Entries in the 'Israel' Category

Reviving the Feeling in the Heart

275Question: We are currently unable to feel that there is none else besides Him in our hearts. If we insincerely link everything that is happening to the Creator, to the notion there is none else besides Him and He does all this for our benefit, will this lead us to a feeling in the heart?

Answer: Yes. If we strain ourselves and imagine in any circumstances that everything that happens to us comes from the Creator, and despite the fact that we are in unpleasant states where we worry and suffer, if we still believe that there is none else besides Him and everything comes from Him, then we must attribute everything to the Creator and think that since we are not connected and are not coming closer to Him in the state we are in, this is our problem.

Therefore, all we can do is to further strengthen our unity. By doing so, we will overcome all the unpleasant consequences of what is happening.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/9/23, “Reinforcing Ourselves with There Is None Else Besides Him”

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Unity Now and Forever

294.2Question: You keep saying, “Unity. We must be united.” Could you please continue and explain? Because? Because of what?

Answer: Because it is our idea, which is above life and death and above everything. The main thing is unity. What for, why, when—it does not matter. Now and forever. That is what should be.

We must be united because this is how we can fulfill the program of creation and only in this way do we come close to the upper force.

We must be united not for the sake of living, or living well or peacefully, but for the sake of our idea, which is to love our neighbor as ourselves no matter what the conditions are.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/12/23

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“How did Hamas infiltrate into Israel without alerting Israeli intelligence?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: How did Hamas infiltrate into Israel without alerting Israeli intelligence?

Beneath the surface reasons for Israel’s intelligence failure on October 7, 2023, lies a larger collective failure of the people of Israel letting negative attitudes divide them leading up to the tragic events.

The people of Israel’s strength depends on how well they relate to each other. If they cannot get along, no amount of weapons or tools can help.

Hamas’ breach of the barrier into Israel and their managing to commit the atrocities that they did with no Israeli soldiers in sight for a significant period of time, that is, on an army renowned for its intelligence capabilities, continues to shock people and leave them in disbelief.

The core reason, however, for this failure was the lack of a heart-to-heart connection among the people of Israel. For the people of Israel to thrive, its every member must connect from the heart, creating a family-like atmosphere of mutual protection and support, and uphold a common desire for closeness and unity.

The tragedy on October 7 triggered an immediate shift to attitudes of mutual concern and support among the people of Israel. Over time, however, we can expect to see divisive attitudes resurface, with the people of Israel once again erupting in protests and demonstrations against each other.

Until the people of Israel realize the primary need and importance of their unification, that divisive attitudes to each other weaken them and make them vulnerable to destructive forces, then nothing will help.

It was our unity above division that initially brought us together as a nation, where we connected according to the tenet, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and as it once was so it is today: our unity is the only factor that determines our success or failure.

Based on “An Inside Look” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi on October 15, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

What Does Israel Need to Win?

961.2Question: We are at war. Terrorists, Hamas, have entered Israeli territory. They captured the border kibbutzim and even entered our cities.

There are a lot of tragedies around. We hear blood-chilling stories—both stories of courage and stories of killing. All this is filmed on phones and posted on the networks. It is terrible!

There was a festival where 3,000 young people gathered in the south. Hundreds of them were killed. The number of deaths is already approaching a thousand. I am afraid to name numbers. There are thousands of wounded, and what is even more scary for Israel is that there are lots of captives. Once the whole country was talking about one captive. Now there are a huge number of them.

How should we relate to all this?

Answer: This is terrible! This is terrible. I understand the grief and the feeling of those who are now in captivity in the hands of those who hate us. They really do hate us. I felt this hatred. Of course it is terrible!

Question: We are talking with you on the third day of the war. There are still terrorists there who are fighting, and our guys are dying. Their names are published; they are from our most elite special forces, real heroes. Why do the best die first?

Answer: It is like that always and everywhere.

Question: What kind of law is this?

Answer: The fact is that war reveals the true structure of society. Therefore, those who belong to its best parts find themselves ahead. It is they who are sent first, who go and die.

Comment: That is, this is the hope of the country; these are the best ones.

My Response: The best ones that we have.

Comment: Just imagine! It takes years to raise such soldiers. And they go and die. This is, of course, very frustrating!

My Response: It is impossible to put it in words!

Comment: What we see now is all being filmed: how they kill and how brutally they do it all. They came to kill us, and it feels like they are animals.

