Dear Michael Laitman,

I am 92 years old. I have been living in Israel for 34 years. I love this country, I love my people. My children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all are here, no one has left.

Tell me, we have been celebrating Independence Day in Israel for 76 years. We have defended Israel in six wars. Today, we are at war again, and I see that beasts are against us. Hamas are beasts. In the north, there are Hezbollah terrorists. Iran will not leave us alone. There is such antisemitism all over the world! It is scary for a Jew to walk the streets. So many people want our country not to exist, and this worries me greatly.

Michael, tell me, will we be able to celebrate our independence in a year or in ten years? I am not thinking about myself when I ask you this question.

My Response: I understand you, and am very touched by your words. I think that we will still celebrate Israel Independence Day in such a way that it will be a holiday for the whole world. For the whole world!

We will achieve the point where the idea outlined in the Torah becomes the fundamental idea of the existence of humanity “love your neighbor as yourself” first and foremost.

Question: So are you saying that if the country lives by this law we will celebrate these holidays all the time?

Answer: Absolutely.

Comment: But tell me, is it possible that we could be expelled from here by force?

My Response: I do not think that we can be expelled from here. I do not think that difficult times lie ahead. Now we need to think not only about ourselves but also about the world: what we say to the world, what we need to show it, what we need to lead it to. This is how we will defend our independence.

Question: Should we also defend it militarily today?

Answer: Of course! Of course, we must.

Question: Have you no doubts about that?

Answer: No. For Israel, peace is a means to spread the idea of “love your neighbor as yourself” to humanity. We must not forget this and always behave in accordance with this principle.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 5/6/24

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Memorial Day and Independence Day follow right after each other because Memorial Day speaks about who we are and where these special people came from. It is said that the people of Israel do not belong to all other nations that arose naturally, but were created from a group that was gathered by one person, Abraham, the forefather.

These are people who have no other connection between them except their willingness to unite together for the sake of a common spiritual idea.

This idea is abstract, not material, and does not belong to this world, but we see that it holds the people of Israel together and does not allow them to dissolve among other nations. On the other hand, it opposes all the nations of the world and holds it more strongly than any other nation.

This idea is so strong that it gives the whole of humanity the foundations of culture, enlightenment, spirituality, and morality; it is such a strong influence that none of the most numerous nations could exert.

The influence of the nation of Israel continues to this day, and who knows how much more important it will become in the future. This phenomenon seems very strange and unique. And in fact, the people of Israel themselves and even more so the nations of the world do not know what they are really dealing with.

Memorial Day is not only in the memory of the people who gave their lives for the establishment of the State of Israel in our days. It is also dedicated to where these people and the state originated from, what the basis of its independence is, and why it is called a nation although it does not have the usual biological basis like all other nations.

We need to explore our roots based on their knowledge, realize our entire history, and honor the memory of the entire path we have gone through. We may understand what is happening to us today and where we are going.

Rambam writes in the book Yad Khazaka: “At the age of forty, Abraham knew the Creator and began to proclaim publicly to all the people that there is one Creator for the whole world, and in His name it is worth working. And he went and gathered people from city to city, from state to state, until he came to Eretz Canaan…

“And he informed each of them until they returned to the path of truth, and tens of thousands gathered around him. And these are the people of the house of Abraham. And he put this great principle into their hearts, and wrote books about it… And a people was formed in the world who knew the Creator.”

We see that a very special event happened: one man, forty years old, revealed the spiritual message and continued to spread it, and urged everyone who wanted to join him regardless of gender, race, nationality. Everyone who heard and accepted this idea joined Abraham’s group, and so “a nation was formed in the world who knew the Creator.”

This is the whole point of this idea: to bring together people who have a desire to know the Creator of the world. From this, we should understand our roots, our purpose, and the force that holds us together. It is on this basis that we unite as a nation.

Without attaining the Creator as the purpose of our existence, there is no need for the nation of Israel. In this case, we will not receive any opportunity from below in the material world nor permission and strength from above for existence, and we will not find any reason to be together.

Initially, the nation of Israel was formed on a spiritual basis, not on a biological commonality like all other nations who came from the same ancestral clan, one village, one territory. The nation of Israel unites completely different, opposite people. This has always been the case, and it will be so at the end of generations when everyone joins in this one goal of revealing the Creator.

These strange, unusual conditions relating to the nation of Israel are not like those under which any other nation exists. It is obvious that our history, laws, fate, and the forces acting on us must be completely different from all other nations. From this, we can understand what the reason for the emergence of the nation of Israel is, what its mission is, its basis, what forces are acting on us, and what our fate is.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/18, “Memorial Day & Independence Day”

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Why is Memorial Day observed right before Independence Day? Everything emanates from the upper roots, and in the spiritual work, it is impossible to come to unity, to good spiritual force without rising above the force of evil, overcoming difficulties, problems, and the burdening of the heart.

