Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Why Do People Dislike Israel? What Is It That Israel Has Done Wrong?”

We, the people of Israel, have to correct ourselves by uniting “as one man with one heart,” and by doing so, become a conduit for such unification to spread worldwide.

Until we do so, then the lack of unity in the world surfaces as myriad problems and crises, and more and more people feel subconsciously that the people of Israel are to blame for their shortcomings.

Therefore, the shift to a harmonious and peaceful world depends on our unity. When we unite, we form a critical mass that then enables humanity as a whole to also come together. Then, when there is a spirit of unity among human society, it alleviates the many forms of suffering that emerge on personal, social and global scales.

This unifying spirit beyond divisions is what originally made us known as “the people of Israel” (“Israel” from two Hebrew words, “Yashar Kel” [“straight to God”], which means a people aimed directly at the source quality of love). We were people who first came together around 4,000 years ago not based on biological ties, but according to the method of attaining “love your neighbor as yourself” that Abraham established, specifically in an era that was marked by rampant social division.

We should thus see the many forms of hatred and dislike of the people of Israel as reminders that we need to come together with relations of love, care and kindness dwelling in our connections above any kind of divisiveness that we might feel toward each other.
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Question: What are the internal and external parts of the world?

Answer: The internal is desires, and the external is their fulfillment. But it also happens in a different way.

Question: How does it take such a form when the people of the world are called the external part of the world and Israel is the internal?

Answer: The internal part is always more important, and the external part is its consequence. Therefore, Israel, being responsible for filling the world with the upper light, is called the internal part, and the people who receive this light are called the external part.

Question: What does it mean we are responsible for filling the world?

Answer: Depending on how we behave, what desire we raise to the Creator and ask Him to fill, the Creator fills that desire.

Question: Does the fact that I raise some kind of desire to the Creator affect the world and fill it?

Answer: Certainly. And that is what every person in the world should do. It is just that their desires are very small.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/5/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress“

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The externality are the nations of the world. The branch that extends from the externality is the rest of the nations. They have not been imparted the qualities that make them worthy of receiving the conducts of development of the purpose one at a time. Rather, they are fit to receive the correction at once and to the fullest, according to their upper root (Baal HaSulam “A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress“).

Question: What does it mean that Israel, unlike the nations of the world, can receive the conducts of development of the purpose one at a time?

Answer: It depends on how we define Israel. Israel is Yashar El, straight to the Creator, that is, those who are directed at the Creator, no matter whether they are white or black.

When there is no difference between them, then Israel is everyone who has a desire to come closer to the Creator either from birth or after some event in life. Accordingly, a person decides to develop.

The nations of the world are those who have not received or do not want to receive the desire for development in the direction of the Creator.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/5/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “A Handmaid Who Is Heir to Her Mistress“

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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “From Division to Unity: The Book of Zohar’s Vision for Society”

It is written that as the days of the Messiah approach, The Book of Zohar will be revealed to all. This does not mean that the physical text will be found on every bookshelf, dusted off every week. Rather, it means that a clear understanding of its teachings will spread throughout humanity. As Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) wrote in his “Speech for the Conclusion of The Zohar,” its wisdom will illuminate the path of the people of Israel becoming a united people in the Land of Israel—a people shaped by the supreme law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

However, there currently exists a vast disparity between how the people of Israel relate to each other and their ideal relations that the scriptures depict. It seems as if we head in an opposite direction to unification. Even at times of war, we see ourselves drifting apart, distancing ourselves from our role of uniting above our differences in order to become a conduit for such unity to spread worldwide. While this contradiction is disheartening, we need to acknowledge that a turnaround can happen in an instant. The stages of transforming ourselves from a divided to a united people, with threads of mutual love and care in our connections, defy human logic.