My Response: Yes, of course, they are animals. They have been prepared for this, and they are fulfilling their “national duty.” That is what they think.

Question: That is, for the other side they are heroes?

Answer: Yes, definitely!

Comment: For all of them.

My Response: For everyone.

Question: Is it possible to kill and be considered a hero?

Answer: Absolutely all residents of Gaza are prepared to kill and in general sweep Israel away from its place.

Comment: And not just kill—kill like that! Just like that in a totally merciless way.

My Response: They do not consider it at all.

Comment: There are such ruthless, cold beings demanding our destruction in front of us.

My Response: Animals.

Question: Animals. Then what should our attitude be? What should we do? Now we understand this. What should we do?

Answer: We must totally destroy this territory because it will remain the source of all problems. There is nothing to be done about it!

Question: You said “destroy this territory.” What do you mean?

Answer: I mean that the several million people living in this territory simply need to be resettled. Not to allow this territory called Gaza to exist anymore. To keep such a flammable, explosive mixture at your side, and to provide for it, and to feed it above all. There is no such thing anywhere, and it is not acceptable anywhere.

Comment: If we leave it as it is and play our game again somehow…

My Response: Nothing will help, and in the future we will have to deal with this on an even larger scale.

Question: And what is going on in the north! There we have Nasrallah, Hezbollah, and Iran. What can we do with all this, with these instigators?

Answer: There is only one thing that can be done about all this—we Israelis need peace, unity, and understanding among ourselves, and then we will not have any problems with our neighbors. In general, all the problems in the world will disappear.

Question: Does it mean that you see this basis of everything to such an extent?

Answer: I am constantly talking and warning about this. Personally, I believe that this is the only way to deal with it.

The reason is that Israel exists within such a framework, under such terrible pressure from the outside world in relation to the fact that we are not bestowing to the world what we should bestow.

We must bring the world an example of unity between us in the first place. And if we choose all kinds of mutual hatred, internal demonstrations and other things happening with us, if we, in principle, are ready to kill each other internally, then naturally we will see a reflection of these relationships from the outside.

Our internal hatred, which flared up before the war, led to this war and to the way our enemies behave with us.

Question: To this ruthlessness toward us?

Answer: Yes. In principle, they are not enemies. We set them up this way through our attitude toward each other. So we do not need to talk much here. We only need to convince ourselves that we must love each other and then everything in the world will calm down, and there will not be a single person nor a single nation that would be against us.

Comment: Today the world sees these horrors, and all this is posted on the internet. These images are being sent everywhere, and yet I am sure it will not be long before everything is erased from the world’s memory.

My Response: If we forget about this within Israel, then we will have to feel how it is to be reminded of this again.

Question: So we should not forget about this?

Answer: Not only not to forget, we must correct it completely.

Comment: For this we must understand the basis of everything you are talking about.

My Response: The basis of everything is our hatred of each other.

Question: The question is whether we should rely only on ourselves or whether we should rely on some kind of help and regret on the part of the world? What should our attitude be?

Answer: We must not rely on anyone! Only on ourselves and on the Creator! Only in this case can we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Question: In 1973 there were regular armies standing in front of us. They say that what is happening now is similar to the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. By the way, it started almost the same day.

Then entire armies opposed us, but we won. Now these are terrorists who have entered our land. What has changed in us since then?

Answer: We neglected the opportunity to unite, to build ourselves, to build a normal state and a normal society. Everyone thinks about themselves. Everyone wants to have more and better than their neighbor. This is the difference between us today and what used to be before.

I do not think that everything is lost, but the point is whether we have achieved the kind of connection between us that will give us a feeling of the right attitude toward each other and security—that we are a single people and not one that is divided and is simply breaking into many different pieces.

Question: Can we say that at that time we were still, as it were, children of kibbutzniks—was there such a state then? And today are we already children of rich parents?

Answer: Yes, definitely!

Question: Terrorists easily penetrated the security structures on the border with Gaza. We built this wall, invested a billion dollars, and installed cameras and sensors.

In the end none of this worked, and there are a lot of questions about this both on the Internet and in interviews with people. How could this happen?! How could our intelligence forces, which are considered the best intelligence forces in the world, miss all this?

Why was the army so slow? Only six hours later, as it was reported, they entered the kibbutzim, and began some kind of action. For six hours people stayed there, hid, and locked themselves in their houses.

