Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Don’t Fall for Egoistic Unity“

The recent tragic events of the Israel-Hamas war have made much clearer that our greatest vulnerability to terrorists is not in external threats but in our internal divisions. Our own very demonstrations, protests and vitriol that we spread among each other weakens us and emboldens those who wish to attack us. While the importance of unity is widely acknowledged, what remains less clear is that unity is merely the initial step in a more profound mission.

The story of the Tower of Babel serves as a poignant illustration of the consequences of misusing unity. The Babylonians, united in purpose, harnessed the power of unity to build a tower fueled by a group egoism. Due to their self-serving misuse of the unifying force, the tower eventually collapsed, scattered them and confused their language. Similarly, the history of communism reveals how a seemingly noble pursuit of equality and friendship, rooted in unity, can devolve into greed and oppression, resulting in the loss of millions of lives.

Unity, when constructed upon the flawed foundations of selfish motives, risks undermining its potential for positive change. It is not enough to proclaim, “together we will win.” Mere unity might ward off external foes, but it fails to address the persistent internal battle against our divisive egoistic drives that surface inside us at every moment. Without a higher guiding principle, the ego will resurface, perpetuating a cycle of conflict and drawing external threats.

What distinguishes this higher guiding principle is not a distant, cloud-dwelling grandfather figure but a positive unifying force that manifests in connections that we build above our divisive egoistic tendencies. This force is rooted in the fundamental laws of nature that reveal themselves through the intentions of those who unite in a common aspiration to project the very base qualities of nature—qualities of love, bestowal and connection—to one another and who wish for these qualities to spread to the world at large. Then, the unity that these people establish is based on the fundamental unity that exists in nature, which likewise attracts the harmony and peace that dwells in nature.

To build a society that endures, we must rise above mere unity and establish a society founded on the laws of nature. Without such an alignment, any social construct risks collapse, endangering its members. Recognizing the need to match our unity with nature’s eternal and perfect form of unity is essential for breaking the cycle of internal strife and external threats. We thus need to cultivate unity in society that is built on the benefit of all, a unity made of attitudes of its members that align with nature’s quality of love, bestowal and connection.
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Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: What is common prayer?

Answer: Common prayer is the connection of all your private prayers into one prayer, which is assembled by the Creator. He assembles all the prayers from your hearts and connects them into one prayer, into one heart.

Question: Why does the Creator do this work?

Answer: How can we do this work? He connects, He sorts, He does it all, it is all Him.

What are we doing? We only see our helplessness and ask Him to gather us together, connect us, raise us, and fill us.

Question: What conditions must be met for this to happen on the part of the Creator? Do our relationships, fulfilling the principles of Rabash, and nullifying ourselves before each other affect the quality of common prayer?

Answer: Of course they do. We influence each other a lot and we cannot even imagine how much.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/29/2023, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Lishma” [for Her sake]

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can the world be better?“

The power of connection, unity, mutual responsibility and care is the key to making a better and more balanced world.

Today’s calamities and threats are ultimately in order to make us open up more to each other, and by doing so, draw ourselves to a more unified, harmonious and peaceful state.

We should thus use today’s crises in order to better connect, and to spread unity and mutual responsibility as the solution to our every problem.

Based on the video “What Is the Key to a Better World?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “What Are the Main Challenges That Israel Faces Today?”
Several Kabbalistic sources emphasize the need for the people of Israel to unite like a family. Especially on tragic days, the truth of this message becomes apparent, and it is important to clarify that the family is not one of blood relations, but a family that transcends blood ties. It is about everyone coming to feel that the person standing beside them is part of the same family.

We all need to sense that we are parts of a single unified entity. When we achieve such unity, we not only overcome our apparent enemies outside of us, but more significantly, we rise over our internal enemy: the egoistic desires within us that constantly pull in the direction of detaching from others and using everyone and everything outside of us for the sake of personal benefit.

The idea of uniting above our egos when we are all individuals with different backgrounds, personalities and worldviews—including many that oppose and resist the others—can seem like an impossible task. However, we need to raise awareness that we can be victorious in bringing about a harmonious and peaceful life for all solely through the achievement of such unity. If we set aside our contradictions and differences, recognizing that we are one interconnected whole, then we can overcome our internal struggles, and by doing so, we will find that we have no more enemies outside of us.

A key stage in the development of the people of Israel was when we accepted upon ourselves the pact to stand “as one man with one heart” at the foot of Mount Sinai. We were faced with a life-and-death choice: “Either unite now or face dire consequences.” Today, we once again face a challenge of immense magnitude, and it is imperative for us to understand that we need to unite above all else.

We need to recognize that we play host to an egoistic inclination that constantly makes us want our own opinion to override everyone else’s. While this ego is indeed a problem, we should not try to subdue or eliminate it, because it is our very nature. On the contrary, together with recognizing its determinant force in drawing inwardly to ourselves, we need to develop a supportive and encouraging atmosphere around us where we raise the need to unite above our egoistic inclination as being of much greater importance, i.e., as a matter of life and death. If we fail to unite above our egoistic inclination and simply drift away with its divisive views and opinions, then we are bound to find ourselves again in situations where we suddenly awaken to an onslaught of enemies outside of us, similar to what we experienced in the tragic events of October 7, 2023.

