Will only love for one’s neighbor be the basis for it?

Answer: Yes.

Remark: In general, everyone talks about love for one’s neighbor.

My Comment: Everyone is just talking. There is absolutely no realization here! Where, in what nation have you seen unification? Moreover, unification not only within the nation itself but also with other peoples, the motivation for this. There is nothing! But there is nothing in our nation as well. It just has to start showing up.

Question: How will you feel the signs of its manifestation? Will it be a complete impasse, a complete collapse?

Answer: Yes. It will be from a complete impasse, complete disappointment with what we have now, and a movement toward unity as the only way out of our state.

Question: So, as you often say, should there be some kind of a universal cry?

Answer: Yes. A howl, a groan, in which there will be absolute despair because of the impossibility of reaching your predestination. Not just live. It does not matter—to live or to die. In the end, we all live and we all die.

There is nothing to it. A couple of years earlier or later—a man can get used to it and say: “That is it, I am leaving.”

But the groan comes from the fact that there is a huge opportunity to adhere to a completely new world that shows up in front of you. You begin to feel that you can rise to a different level of existence. It is not about life and death, but about the ideal.

Question: What is this ideal?

Answer: The ideal is the unity of absolutely everyone above hatred. Then all will feel it as one.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/27/20

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The 9th of Av symbolizes the destruction of the Temple, which occurred because of the unfounded hatred in the people of Israel. And we see that throughout history there have been and are some groups within the Jewish people who are at war with one another. This is the very same hatred.

The Jews are the people that Abraham gathered in Ancient Babylon when there was hatred between people. He taught that there is only one remedy against hatred: to rise to love above all hatred that had grown to the heavens like the tower of Babel.

Some of the inhabitants of Babylon followed Abraham and he took them from Babylon to Canaan, to the land of Israel. The rest remained in Babylon.

Abraham taught his disciples to live by the law of loving one’s neighbor as oneself. This main rule “love will cover all crimes” separated them from all other peoples of the world who remained in Babylon and then scattered throughout the Earth.

And those who followed Abraham were representatives of all nations, but they were able to unite together and become the people of Israel, which means “straight to the Creator” (Yashar-Kel), that is, straight to unity, to love one’s neighbor. They strived to get closer and become brothers, and to some extent they succeeded.

They had to go through the Egyptian exile, through many trials on their way, but it only strengthened them. They became closer and really became one people; they called themselves Israel (“straight to the Creator”) as a sign that they were striving for one power—the power of love.

But egoism does not calm down, it awakens again and confuses a person, so over time, various groups began to form in the people of Israel that opposed the method of Abraham. They wanted to live under capitalism so that everyone would do what they wanted instead of living as one community. Real wars and struggles began between them.

Throughout history, the people of Israel have been at war within themselves, and the reason is always the same: “for” or “against” unification. This was the case when the First Temple and the Second Temple were destroyed. All the downfalls were only because some groups called for uniting and covering all crimes with love, while others were against and did not agree.

This continues to this day. That is why the people of Israel have been subjected to exile, much suffering, and dislike by all the peoples of the world. After all, other peoples also came out of Ancient Babylon, only they forgot about it.

Today both Jews and the nations of the world are scattered throughout the Earth, and no one knows what love for one’s neighbor is. Since then, egoism has grown terribly in Jews and in the nations of the world. It is necessary to awaken the root cause in all to find out what is happening to the world, why the nations of the world still have grievances against the people of Israel, and what the mission of the people of Israel is. This needs to be explained to everyone.

Historians attribute the destruction of the First Temple to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and the Second Temple to the Roman Emperor Titus. However, Jews believe that the destruction was caused by conflicts within the people of Israel itself. And indeed, the reason for everything was unfounded hatred and disunity. By our resistance to unification, we caused the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

All our misfortunes are caused by the fact that we do not get along with one another and cannot achieve unity in the people of Israel.

Outwardly, it seems that the imperial troops and enemies are to blame for the destruction, but in fact, we ourselves, by the presence or absence of connection between us, set these empires for or against our existence and see the natural result. A foreign external force only executes the sentence, but we ourselves activate these forces within our own people. So we have no one to blame for our bitter fate but ourselves.