Where does all this come from? How could intelligence screw this up? Tell me, please, even in just an earthly way.

Answer: A war begins when it is clear that we do not know how to defend ourselves, that we have lost our strength. Then enemies begin the war.

Question: That is, then intelligence and vigilance are put to sleep, and war begins?

Answer: Yes, it is already coming from above. It is our problem, and there is a big showdown ahead. Unless it makes it still worse for us. Our internal enemies will dance on the ashes.

Question: Do you want to say that in this matter the Creator is, as it were, against us?

Answer: Of course, the Creator is against us. This is what the Torah says. If we are not united between us, then we are absolutely naked in front of the enemy, he will do whatever he wants with us, and the Creator will guide him. He will lead us to the next correct state not through ourselves, but through our enemies.

The fact is that almost everything we are doing does not bring us anything. We can create a fence only from our unity. Of course, I am not in favor of not building fences, but they are castles in the air. This does not help us at all. Neither intelligence nor the army, nothing can replace the nation’s unification. If this unification does not exist, the nation is naked. It faces its enemies without a weapon in its hands, without an ounce of courage or intention to hold on.

Question: What will happen to us? How do we build a real, warm, and safe world?

Answer: It all depends on how those several million Jews who live here can build themselves into a correct society. This is what the Torah says. I have been convinced of this for decades.

Question: So you cannot be moved! How can one hear this in this case? Should we expect more and more blows, or can we draw a conclusion from this? Such a thing has practically never happened to us, even during the Yom Kippur war.

Answer: Of course. Each subsequent war will be even worse. It will be even worse because, in principle, all this is happening to us in order to teach us how to live among ourselves. And this will give the world a new path of development.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/9/23

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Is It Worth Diving into the News?

504Question: I have a question about reading the news. I can skim through the headlines and feel one internal impact from it. I can also go deeper and after seeing some terrible things, my internal demand for correction naturally increases. Or I can generally isolate myself from everyone, not read the news, but focus, say, on working with the ten. Such inner sensitivity to what is happening seems to depend on me.

Depending on the extent I immerse myself in the news, I can sort of change my sensitivity. Where is the correct balance of the extent I should immerse myself in these things?

Answer: Immerse yourself in them as much as you can and by doing so direct yourself more precisely to the purpose of creation, which is to connect with the entire humanity and with the Creator into one whole.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/23, “Growing Stronger in There Is None Else Besides Him”

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In the Time of Difficult Trials

239Question: Are the things that are happening purposefully intended for the global Bnei Baruch or for the people of Israel or for the whole world?

Answer: For everyone to the extent that everyone participates in the world movement and its development.

All of humanity is connected in one will to receive that gradually undergoes its transformation, a change from the will to receive to the will to bestow under the influence of the Creator.

Therefore I cannot imagine any state other than to be connected with each other and in turning to the Creator, to convince Him to change our intentions to bestowal, to love, and to connection.

Question: Let us assume that we, Bnei Baruch, like good children, behave correctly and unite in the required way. How can we imagine this correct connection?

Answer: As a state where the entire world group is being included into the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/9/23, “Growing Stronger in There Is None Else Besides Him”

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When Will Peace Reign?

963.5Question: Everything that happened to us at the convention caused a lot of love to be revealed in us, and we naturally annulled ourselves. But what is happening now in Israel causes hatred in us because when you are attacked you hate the enemy.

Answer: This enemy is in our heart.

We must understand that everything depends on our hearts. To the extent that we are close to each other in our hearts, peace will reign throughout the world.

This is what we lack—only love and closeness between us and between all the people in the world.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/23, “Current Events in Israel”

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“Unifying Israel: A Call to Action for a Better Future” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Unifying Israel: A Call to Action for a Better Future
The world has again turned its attention toward the tiny Jewish state. Celebrities, journalists and world leaders are among a legion of people expressing their sympathy and standing by Israel’s side. Iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris are bathed in the colors of the Israeli flag.

History, however, clearly shows that support for Israel can fade in an instant.

The people of Israel are meant to shine, to be “a light unto the nations,” and set an example for other nations. It is not by chance that it is a nation renowned for its innovativeness. The pioneering spirit of the Jewish people is due to a deeper potential that they possess, the ability to create a model society where unity prevails over intense division.