Therefore, now that we are in the midst of a severe state of war, we need to deal with the situation at hand and also raise awareness of what can prevent such extreme states from materializing in the future. It all points to our need to unite above our divisions.

What steps should each of us take to achieve this unity? Simply put, we should each shift our focus away from ourselves and onto others. For instance, today there are several stories of selflessness that emerge from the frontlines, where people risk their own lives for the sake of other people. These acts demonstrate the inclination to rise above ourselves. When we hold a strong sense of the need to be there for one another in such a way, then we can unite and succeed. True success comes when we unite “as one man with one heart” above our divisive egoistic drives.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we prevent future wars?“

The suffering and sorrow in the present war should awaken the feeling that we lack positive human connection.

If we want to prevent future wars, then we need to connect harmoniously to each other, and to relate to such connection with paramount importance.

Moreover, in our closeness, we should discover a state of mutual responsibility. That is, if one person does something detrimental to others, then we all take responsibility for that act—that we have yet to create the required unifying spirit throughout society that would make everyone willingly rise above their divisive and negative drives.

We should thus pray with all of our strength for our hearts to soften and understand that only our heart-to-heart connection can save humanity. We can then progress to a state of world peace.

Based on the video “How to Prevent Future Wars” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, on the Times of Israel: “What Are the Main Challenges That Israel Faces Today?”
Several Kabbalistic sources emphasize the need for the people of Israel to unite like a family. Especially on tragic days, the truth of this message becomes apparent, and it is important to clarify that the family is not one of blood relations, but a family that transcends blood ties. It is about everyone coming to feel that the person standing beside them is part of the same family.

We all need to sense that we are parts of a single unified entity. When we achieve such unity, we not only overcome our apparent enemies outside of us, but more significantly, we rise over our internal enemy: the egoistic desires within us that constantly pull in the direction of detaching from others and using everyone and everything outside of us for the sake of personal benefit.

The idea of uniting above our egos when we are all individuals with different backgrounds, personalities and worldviews—including many that oppose and resist the others—can seem like an impossible task. However, we need to raise awareness that we can be victorious in bringing about a harmonious and peaceful life for all solely through the achievement of such unity. If we set aside our contradictions and differences, recognizing that we are one interconnected whole, then we can overcome our internal struggles, and by doing so, we will find that we have no more enemies outside of us.

A key stage in the development of the people of Israel was when we accepted upon ourselves the pact to stand “as one man with one heart” at the foot of Mount Sinai. We were faced with a life-and-death choice: “Either unite now or face dire consequences.” Today, we once again face a challenge of immense magnitude, and it is imperative for us to understand that we need to unite above all else.

We need to recognize that we play host to an egoistic inclination that constantly makes us want our own opinion to override everyone else’s. While this ego is indeed a problem, we should not try to subdue or eliminate it, because it is our very nature. On the contrary, together with recognizing its determinant force in drawing inwardly to ourselves, we need to develop a supportive and encouraging atmosphere around us where we raise the need to unite above our egoistic inclination as being of much greater importance, i.e., as a matter of life and death. If we fail to unite above our egoistic inclination and simply drift away with its divisive views and opinions, then we are bound to find ourselves again in situations where we suddenly awaken to an onslaught of enemies outside of us, similar to what we experienced in the tragic events of October 7, 2023.

Therefore, now that we are in the midst of a severe state of war, we need to deal with the situation at hand and also raise awareness of what can prevent such extreme states from materializing in the future. It all points to our need to unite above our divisions.

What steps should each of us take to achieve this unity? Simply put, we should each shift our focus away from ourselves and onto others. For instance, today there are several stories of selflessness that emerge from the frontlines, where people risk their own lives for the sake of other people. These acts demonstrate the inclination to rise above ourselves. When we hold a strong sense of the need to be there for one another in such a way, then we can unite and succeed. True success comes when we unite “as one man with one heart” above our divisive egoistic drives.
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Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

Question: When we are united, the Creator is in the connection between us. But how can we ask Him to hear us when we are at war with each other?

Answer: We have repeatedly said that everything depends only on our connection, first of all between Jews so that they become like one man with one heart.

Then, we will want to bring all people in the world closer to this, and through this connection; we will avoid all the troubles that are arising now and that keep approaching all of humanity.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/2/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Call Upon Him When He Is Near“

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Question: Many Kabbalistic sources say that we should become a family. On such tragic days, it suddenly feels very true. It is clear that we are not talking about family ties.

What kind of family are we talking about?

Answer: This is about making everyone feel the person standing next to them so that we all feel that we are one family, that we are together. Only in this case will we not only defeat our external enemy, but also, most importantly, our internal enemy, our egoism. And then we are not afraid of anything!

Family is when we are all as one.

Question: Explain this, please, “as one whole.” We are different families, we are different people, different characters, different views, even left and right. How is a family built out of all this? Is it possible to build a family or want to build one?

