Question: Why do we fast on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)?

Answer: On Yom Kippur we limit ourselves with five kinds of restrictions, not only for eating. All the restrictions apply to the reception of pleasure, but we then want to bestow and not receive.

Yom Kippur symbolizes our willingness to carry out our mission and the same restrictions that we are ready to make to unite among ourselves and unite the whole world.

In this manner we discover our uncorrected egoistic desires. After we have examined them, repenting and regretting them during the Ten Days of Repentance, from the beginning of Rosh HaShanah until Yom Kippur, we clarify how much these desires are uncorrected. So we promise to correct ourselves, but the final correction happens on Purim.

From Yom Kippur until Chanukah we correct our desires of bestowal, meaning the first and easiest part of our ego. And so this holiday is called, “Chanu-Kah” (camp here), meaning an interruption, a rest.

From Chanukah until Purim we correct the greater desires. Purim corresponds to Yom Kippur (“Ki-pur” means “Like Purim”). This means that on Yom Kippur we are already preparing ourselves for Purim, for the full correction of our ego, of our entire evil nature, until it is impossible to discern any evil.

So on the Purim holiday we act completely opposite compared to Yom Kippur: unlimited drinking and eating.

But on Yom Kippur our desires are not yet corrected, and we can not be allowed to use. We cannot be happy, cannot eat, cannot drink, cannot fulfill ourselves. This is because all of our fulfillments are egoistic, with thoughts only about ourselves.

But if we gradually correct our desires, then we are freed from limitations and reach a state where everything is allowed for us! This is what the Purim holiday symbolizes, the completion of correction.

We must reach this state through connecting with others. So on Purim it is customary to send gifts to each other, something that testifies to our correction and readiness to relate well with everyone.

It follows that Yom Kippur is the starting point of the process of correction in the relationships between people. And the story of the prophet Jonah teaches about the obligation of the people of Israel, besides personal correction, to bring all the nations of the world to unity.

It is not worthwhile to rely on the possibility of fasting one day per year and through this erase all of our sins and iniquities that we committed throughout the year. It is said that the crimes against others are not forgiven on Yom Kippur if the injured person doesn’t forgive us.

We are all egoists and think only about how to do as much good as possible for ourselves; on account of this, we exploit the whole world that surrounds us; we want to profit and receive from everyone. Only fear of punishment somehow forces us to balance what we receive with those around us. But deep in the soul, we are completely indifferent to them and the whole world could burn, the main thing is concern about ourselves.

And we need to transform this attitude into an opposite attitude, so that we will connect and unite with everyone and things will be better for everyone. Only then will the upper force, the Creator, dwell among us and spread a canopy of peace over us.
[167227]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 9/20/15

Related Material:
In The Cycle Of The Holidays
Five Prohibitions Of Using The Ego
Judging Yourself

Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Nations of the World - No Comments →

Israel must bring the entire world to correction and the story of the prophet Jonah, which we read on Yom Kippur, suggests this very clearly.

The right to read this story during the ceremony is generally bought at a great sum of money. The richest people compete for the right to read it in front of everyone else; this is the climactic point of Yom Kippur.

People believe that this assures great success to a person for the whole year. They treat this like a simple tradition, without thinking about what is being said in this story.

The prophet Jonah receives a mission from the Creator to go to the sinful city of Nineveh and correct its inhabitants. Jonah the Jew doesn’t want to carry out this mission and bring about peace between the peoples of the world. He tries to flee and embarks on a ship that is about to set sail.

Jonah sleeps in the belly of the ship, showing that nothing concerns him. See how this story is symbolic; it teaches about the present situation of the people of Israel. And so the storm comes, the waves rise and threaten to sink the ship. The sailors draw lots to find out who is to blame for this storm, and the lot falls on Jonah. This is very much the way the nations of the world blame Israel today for all their problems.

Jonah acknowledges that he is to blame for everything, and agrees to be thrown overboard. In the sea he is swallowed by a great fish and remains in its belly for three days. During this time he expresses regret and understands that he is obligated to go to the sinful city of Nineveh and bring its inhabitants back to repentance.

So the fish released him on the beach directly on the way to the city of Nineveh. Jonah goes to the city and convinces its inhabitants to become good people. Then the Creator is revealed to Jonah and tells him that He could not abandon His plan to correct the whole world, for all the nations of the world are very precious to Him. And that is how this story ends happily.

See what kind of a story they give to us for the holiest day of the year, a day in which we must clarify and evaluate our condition, our work and actions throughout the past year, throughout all of our lives.