The advantage of light is only attained from darkness. If we want to advance toward truth, then we must be prepared for the revelation of darkness. Then “there will be evening,” there will be night, and after “there will be morning—one day.”

Evening, night, darkness with all its inherent attributes are inseparable parts of the day. Therefore, Memorial Day is traditionally observed right before Israel Independence Day.

Independence Day symbolizes the coming of the light and the great correction. But before that, we have to uncover in what darkness we exist amidst evil and war, and we are obligated to fight and win this battle in order to come to Independence Day.

“Love covers all crimes.” Since we as created beings attain everything only from the opposite, there must be Memorial Day before Independence Day. Everything we have been through was intentionally sent from above, and all sufferings have a purpose and explanation; therefore, we must perceive them as necessary.

But if through our unity we reveal this necessity in a positive way, then we do not even need to suffer from darkness, misfortunes, and woes. If we are ready for darkness, we accelerate it and can pass through the darkness as a necessary part of our development so that evening and morning become one day, meaning night and darkness are included in the day, in the light.

Kabbalists understand that everything that happens is a part of the development process and therefore justify it as sent by the one upper force that brings us good in every state.

If we try, we will discover that there is only good and no evil. The Angel of Death will turn into a holy angel. With correct preparation, we can go through all difficulties with understanding and agree with them because in both darkness and light we will reveal the Creator’s good attitude toward us.

There are no days of mourning or states of sorrow because everything comes together at the end of correction: all the darkness, misfortunes, and woes, along with the emerging light above them in common unity and love.

If we ourselves seek deficiencies, broken desires, as necessary tools for revealing the Creator in order to bring Him contentment even before problems and woes are revealed, then we rejoice in the revealed sinners.

After all, concealed sinners certainly exist as a result of complete shattering, and we therefore rejoice in all identified shortcomings and regret that we have not yet revealed them all.

If we uncover evil in the light of day, then “darkness shines as light.” Therefore, there is no darkness; everything depends on my attitude.

If I uncover discrepancies between myself and my friend in order to eliminate this discrepancy by uniting above it and covering it with love, then I rejoice in the manifestation of shortcomings no less than in their correction. All work depends on the correct preparation in the group.

Memorial Day is a mournful day. But from the bitter experiences of the past, we need to understand that we can prepare ourselves for the revelation of evil in such a way that we will not see evil! Evil will only be revealed internally as a deficiency in our connection, and not as evil in this world, war, and the hatred of enemies. As it is said: “Cast your eye on them, they become a pile of bones.”

We need to understand that our enemies have power, and they can cause us a lot of trouble. After all, through them, the Creator acts and pushes us toward correction. We will have to seek the path of correction, and it lies only in our unity within the people of Israel through whom the light will flow into the world.

Let’s try, even if just for a month, let’s declare a “truce” within the state of Israel: let’s not quarrel with each other, let’s not hate one another, let’s try to become closer to each other. The love of Israel will protect us from enemies.

Let’s try to establish this love among us, let’s remember what our mothers told us: “Be good children, stop quarreling, be friends with each other!”

Let’s see what happens after a month of such an experiment. Then it will be easier for us to continue because habit will become second nature. Let’s try and see how the world’s attitude toward Israel changes, how our stocks rise on the stock exchange, how our army strengthens, how our children become better, how the number of accidents on the roads decreases and the number of divorces decreases—everything will start to improve.

Let’s declare a month of unity and then check the statistics: what happens to the people of Israel when they are not in internal discord.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/7/19, “Memorial Day & Independence Day”

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Mark writes:

I want to ask about Israel Independence Day. Today, there is so much negativity said about Israel, and there is so much pessimism, doubt, bitterness, and tragedy in the country. Dear Michael, say something encouraging, something uplifting on our Independence Day. People will listen to you, many listen to you.

My Response: I hope that those who listen to me and hear me, hear my approval of our celebration of Independence Day. It does not matter how it was established even though there are many questions here.

I believe it is a necessary holiday. No one can cancel it. There are many who do not welcome it because it is not a religious holiday.

Comment: But it is known that your teacher, Baal HaSulam, the teacher of teachers, a great Kabbalist, celebrated this day. He even raised the “holy” knife on Shabbat that he used to cut the Shabbat Challah, and on it was written: Medinat Yisrael, which means the State of Israel. This was a challenge for Orthodox Jews. He did it. So, did he recognize and fully support this holiday?

My Response: Yes.

Question: How should it be preserved?

Answer: We do not need to preserve it. We just need to constantly restore it. Because as long as we exist, we are obliged to fight to celebrate this day once a year precisely because the people decided that this is their independence and it must be marked.

Question: You said the word “fight.” Does that mean we have to fight for it? Can it be that we finally reach a point where this day…?

Answer: No, that cannot be.

Question: Will it always be through a struggle?

Answer: As long as our world is opposed to the spiritual world.

Question: In your opinion, what does Israel Independence Day mean for the world? For us, it is like our security, our freedom. But for the world, what is it?