And today the same thing is happening: Persia (today’s Iran) and other Arab countries are against us, and all because there is no proper connection within us, and this creates a world of division and hatred among all.

Other nations may also have internal enmity, but there is no such hatred as there is in the people of Israel, because we hate the Jews within ourselves. The inner Jew is the desire that requires us to unite above our egoism and show the world that it is possible to live in peace, tranquility, and unity, and this will be the correction of the whole world.

This is what the Jew inside us says, but we do not want to listen to him. Only Kabbalists who study the science of Kabbalah, in which it is clearly spelled out in black and white for thousands of years, know that the Torah is based on its great rule: love for one’s neighbor as oneself. But no one wants to listen to them.

After all, unification sounds very beautiful in words, but as soon as people try to implement it, they become convinced that it is simply impossible and that it requires all of a person’s attention and one’s whole life. And people are not ready for this. This requires either a special integral education or very great suffering, which will make people give up their egoism and get closer to one another.

For more on this topic, read my books Like a Bundle of Reeds: why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord.

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From KabTV’s “Global Perspectives” 7/26/20

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Our connection must become ten complete Sefirot of the soul, or the Third Temple. The temple is a structure, a network of connections between us.

Today’s coronavirus epidemic reveals to us the breaking, the destruction of the Temple, the transgression. It shows how egoistic our relationships are and how unable we are to connect, how indifferent we are to what happens to our neighbor: whether he lives or dies.

This is the disease—I am sick because I cannot even get close to anyone who is around. The coronavirus reveals our hatred and rejection of each other. This is the disease. The crown is placed on our head as super-egoism that dominates us.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/29/20, “Tishaa BeAv (Ninth of Av)”

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There is fear that intense protests in Israel will end in violence and turn into civil war. But in fact, this war has been going on since we started returning to the land of Israel. After all, we are not corrected; therefore all our actions are very egoistic. Our egoism is evident in them so brightly that they turn out worse than those of all the nations of the world.

In the uncorrected state, we are the quintessence of all evil in the world, and in the corrected state, we will become the opposite, the quintessence of all good. And so it is written, that rising, Israel rises above the rest, and falling, falls below all. After all, we are an extract of the greatest desire to enjoy of all the nations of the world. This is why Israel stands out from all other nations.

Until people know what they really need to do, it will be impossible to calm them down. It is necessary to give them a method of correction so that they understand what needs to be corrected and what our mission assigned to us from above is.

If you do not give it to people, they will start killing each other. The inner flame will flare up so much that they will go out every day to beat or even kill each other, which was the case in the time of the Temple.

The main wars were not with the Greeks and Romans, but between the Jews themselves. And there is nothing new in today’s riots; it is again revealed what was two and three thousand years ago—the war of egoism that does not want to give way to anyone , until it reveals its insignificance and asks for correction.

Extinguishing the irritation and anger can only be done by revealing the true cause. Otherwise, it is impossible to ease the tension, hatred, and conflict of forces. They can be dimmed for a week or two, but in fact, nothing will change if all the cards are not revealed. And it is good that such a flame is burning inside people; it just needs to be directed and shaped correctly.

The riots and unrest that we see today on the streets of Israel are caused by the absence of a middle line, a lack of methodology, a program, an ideology that would connect different poles: the desire to receive of the creation, which is in contradiction with the desire to give of the Creator.

The two opposites must come to work together, to balance, to connect, to embrace, and to love. But there is no understanding among the people today that we need these two forces and only need to combine them correctly. And the right connection is possible if we have a goal in front of us, a guiding polar star to which we must precisely come together.

Let us move toward this goal together. These two opposing forces must find what they have in common. This means that both should rise above their egoism and find what unites them, only in this form. And this should be the case not only in Israel, but in the whole world. There is already unrest in America and then it will spread to all continents.

The polar star is the connection of all the forces of nature together in order to manifest one force that unfolds in the connection between us if we can unite over all differences. This force unfolding in us, gives us a sense of true reality instead of this material world. And then we begin to live in the upper world, called so according to our feelings, in a world that is eternal.