This speaks about relationships between people. All of the people of Israel must take upon themselves the role and the mission of the prophet Jonah and carry it out, not only to unite among themselves, but to bring the entire world to correction. And according to tradition, we pay a lot of money for this honorable right!

People assume that this action brings great success, and this is truly so, but to be truthful, it is not in the same sense that is commonly believed. If the people of Israel were to unite and bring the whole world to unity, we would expect great success.
[167186]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 9/20/15

Related Material:
How To Be Saved From A Stormy Sea
There Is No Escaping Our Mission
A Special Silence During The Day of Atonement

Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World - No Comments →

Yom Kippur symbolizes the beginning of the correction of the relations between people. It is common to ask for everyone’s forgiveness before Yom Kippur. This is how we show our desire to connect and unite with everyone, and this means we are ready to be judged.

A person is actually judged according to his willingness and his readiness to connect and unite with others. After all, the goal of creation is to unite and connect all the people back as one man in one heart.

Question: I don’t think we have many chances of being acquitted in this trial. Judging by the news, the state of the Israeli society is getting worse every day.

Answer: All the problems the world is undergoing, and especially the nation of Israel, are a direct outcome of our separation.

Question: Are all our sins forgiven on Yom Kippur, as if the counter is reset?

Answer: We can indeed reset the counter of our sins if we stretch out a friendly hand to one another. If the nation of Israel is ready to unite like brothers and open its heart, we will heal all the problems, become the most respectable nation in the world, and attain absolute security and wellbeing. Everything that happens depends only on our connection and unity.

In the connection between us we discover the upper force of nature, which exists in a concealed form among us. The moment we wish to bring our hearts closer together, we discover the Creator among us.

Yet we mustn’t think only about ourselves, but also must help the whole world unite because the Creator wants everyone to know Him, from the smallest to the greatest. This connection depends on the unity of the Israeli nation, but it has to spread throughout the world.

Therefore, we see the problems the world is undergoing and the rope tightening around Israel more and more. European leaders are already beginning to blame Israel that Europe is flooded with immigrants from Syria.

It would seem that Israel has nothing to do with these immigrants, but we are still being mentioned in this context. Therefore, we should understand that if we do not unite, the problems will increase on all sides, both internally and externally.
[167133]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 9/20/15

Related Material:
It Is Impossible To Hide From People
Judging Yourself
Who Is To Blame For The Sin Of Adam?

Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World - No Comments →

Question: What does it mean to connect to other people? What stands in my way of doing so and which force can correct this evil in me?

Answer: According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, our biological bodies will remain corporeal and will continue to exist like all the other animals. But there is another essence in a human being, a human entity, the beginning of a soul. There is a tiny part of that soul in each of us.

This human part in us is our inner world, our psychology, our desires and thoughts, that have nothing to do with our corporeal existence but are above the body. It is our desire to discover what life is, what is the goal of life, and why we came into this world, that is, to respond to all these “childish” questions.

If we begin to distinguish the human parts in us and to connect them with one another, we will put together the system called “first man,” Adam. This interconnected system existed in the past, but then it was shattered into many pieces, which we call the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, and now we have to put it together again.

If we reconstruct this system together and begin to study it, we will understand how it works. When we see the complex web of connections between us, we will understand the plan of creation and its purpose. When we begin to care more about our souls and not about our physical existence, we ascend above our bodies in our feeling, our understanding, and our consciousness. Thus, we build our general soul and feel the new reality, the upper world, the Garden of Eden, in it. This is the goal, and instead of living in a body that belongs to the animate level and lives like an animal, we rise to the level of “first man,” Adam.

If we connect all our human parts, we will feel a human life that is totally different from our previous life. When we lead a human life, we cease to depend on our bodies. The body can die, but the human being will continue to live on a new level.

The goal of our existence is to raise us from the corporeal level to the human level, and this is the difference between this world and the next world.
[166009]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 8/30/15

Related Material:
Don’t Correct, Unite!
A Patent For Love And Peace At Home
The Heart Of The Nation

Filed under: Adam-The Common Soul, Body and Soul, Holidays - No Comments →

The Torah, “Leviticus,” 23:39: But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Lord for a seven day period; the first day shall be a rest day, and the eighth day shall be a rest day.

On the tenth of the seventh month we celebrate Yom Kippur and Sukkot begins five days later.