Yet our increasing distance from each other signifies our forthcoming closeness. How can that be? The people of Israel’s current state aligns with the Kabbalistic texts’ depiction of the initial pre-Messianic era stage, one that precedes humanity’s transformation from division to unity. It does not mean that we will acquire an immediate revelation of higher wisdom or that we will instantly unite as described in The Zohar. However, we are indeed headed to a critical juncture where we will find that we need to either comply with nature’s laws of mutual love, bestowal and connection, and seek to match our connections with nature’s, or we will face destruction. We thus need to prepare our synchronization with the very natural laws that guide our development to higher states of unity.

Our journey thus far highlights our shortcomings—how poorly we relate to each other and how we resist applying the required inner changes in our attitudes to each other. From this state of resistance to unity above division, we need to recognize that salvation lies solely in our unity.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is our guiding principle and our failure to uphold it will result in self-destruction. Once we grasp the need to aspire for drawing closer together and correcting our attitudes to each other—from flowing with our divisive drives until they drown us, to rising united above the floods of our division—then we will uncover inner strengths and abilities, as well as a source of constant support, encouragement and confidence.

The Book of Zohar has yet to become revealed in its full glory. We have yet to acquire a complete understanding of what is written in The Zohar, and use it for its intended purpose. But we have to be ready for the revelation of the states it describes, and to long for them to happen.

We have undergone a period of preparation for The Zohar’s revelation, we just lack clarity on why and how we should approach it, and to awaken our hearts to the sublime states of spiritual unity that it leads us to.
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Question: What condition in Israel’s current war would you call victory? What is a victory for you?

Answer: It is a state where both sides raise their hands and agree not to fight anymore.

Comment: Many people say that one of the reasons for the current war was the split in Israeli society, which has been intensifying over the past year.

My Response: I think so too. This war can be called a punishment from above for our rift in society.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/29/23

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Question: We all are trying to unite above our differences. Our goal for the connections between us is to reveal the force of the Creator, love, and eternity. How can we convey all this to the whole world, to the people of Israel?

Answer: You must try to connect through your hearts, and then what is in your heart will flow into the others’ hearts. You will feel it. Just work on it as a group.

Question: What determines the volume of our internal space where everyone can be placed for internal unification?

Answer: It is the size of the heart. And to work effectively with this thought, you need to open your heart to everyone.

Let us all embrace together and ask the Creator to bring us closer in a tighter embrace. That is how we arrive at a quick final correction. Baal HaSulam writes that we are already in the last generation, the generation of Moshiach (Messiah). What should we do? Just wish in your heart for this to come true for everyone.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/4/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “First Will Be the Correction of the World“

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Question: Can we say the nations of the world, with their actions, are forcing Israel to take the path of correction?

Answer: Yes, the peoples of the world, by their negative attitude toward Israel, force them to understand the whole world depends on them.

Question: In Baal HaSulam’s article, “First Will Be the Correction of the World,” he says when certain elements of the whole of Israel are corrected, the whole world will automatically be corrected. What does it mean?

Answer: We are talking about the connection between all people in the world. If we, those who study Kabbalah, those who are connected with the Creator through study and connection with each other, wish to correct ourselves and ascend to the Creator, then in the measure of our correction, the whole world will come to unity and ascend to the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/4/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “First Will Be the Correction of the World“

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Question: What is happening now in Israel and in the world is all from the Creator. The feeling is that only the ten, the importance of the goal, and Kabbalah can help us save ourselves.

In the ten, we compose a prayer to the Creator to free our hostages so that the soldiers return home alive, so that peace would come.

What request can we raise to the Creator from our connection to somehow influence Him and the world?

Answer: We can only act in the direction of unity among all the members of Bnei Baruch throughout the world so that we all unite as much as possible and ask the Creator to reveal Himself within our connection.

Let each of you request in your heart that you want to get closer to each other, incorporate together in one desire, and turn with it to the Creator so that He unites you and connects everyone within Himself. Ask for it to happen here and now.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/11/23, Writing of Rabash “The Life of Sarah“

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If we start to investigate, we will quickly understand that we, the people of Israel, are to blame for what is happening. We have not followed the straight and right path, which is called the path of the Torah. Therefore, we must now correct our path.