The blows received from the coronavirus will eventually cause all of humanity to bow, calm, and quiet down, realizing that there is an upper force at work here that will not allow us to do what we want, neither right or left. We will have to surrender to the influence of a third force from the higher degree.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/20

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The division took place in two stages, the First Temple and the Second Temple, until it reached its full measure. And now it is already possible to come to the construction of the Third Temple, that is, the state that we build on the basis of the past destruction and thereby achieve the correction of all reality, the whole world. This is the challenge we face today.

The 9th of Av symbolizes a special date on the calendar that reflects the spiritual root of the passed breakdowns: the collapse of the First Temple and the Second Temple. This division spread from top to bottom, and today we are at the very foot of this staircase, so the First Temple was higher than the Second.

The First Temple was at the level of the light of Chaya, very high, and the Second Temple was much lower, at the level of the light of Neshama. We had to go through this fall, the collapse of the First Temple and then the collapse of the Second Temple, to a complete loss of the spiritual. And this is so that today we can rise, correct these broken spiritual genes (Reshimot), and build the Third Temple.

Of course, we do not build it ourselves, but only clarify this state and raise the broken Reshimot, and then the light comes, which builds a spiritual vessel called the Third Temple.

Since the 9th of Av symbolizes the destruction of the Temple, this day is considered a day of mourning. But this does not mean that you have to sit and cry. First of all, we need to think in order to understand what is happening and why we have to grieve. This day comes in order for us to learn from it how to restore our house of holiness, our soul, in a corrected state, filled with the revelation of the Creator.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/29/20, “Tishaa BeAv (Ninth of Av)”

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The Third Temple will be corrected through our efforts. Obviously, we do not need to build it from wood and stone because it is impossible to build it in such a way on the degree of light of Yechida, which is complete perfection.

The Third Temple includes in itself all corrections. The First and Second Temple must be built and destroyed according to the upper program, according to the order of the degrees, which corresponds to the shattering of the “kings” in the world of Nekudim (shattering on the degree of Daat-Chesed-Gevurah-Tifferet corresponds to the First Temple, and on the degree of Tifferet-Netzach-Hod-Yesod-Malchut – to the Second Temple).

On their ruins, the Third Temple will rise, which can no longer be destroyed because it is positioned at the highest degree, at the level of the light of Yechida. This Temple exists only in spiritual form and it exists eternally.

Today we live in the period of the beginning of the construction of the Third Temple and are starting to lay its foundation. Therefore, our role is very important and elevated, and it is worth studying and understanding it in order to build a Temple that will unite all souls and all people.

All of humanity must unite with all their heart and soul in order to build this spiritual vessel (Kli) within their hearts, which is called the common “soul” or the Third Temple, which will never be destroyed.

The Third Temple is being built through our efforts, our prayer, and therefore, it is eternal; it is built from our desires. Therefore, the First and Second Temples were destroyed, and the Third Temple will stand forever because it is built from the desires and intentions of bestowal from the very bottom, that is, from the people themselves.

The First and Second Temples were destroyed according to the program of the cascading the worlds from above downward, that is, according to the shattering in the world of Nekudim. By this the shattering of the entire Partzuf ZON was completed. However, we are rebuilding it from scratch and to the very end in the world of Atzilut.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/29/20, “Tishaa BeAv (Ninth of Av)”

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My new article on Israel Hayom “Don’t overlook message of Tisha B’Av”

We should not be mourning the destruction of the Temple but rather the ruin of our unity, our brotherly love, and the abandonment of our task to unite as one and be a role model for the nations.

This Wednesday, July 29, will be the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, when the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were exiled from their land. Although historians attribute the exile to the commander of the Roman army Titus, Jewish sources pin the ruin and the exile on “sina’at hinam” (unfounded/baseless hatred), the hatred of the Jews for one another.

The Jewish people gained their nationhood when they united “as one man with one heart” at the foot of Mount Sinai. When they united and became a nation, they were also tasked with being “a light unto nations,” namely to make their unity an example to the rest of the nations, so they, too, would be able to unite.