“Leviticus,” 23:40 – 23:42: And you shall take for yourselves on the first day, the fruit of the hadar tree, date palm fronds, a branch of a braided tree, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for a seven day period. And you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. [It is] an eternal statute throughout your generations [that] you celebrate it in the seventh month. For a seven day period you shall live in booths. Every resident among the Israelites shall live in booths…

All of the plants that are specified in the verse symbolize special characteristics that a person must attain to fully assemble his spiritual Kli to discover the Creator on the last day of the Sukkot holiday. The spiritual Kli is composed of seven parts: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. Each one of them matches a particular type of plant: Hesed, Gevura and Tifferet are three branches of myrtle; Netzach and Hod are two willow branches, Yesod is a Lulav (palm frond) and Malchut is an Etrog (citron). When we unite all of these plants together, they embody the corrected states of the seven parts of our soul. So we keep them throughout the festival in a Sukkah, symbolizing the Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) which corrects us.

In other words, if a person gathers all of these characteristics within himself and can already ask for their complete correction and raise the blessings, then the Ohr Makif bestows to him. Certainly this is the result of his inner work and not the physical work. In this manner, throughout the seven days, seven purified Lights enter into him in order, correcting and preparing him for the eighth last day when he leaves the Sukkah. Then the Torah holiday begins, happiness and joy for the soul with the help of the Light called “Torah” finally receives its corrected state.

Generally during the holidays people perform specific mechanical actions. But they all have profound inner meanings and we must at least try to somehow get closer to this understanding.

All of the external symptoms in our world are a result of the actions of powerful spiritual. Anyone can invite them into himself and with their help rise from our world to the upper world, as an automatically rising platform. It commands all the properties we see, hear, and feel in this world.

We live within the beastly physical body; through it we feel ourselves and see only the physical world. But the Torah tells us how to move out of this state that limits us into an image called Adam (Man) and live within it.
[166941]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/18/15

Related Material:
Sukkot: Adhesion With A Single “Embrace”
The More Impenetrable The Darkness, The Brighter The Light
More Shade Than Light

Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work, Torah - No Comments →

The Torah, “Leviticus,” 23:33 – 23:36: And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work.

Seven days ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD; it is a day of solemn assembly; ye shall do no manner of servile work.

The Sukkot holiday continues for seven days; in each one of them an ascent is carried out to the spiritual levels of Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut.

And on the eighth day a special gathering happens when a person receives filling by the Light of Hassadim (Mercy), the light of love, friendship, happiness, compassion, partnership, and mercy. This is called “embracing from the right side,” as it is said: “His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me” (Song of Songs 8:3).

This means that Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are “His left hand should be under my head,” and Sukkot is “and his right hand should embrace me.” And on the last day, on the eighth day of the Sukkot holiday, a partial coupling of the male and female parts of the Kli happens.

At this time, the desire of the person transmits illumination through the Upper Light, and so throughout all the days of the festival, the revelation of the greatness of the Light of Hassadim and great adhesion of the male and female parts of the desire to “embrace” one are expected.

So every day of the festival of Sukkot is important, those that are spent in a Sukkah that is specially built under the dome of heaven where a sacred gathering and feast are arranged.

A person who is in a Sukkah for seven days seemingly receives all the corrected Ohrot Ha Makifim (Surrounding Lights), filling and pushing him toward discovery, connection, and contact with the Creator.

And this happens on the eighth day upon leaving the Sukkah, so the eighth day is called Simcha Torah. Torah is the Light that corrects the person and fills him with happiness.

Comment: It is thought that every evening members of the Ushpizin (guests), visitors, arrive at the Sukkah according to the order: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David.

Answer: All of these visitors symbolize the Lights of correction in seven spiritual levels. They are not historical figures but spiritual states. Each one of the levels possesses a unique character, and only when a person passes through them, meaning that he corrects himself in seven different states, does he become ready for the revelation of the Creator.
[166914]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/18/15

Related Material:
The More Impenetrable The Darkness, The Brighter The Light
More Shade Than Light
The Days Of Spiritual Ascent

Filed under: Holidays, Spiritual Work, Torah - No Comments →

Question: The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is the most special of days in Israel, when complete silence is established: stores close and mass media and transportation stop. There is no other example like this in the world.

There is consensus among the people of Israel about this day: according to surveys conducted in the past year, about 60% of Israelis fast on Yom Kippur.

There is a very special atmosphere on this day. Why is it treated with so much respect in Israel? Why do Israelis honor the quietness and the possibility to ponder and scrutinize the soul on this day? How do we use this day with a deeper meaning so that it affects the whole year to come?

Answer: Yom Kippur is a special day, not because there is special weather or special forces are activated, which people don’t feel anyway. People, with our special attitude to this day, make it so special. It does not descend onto us this way from above.

If the calendar didn’t indicate when Yom Kippur is to occur, we would not feel it. But when we all hold this day in such great esteem, it becomes special.