Such a unified spirit formed the people of Israel to begin with, i.e., people from all walks of life in ancient Babylon who applied Abraham’s method and attained a higher unified level of consciousness—namely “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

A faint glimmer of unity now seems to surface after heavy blows. But if slander and divisive pride return, the people of Israel risk losing the world’s admiration.

In my book, The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, I showed a historically-recurring pattern of attitudes among the Jewish people, and toward them from other nations: When the people of Israel let divisions drive them apart, they invite tragedies upon themselves; and when they unite, they prosper.

A Hamas member who participated in the terror attacks on October 7 revealed how the ongoing demonstrations in Israel encouraged Hamas during their year-long preparations for the attack. The intensely divisive atmosphere among the people of Israel throughout 2023 ended up exploding into what has already become widely known as the darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.

Then, after the tragic events on October 7, the people of Israel experienced a collective heartbreak and melting, and they regrouped in a new climate of mutual concern and support.

We need to view today’s unfolding of events as another painful reminder that division does the people of Israel no good. It is not what the world wants from them, and it emboldens those who seek to harm them.

Subconsciously, the world wants a united people of Israel. As Rav Abraham Isaac Kook wrote, when the hearts of the people of Israel unite, “all the world’s civilizations will be renewed through the renewal of our spirit, all opinions will align, all life will glisten with the joy of rebirth at our emergence, all beliefs will don new clothes” (Shmoneh Kvatzim, vol. 5, 64). Abraham’s blessing to all nations will manifest strongly and openly, spearheaded by the efforts of the people of Israel. As long as the people of Israel continually add to their unity above any kinds of divisions that surface among them herein, then it is certain that the world’s support for them will also continually rise.
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“What should Israel do next in light of their declaration of war?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What should Israel do next in light of their declaration of war?

First, we should reflect deeply upon the painful divide that has festered among us, causing the devastating toll of hundreds of lives lost and thousands wounded. We need to yearn for a major change and wholeheartedly unite as one. Only the bonds of unity can shield us from future tragedy and elevate our nation from the abyss of despair.

We cannot afford to nurse bitterness or delay action, waiting for the war’s end to ponder our fractured state. Now is the time for introspection. We need to pinpoint the reasons behind our present circumstances and act accordingly.

Our quest for understanding needs to extend to our lives’ very source: the upper force of love, bestowal and connection that acts on us beyond our current level of awareness, which perceives through an egoistic and divisive lens. It is no matter of religion, but a realization that reality’s governing force is singular, and we accordingly need to stand united before it as one.

Precisely in our trying times, we are in need for an expansion of consciousness to let the upper force of love and bestowal into our lives. We need to raise the pain and anguish that erupts in so many people in such times to the upper force, and wish for it to mend our torn relations, and draw us closer together. We must seek to hold each other close to our hearts, not solely in times of war, but as an enduring duty.

We are a nation established not on a biological foundation, but on a spiritual-ideological one: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That is, we were people from all around ancient Babylon who felt a problem with living our lives solely according to competitive-materialistic ideals and sought for a higher truth to our existence, which we revealed as a higher force of love, bestowal and connection that united us above our divisive drives. That is why we cannot remain divided without suffering from our separation.

Our mission to unite above our divisions is constant, because divisive egoistic desires constantly surface within us, driving us apart. Therefore, much like a diligent student who finds new homework awaiting them each day, we should not accumulate any more overdue assignments that end up exploding in our faces, pressuring us into critical situations such as the one we now find before us. Instead, we should hurry up and correct our hearts to favor unity “as one man with one heart” above our divisions.
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Based on the afternoon lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 9, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

The Star of David

504Comment: You once said that the Star of David has nothing to do with Judaism.

My Response: The Star of David is not found in any of the ancient Jewish symbols. Scientists say it is found in the East among the Hindus.

This symbol is called the Star of David because his army used to make shields in this way. Two triangles superimposed on each other protected the shoulders and head of the warriors, and the central part served as a double protection.

For us as well, these two triangles add up to a Kabbalistic system. But, in general, we have neither historical nor Kabbalistic facts that the Star of David is a star. Even in Hebrew, it is called Magen David (shield of David). That is, it is not a star, not a symbol, but a shield with which the soldiers defended themselves.

All 40 years of his reign, King David fought and wrote psalms. He was at the same time a statesman, a judge, and a commander, so he had to be at the highest moral level. To this day, his psalms are used by people all around the world. This is the most widely read book.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Star of David” 10/1/11

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