And in this, we need to support and strengthen each other so that instead of lamenting and regretting, we can look truth in the eye and figure out how to move forward on the path to unity, peace, and common harmony and how we can also explain to our enemies that the way to universal harmony lies only in unity among all, so we would stop fighting and proving one’s righteousness, as such a path does not lead to a solution.

The strength of our people lies only in unity. And if we direct our unity toward the Creator, we will find ourselves at the center of creation. From this point, we can achieve success, not just by defeating someone by force, but by proving to everyone that global unity is possible above all enmity and will be the solution for everyone.

We should not consider ourselves righteous, acting at the pinnacle of justice. If that were the case, we would not be in the situation we are in today.

In reality, our condition is no better than that of any other nation or group. Everyone is in complete confusion and global shattering. Therefore, we must know that there is no truth behind anyone. The truth lies only in turning to the Creator and wanting to draw closer to Him so He will care for us.

The only way to escape the trap in which humanity finds itself is if everyone wants to join the central point that gathers all the humanity together and leaves no one outside that center. There will be no good or bad, no disputes between nations and religions; everyone will be obligated to accept all others as members of one community because all people are brothers.

The Creator gave us all an egoistic, evil nature only so that we could rise above our egoism and acquire a good nature against it.

We must understand that humanity has fallen into such darkness that no one comprehends where the truth is, where justice is, and how it is possible to live in peace. If there is no external war somewhere, there is an internal war. Therefore, to bring about the right balance, we must change ourselves.

I wish for people to discover the upper force that can unite all people into one group, into one people of the Creator. Then, we will be in the right state.

May the Creator gather us together into one people and teach us how to relate to each other, what to feel and think about each other. Otherwise, these wars will not end today or tomorrow, but will continue for many, many years.

Therefore, we must demand the Creator to show us the right direction in our development and the right attitude among all nations and all the people.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/23, Writings of Rabash “It Is Forbidden to Hear a Good Thing from a Bad Person“

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Question: Is it possible to live without suffering? Sometimes you say, “It is possible without suffering,” and other times you say, “It is impossible.” Yes, or no?”

My Response: It is possible to live without suffering if we will imagine how we grow thanks to suffering. And then, we will perceive suffering as an incentive to growth.

Question: So, when sufferings come, what should be my response to it?

Answer: That I investigate, analyze, and rise above them.

Question: Analyzing them means: Where did they come from, why? Is that analysis?

Answer: And that is too, of course.

Question: Does that mean that I have to respond to every suffering with analysis?

Answer: Certainly yes. Otherwise, it will pass without a trace. We’ve had this before. We have already been to Gaza and have already expelled terrorists from there. So what? It just gets worse from time to time.

Comment: It is not easy all the time. If I feel pain, I feel it.

My Response: Everything I am going to say today is not easy. Because this is the situation!

Question: In other words, if I feel pain, I still have to, even go through the pain, come to an analysis, as you say, where did it come from and why did it come to me?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And then the pain goes away? Or is it changing? What happens if I actually analyze?

Answer: I thank this pain for what it does to me. Thanks to it I feel where I am ill, in what ways, and how can I get rid of my illness and come to a healthy life. And it is indeed the path to a healthy life.

Question: So, it turns out that it is possible without suffering, right?

Answer: Of course. It is possible without suffering if we correctly depict what suffering means. And sufferings are in mutual hatred. This is what real sufferings are! And I have to rise above them to mutual love, and then everything will work out.

Question: Meaning, that I have to suffer from the hatred for another that lives in me? Is that what you call real suffering?

Answer: Yes. Exactly to that extent I have to suffer.

Question: And what about that I am pushed with a stick to happiness and so on?

Answer: No, that is not it. This is a result of my behavior, a consequence of my hatred.

Question: So, you are going back to the root again? Everything is in the root.

Answer: And what can you do?

Question: Let’s imagine if I turn this hatred around, will be able to, then the stick will no longer push me?

Answer: Obviously who would it push? It only pushes us to bring us to a state of love.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/12/23

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