Once I happened to be in Manhattan on the day of Rosh HaShana. Another time I was in the Czech Republic on Purim, and even in the Jewish neighborhoods I did not feel the kind of holiday mood that one feels on the streets of Israel.

The “Day of Atonement” (Yom Kippur) is a time for inner spiritual calculation, reflection, and a special attitude. One feels that it has to do with his soul. Everyone tries to be a little better, softer, and calmer on this day, depending on his ability and upbringing.

Even those who do not fast, still consider this a special day. The Day of Atonement pertains to each of us and forces us to perform our individual calculation by scrutinizing one’s soul. But one cannot do this alone—only together. I cannot judge myself according to the upper force, the Creator.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Judgment on yourself, following a repentance after the beginning of the new year. During the new year we decide to realize our potential in life and figure out during the year how to do that and come closer to this goal. One reveals that there is an upper force, which controls our whole world, a general force of nature, which has a precise plan and program.

Therefore, this force created us and develops us now. We are in a net of nature’s laws that bind us from all sides. We fail to understand to what extent we are controlled from above, like babies who don’t even suspect that there are companies producing their formula and all the other necessities. A baby is unfamiliar with this world; he just knows that he needs to scream and mommy will come and do everything for him. That’s all he knows how to do.

Similarly, we only know a tiny world around us on this earth, and that’s it. We don’t even suspect that there is a great system of forces, preparing us and taking care to eventually lead us to a certain forethought state.

All that is hidden from us. However, the science of Kabbalah explains this process and the upper force that controls it to us. We must reveal this upper force on our own and bring it out of concealment in order to broaden our world.

We need to cancel the boundaries of the capsule within which we exist and see all the worlds together, as it is written, “You will see your world during this life.” In fact, this is our purpose and our realization as human beings in this world.

We must reveal the whole eternal and perfect world, where the Garden of Eden exists, instead of just this tiny, transient, and insignificant world full of suffering. And we will reveal that Eden due to opening ourselves up to a great external world.

The science of Kabbalah teaches us that a person needs to rise above his egoistic nature and connect with other people by removing the boundaries between us. In this manner we also remove the boundaries between our world and the upper, external, and eternal world.

Everything depends on canceling our self-love and turning to others. If I begin to treat others like myself, I will thereby eliminate all boundaries and begin to see beyond the boundaries of my usual circle. It is not easy and we need to learn this, but Kabbalists achieved this state in previous generations and came out into the external world.

Kabbalah says that we have to realize this goal.
[166775]
From KabTV’s “New Life” 9/17/15

Related Material:
How One Develops The Sixth Sense
A Taste That Cannot Be Compared To Anything In This World
Repentance

Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Nations of the World - No Comments →

The Torah, “Leviticus”, 23:29 – 23:32: For any person who will not be afflicted on that very day, shall be cut off from its people. And any person who performs any work on that very day I will destroy that person from amidst its people. You shall not perform any work. [This is] an eternal statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It is a complete day of rest for you, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth of the month in the evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe your rest day.

Because the day begins in the evening, the Torah commands us to observe Yom Kippur by resting from one evening to the next. If a person comes close to a state of atonement and forgiveness, clarifies, and feels it correctly, he totally refuses to do anything on that day because all his actions will stem from his finite ego. A person who has not yet decided and tries to do something hinders his advancement and corrupts his soul.

Therefore it says: For any person who will not be afflicted on that very day [Yom Kippur], shall be cut off from its people, because the desire with which a person could have begun his ascent is gone and is concealed from him. Only if he performs many different actions will he be able to get another chance to feel and understand it. These actions help him return to the same state, but with a different clarification that is deeper, more correct, and helps him go through this state properly. But he prolongs his path this way.
[166792]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 18/6/14

Related Material:
Yom Kippur
The Sabbath
The Day Of Atonement

Filed under: Holidays, Inner Work, Spiritual Work, Torah - No Comments →

Secret to a Successul Year

Have you ever asked yourself why you fast? Why you go to the synagogue on Yom Kippur? Why you wear white? Why you ask for the forgiveness of a friend you have wronged? To be honest with ourselves, the reason is that on Yom Kippur we all want to be “not guilty” at least in something.

Those who are well-off even compete as to the sum they pay for the right to read the Book of Jonah in public, a well known merit for wealth and success in business in the following year. But do they understand what they pay for?

Jonah’s story begins with a mission that he receives from God to warn the people of Nineveh that they should repent and change the unfounded hatred they feel towards one another to brotherly love. Today, the nation of Israel also has a mission, just like Jonah, that we cannot run away from. It is the same mission we have had since the days of Babylon, since the time Abraham united us on the basis of love of others, so that our unity will be an example for the whole world. Fulfilling this role is our right to exist.