Answer: It is possible. To do this, we only need to understand that victory can only be in this case and that in general we should leave all the contradictions between us and feel like one common whole. Only in this case can we defeat our internal enemy, and the external one is no longer a problem.

Question: Once, when we called ourselves the nation at Mount Sinai, there was such a proposal: “Either you will unite now, or this will be your burial place.” Do you think it is very similar to what is happening today?

Answer: Of course!

Question: Meaning, we can say that now we have been challenged, the Creator has set such a condition. And it’s as sharp as you say. Are we connecting above everything?

Answer: Above everything, yes. And of course, we should understand it that way.

Comment: But it’s no secret that we are egoistic.

My Response: We are the most egoistic and the worst, it is what leads us to unite and we see there is no other way.

Question: The force of this blow, which we have now felt, can it lead to such a decision, to prayer?

Answer: Yes. It can.

Question: The goal is clear. What do we all need to do for this?

Answer: Everyone should forget about themselves and think about others. I have to think about all the people who are obliged to survive this state and win.

Comment: You know, when these stories are being told, which are now happening at our frontline, there are a lot of cases when people forget about themselves. They tell about a soldier who falls on a mine and saves all his friends with it. About a woman, her name is Tali, who, while terrorists are shooting around, transports 13 wounded from the frontline, goes back and forth. An elderly woman, she has six children.

My Response: This is solidarity. And only from this can victory be born.

Question: Does each of us have to exist like this?

Answer: Exactly so. Everyone, as much as he can, must give himself for victory. Victory is when we unite above our egoism and act together.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr Michael Laitman” 10/16/23

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Question: You have been talking about the law of love, bestowal, and mercy for many years. You said that this is the basis of our nation, the basis of the law within which we exist, and the whole world exists. Is this what we should follow?

Answer: Yes.

Question: This is on one hand. On the other hand, it is written by our sages in the Babylonian Talmud: If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first. What does this mean for you?

Answer: If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first means that we must forestall the enemy. And we are obliged to do this because this is the Creator’s covenant.

Comment: Then there is the law of love, bestowal, and mercy.

My Response: It depends in relation to whom and how. But if someone comes to kill you, then you must first rise and defend yourself so as to destroy the one who came to kill you.

Comment: Can you, please, explain the law of love, bestowal, and mercy at the moment when you are going to fight and kill the enemy.

Answer: This does not apply to enemies. No. There can be no love for someone who hates you and wishes for your death

Question: Can any kind of revolution ever happen so that we will suddenly look at our biggest haters with different eyes? Will anything happen?

Answer: Only after we get rid of them can there be a completely different attitude toward them. We should get rid of the haters. And then we can negotiate with those who remain.

Comment: All the laws are kind of revolving around mercy. And this one is very sharp!

My Response: It is not sharp, it is just straight. I do not see anything drastic or anything out of the ordinary in it.

Question: Why does it not say: “Try to make peace, try…”?

Answer: Any attempt is out of the question! After all, he came to kill you!
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/16/23

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Question: What do you see as our future, and what is it like?

Answer: I see the future as getting rid of the haters, understanding who is next to us, and making sure they understand who is next to them. We need to secure our borders and create conditions for us to peacefully exist and unite.

Question: Unity is more or less understandable to people, like the unity we have now. What are you talking about? After the war, after victory.

Answer: There is no “after the war.” In principle, we are in a state of constant war.

Question: Why?

Answer: Because the enemy wants it that way. So, we must not weaken ourselves and not act as we did before this attack.

Question: You are talking about an external enemy. What about our internal enemy?

Answer: The internal enemy needs to be convinced that we have no other way.

Question: Who is the internal enemy?

Answer: We are. Between us. I think we need to undergo very serious re-education here. There should be friendship and support among us.

Question: How do we achieve that?

Answer: By explaining that without it we will not survive.

Question: It is clear now that we are currently united by adversity. But in the future, for example when we are on the crest of victory, there will likely be disputes about what happened, why, and how. Various scenarios are possible. How do you shape the country? How do you build the future of the people?

Answer: Only through unity! We must talk about it constantly. We must promote unity from a very young age and continue to do so throughout life.

Comment: You keep talking about uniting above oneself.

My Response: Because we are egoistic, unique egoists, the biggest in the world. That is why we need to unite above our egoism.

Question: This work is endless. So it will never end. We cannot eliminate this enemy, can we?

Answer: No, and we should not. It is great that we have it. The Creator intentionally created this egoism within us so that we constantly work on it and elevate ourselves higher and higher toward Him. That is our main work.

Question: What if we falter? What if we start quarreling again?

Answer: Then the external enemy reminds us of that.

Question: That is, we must make it very clear that our disputes and their level provoke an equal level of hatred toward us from the whole world. Is that the right formula?

Answer: Absolutely from the entire world!

Question: If this fear enters us—that at the moment we start wars between each other, wars come to unite us but at an external level—if this formula exists in us, do you think it is normal to live with this fear?

Answer: It is normal. It is thanks to this fear that we can move toward unity.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/16/23

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