Answer: For the world, Israel’s independence is a fundamental date marking the transformation of the world from the ancient world to the modern world, and from a world where Jews existed as oppressed, persecuted, and pressured people to a world where we can exist proudly in our own country.

Question: You just said that this is supposed to be for the Jews. Or did you actually say that it is a holiday for the world too?

Answer: It means a lot to the world too because it is precisely thanks to the Jews, thanks to Israel, and thanks to our independence that we can continue our existence in a way that allows the world to exist.

Question: So do we give something to the world?

Answer: It is not that we give something; we hold the world upon us.

Question: Does this tiny dot that is barely visible, like a pinhole, hold the world on itself and is the center of the world?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Why do you say this so confidently?

Answer: Because it symbolizes that piece of the world that strives to strengthen this world, to make everyone equal and worthy.

Question: And is this Israel?

Answer: This is Israel, of course. Its goal is to make the world for everyone.

Question: The existence of Israel is intended specifically for the world?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Then will this be accepted by the world?

Answer: Then the world will accept this.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 5/6/24

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Question: What is the function of the nations of the world when the people of Israel fulfill their correction?

Answer: In relation to the nations of the world, the people of Israel are like the first nine Sefirot in relation to Malchut.
That is, they work with each other, connect, and internally correct themselves, but their main task is to prepare everything for working with the last Sefira Malchut. The nations of the world at this time are practically not correcting anything.

I am not talking about our movement, about those who join it. There were people who came from the Greeks, from the Macedonians, from nations very distant from Judaism and Kabbalah. They made a huge contribution to the dissemination and study of Kabbalah.

There are even people who lived two or three thousand years ago mentioned in our sources as great Kabbalists.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: Today, people are suffering and experiencing a lack of light.
Is there any hope of receiving this light and correcting what is happening?

Answer: Undoubtedly, eventually everyone will get the light. There will not be a single soul, not a single person, even with the most disgusting desires, with the most disgusting inclinations, who would not receive correction and fulfillment.

Question: How can people without any connection with the light get it in case of despair, war, and hopelessness?

Answer: They do not feel hopelessness the way you do. The time will come and they will receive the light of correction.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: Should we learn to differentiate between the people of Israel and all other peoples in the world?

Answer: There is a much easier path to correcting their souls for the peoples of the world than for the people of Israel. Therefore we do not need to separate these categories. To the extent that we feel the need for correction in our movement toward the Creator, in drawing closer to Him, that is how we will act.

Comment: But we still must awaken this need for adhesion with the Creator.

My Response: If you have a predisposition to this, then you can join and help in the general correction of the nations of the world. Gradually you will begin to feel their souls and will be able to elevate them.

That is a great responsibility that falls on the people of Israel or on those who join in the correction so that they can spread the methodology of correcting souls and unite.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Israel were made by the Creator, the heart of the whole world. And so are Israel among the nations, like a heart among the organs. And as the organs of the body cannot exist in the world even a minute without the heart, all the other nations cannot exist in the world without Israel (Zohar for All, Vol. 7, “Pinchas”).

Some nations live so far away from the people of Israel that they have no connection with them, yet they exist. It is not just about mere existence, but about a deeper meaning, about connection with the center of the world, with the Creator, which for other nations can only be through Israel.

And since people subconsciously seek this connection through Israel and do not find it, this leads them to hatred toward the people of Israel. Thus antisemitism arises. People do not understand where their hatred comes from. But in reality, the internal reason lies in the feeling that they cannot find the center of the world through Israel, from which they could fill themselves and their souls.

Therefore, they blame the people of Israel and think that if they could eliminate them, they could somehow arrange their own existence. But it will not work out that way.

Israel must be the heart of the entire world, the center of unity through which all the world’s nations unite with each other and the Creator. The connection of the world with the Creator goes through Israel. It turns out that Israel must raise a prayer for all the nations of the world and feel their desire as its own.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: You said that we are connected to the nations of the world through Malchut. How do we work with this? What should we do with this common desire?

Answer: The nations of the world mostly stem from Malchut de Malchut, while the souls of Israel come from the first nine Sefirot within Malchut. Therefore, the souls of Israel can begin to attract light upon themselves and then channel it through themselves to all the nations of the world.

Although Israel goes first, when the nations of the world come to master the correction of nature, they will do much more than Israel as they comprise the main part of Malchut.

Question: How can I associate myself more with the first nine Sefirot than with Malchut de Malchut?

Answer: The first nine Sefirot represent the quality of bestowal. If you align yourself with the qualities of bestowal as much as possible in every movement you make, you will join them. No one will be able to take this from you; you will be in charge of your own destiny.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: Rabash said that one can only correct oneself and that it takes much practice to gain control over one’s egoism. Why would we correct others if they will automatically correct themselves when we do?

Answer: Our correction depends on the connection between us. Therefore, dissemination is a very important action.

We do not take any obstacles into account but only wish to disseminate Kabbalah as a teaching about the correction of humanity and its elevation to the highest level—the level of the Creator.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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