We have experienced how this law of nature operates throughout history: when we are united, we prosper and the world prospers too. When we fall to unfounded hatred we suffer from blows and the world deteriorates. We have failed to establish the connection between us to such an extent that we don’t believe we can ever establish good relations among us. We are filled with aversion when we hear about our mission of being Light unto the nations. We have forgotten our mission and when we escape from it, the storm comes.

The Storm
Jonah runs away from his mission and escapes to a ship sailing overseas. His escape causes a storm, and the sailors understand that the reason for their suffering is the Jew who is on board their ship. It doesn’t take long before they throw him overboard.

In the modern global world, the nations of the world also blame us for every crisis there is. The fate of the Israeli nation is inevitable. The sailors in the story change each time but our fate is the same. If we don’t wake up and agree to fulfill our mission, the time will come and we will be thrown into the sea.

The Agreement
Jonah is thrown to the bottom of the sea and is swallowed by a whale. When he completes his soul searching he agrees to fulfill the mission he has been given and only then does the fish brings him to a safe shore, to Nineveh.

Just like Jonah, we too carry the method for connection. This national gene binds us into one nation and we cannot escape it. When we connect, we will set an example of unity for all the other nations. The only question is whether we will fulfill the responsibility that we have or whether, God forbid, we will be thrown into the depths of the sea so that we will agree to fulfill our role.

Light Unto the Nations

Our role is to turn the unfounded hatred we feel into love of one another. But instead of being Light unto the nations ,we do everything in our power to be like all the other nations. The steamroller of evolution, however, is making more and more people and countries feel subconsciously that the Jews are responsible for all the impending troubles, so the nations of the world will not change their attitude towards us for the better unless we fulfill our obligation.

Yom Kippur, which is a time of deep soul searching, is an opportunity to accept our mission and to decide to connect and become the Light unto the nations. Only then will the global turmoil around us calm down and all of humanity will reach peace and quiet and a Sukkah of peace will be spread over all of us.

A happy new year and may you all be signed and sealed in the book of life.
From Dr. Laitman’s Column in Ynet  9/18/15

Related Material:
General Intention For The New Year
Adam Was The First To Break The Ceiling Of This World
New Year, New Horizons

Filed under: Holidays - No Comments →

The Torah, “Leviticus”, 23:26 – 23:28: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: But on the tenth of this seventh month, it is a day of atonement, it shall be a holy occasion for you; you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer up a fire offering to the Lord. You shall not perform any work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement, for you to gain atonement before the Lord, your God.

The counting of the months in the spiritual work begins in Pesach (Passover). The seventh month from Pesach correlates to Malchut, to the seventh Sefira that comes after Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod. The tenth and last Sefira in Malchut (Malchut of Malchut), which symbolizes the tenth day of the month, is Yom Kippur, when a person comes to the lowest point of his nature and raises his prayer from it. This means that a person reaches a state that isn’t in his power to correct by himself, so he simply detaches himself and does whatever is in his power to raise a request for correction.

Yom Kippur is a holiday. It is a day of joy, when I have something to turn with and someone to turn to (the upper force) with this request. I can actually do that since I have reached the lowest point by my actions. In other words, I have reached the very last state through my clarifications and internal psychological searching for who I am, what I am, towards what my actions are aimed, and what am I living for. I have discovered that it is totally egoistic and that there is no connection with others within this state.

At this point I can only cry out, and this is a point of atonement and forgiveness where I feel my nature as the hateful ego and I wish to detach myself from it with all my might. I don’t want to use the ego when it comes to food, water, or in any actions, and I cannot overcome it. The only thing I can do is raise a prayer to the upper force so that He will correct me. This is the meaning of my request.

We can reach a state of atonement and forgiveness any time, regardless of the calendar date of Yom Kippur. It happens when the upper force can perform corrections on me. Only He can help me; I cannot correct myself, but I can ask Him for this correction.

Comment: Everything that happens in the spiritual world is opposite from whatever there is in the corporeal world, because for us, Yom Kippur is a day of universal grief and not a day of joy.

Answer: In the past, the state of Yom Kippur was understood correctly, but during the 2,000 years of exile, we have attributed it to our own feelings and have matched our feelings with this day. In fact, it is a state of joy because all the holidays are joyful.
[166766]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/18/15

Related Material:
Yom Kippur
Discovery Of Evil – No Reason To Lament
The Day Of Atonement

Filed under: Egoism, Holidays, Inner Work, Prayer and Intention, Spiritual Work, The Creator, Torah - No Comments →