The demand that Jews would be role models of unity has since become the kernel of all Jewish hatred, both emanating from other nations, as well as from Jews who resented the idea of unity and wanted to pursue individualistic (later to become Hellenistic) agendas.

Two thousand years ago, the hatred within the Jewish people became so fierce that they locked themselves inside their capital, Jerusalem – with the Roman legion camped outside the walls – slaughtered one another, burned each other’s food reservoirs, and made Titus’ work much easier when he finally decided to conquer the city and destroy the Temple.

The day when the Romans marched into the Temple and sealed the Jewish defeat was to become a day of mourning. But we should not mourn the destruction of the walls or the breaking of the altar. We should instead mourn the ruin of our unity, our brotherly love, the abandonment of our task to unite as one man with one heart, and be a role model for the nations.

When Hitler explained in Mein Kampf why he hates Jews, he expounded on his disgust with their dislike for one another. “The Jew is only united when a common danger forces him to be or a common booty entices him; if these two grounds are lacking, the qualities of the crassest egoism come into their own,” he wrote.

Numerous other antisemites wrote and spoke similarly about the Jewish people. They would not dedicate such attention to Jewish hatred of each other if they did not expect Jews to feel otherwise toward their brethren.

These days, once again, division and internal hatred are rampant, both in Israel and outside of it. Jewish anti-Jewish groups and individuals once again decry with righteous indignation that only their way and views are right, that Jews with other views are ignorant and inferior. They do not realize that winning the nations’ hearts, for which they so desperately yearn, depends not on their ideology, but on their unity precisely with those brethren they hate.

From the perspective of the world, nothing has changed. We are still tasked with being a light unto nations by setting an example of unity, and we are still hated for showing the opposite. Vasily Shulgin, a senior member of the Russian Parliament before the 1917 revolution and an avid self-proclaimed anti-semite wrote in his book What We Don’t Like about Them: “Jews in the 20th century have become very smart, effective, and vigorous at exploiting other people’s ideas. However,” he protested, “this is not an occupation for teachers and prophets, not the role of guides of the blind, not the role of carriers of the lame.”

Deep inside, every Jew feels indebted to the world. Deep inside, we feel the call of our vocation. But we will never live up to our task by hating one another. We will do so only if we show the world that above our fierce disagreements, we love each other like family. Although we cannot agree on anything, we form a union that is stronger than any dispute.

The divisions between us are the vehicle through which we can show the world what unity means, but only if we rise to the challenge and unite above them. If we do so, the world will see that unity is possible however deep the chasm between people and nations. If we keep avoiding unity, the world will keep blaming us for spreading division and will make us pay for its suffering.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the spiritual meaning of Tisha B’Av?“

Our world is governed by two forces, positive and negative, and we humans exist between these forces. In spirituality, the root of the negative force is called “Tisha B’Av” (“the 9th of Av“).

Even as far back as in ancient Babylon, the negative force always reveals around this special date. Whether it be the sin of the spies, the ruin of the First Temple, the exile of Babylon, the ruin of the Second Temple at Tisha B’Av, and the expulsion of Jews from the Land of Israel, or afterward from Spain, Germany and England, the people of Israel execute major sins and also receive punishments on Tisha B’Av.

Why do such sins and punishments take place?

It is all because we fail to bring the positive force in advance of the negative force that reveals at Tisha B’Av.

The First Temple was ruined due to our lack of connection, and the Second Temple was ruined due to unfounded hatred.

In each case, we encounter a shattering due to our growing distance from each other, which unleashes the negative force among our relations.

As Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) writes:

“As the natural death of the individual results from disharmony among one’s organs, the nation’s natural decline results from some obstruction that occurred among its organs, as our sages testified (Tosfot, Baba Metzia, Chapter Two), ‘Jerusalem was ruined only because of unfounded hatred that existed in that generation.’ At that time, the nation was plagued and died, and its organs were scattered to every direction.” (Yehuda Ashlag, “The Nation.”)

On the contrary, our unity has the power to block the negative force from entering into our relations, and in its place, our unity lets the positive force shine through our connections, bringing about peace and harmony.

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