The construction of the Temple means that the people of Israel created a state between them in which the Creator, the force of bestowal and love, was revealed to them. People existed in the form of this force, and their states were not of this world, but were spiritual ones.

At the same time, a new, more internal, egoistic degree developed unrelated to them, so-called Lev HaEven (the stony heart), which could not be corrected at the moment; it applies to the whole world. Therefore, they began to fall apart; i.e., they could not stay at the level of relationships of mutual bestowal and love.

Thus, they fell from this level of communication and connection, from the level of similarity to the Creator, and from such a height and ideal to a state of relative disunity with each other, which is called the second exile, i.e., Babylonian exile. It is described in the Prophets, in the Scroll of Esther (Megillat Esther), and in other books.

The people of Israel lived in this state for 70 years. The numbers “4”or “400” and “7” or “70” are conventional units of ascents or descents, like time or distance. Everything clearly operates according to the original formula: the creation of desire (egoism) by the quality of bestowal and love, called light, according to the four phases of direct light. This formula comes from here, and then its work extends to everything.

So, when the Jews fell from the level of the First Temple, they were in danger of completely forgetting where they were and what was happening to them, which meant they could become like other nations.

But at this time, spontaneous combustion again occurred when the stormy egoistic figure of Haman appeared, who, like a pharaoh, aroused in them the awareness of their condition. They did a great job working together in order to rise above the level of Haman, to kill this egoism in themselves, and thus rise to the next level, called the Second Temple.

There was no longer such bestowal and love as at the First Temple. If previously the level of “Love your neighbor as yourself” prevailed, under the Second Temple, the level of connection between the people was at the level of “Do not do to the other what is hateful to you.” It is this connection that is called the Temple; it is not the remains of the ruins in Jerusalem.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. History of the Jewish People” 5/4/14

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Question: Were Jews recognized during the time they were in spiritual attainment? Was there any respect for wisdom?

Answer: There was respect, but only from the side of the greatest of this world: Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, such people who understood what it was about.

The Romans, being barbarians, did not understand the wisdom of Kabbalah, while the ancient Greeks partly learned it. In addition, there were many Eastern sages who came to study with the Jews. From there, all the eastern methods developed.

Basically, Kabbalah gave rise to Greek philosophy, science, and partly to the legislations of Roman law.

Nevertheless, the relations between the nations were normal. Each nation had its own attitude to life and to spirituality. No one bothered anyone. Only after Christianity and Islam emerged did all the problems, contradictions, subjugation, and religious wars begin.

The Greeks began to plant their religion in Israel, and there was a Maccabean revolt. But mostly it happened because of the Jews who themselves wanted to break away from Judaism and become Hellenists.

Meanwhile the Romans were barbarians who didn’t understand at all what they were talking about. They didn’t care who you worshiped or what your philosophy was. The main thing was to impose a certain system and collect taxes.

Question: Why do you call the Romans barbarians? In my opinion, it was only in their bottom layer.

Answer: That is what everyone calls them. But this is not a disparaging word. It just speaks of a certain philosophy of life or worldview.

The Romans mastered the tactics of fighting and constantly conquered new lands until, as usual, these lands conquered them. The same thing is happening in our time; first Europe conquered Africa and now Africa is flooding Europe. This is a common move; there is nothing new in this.

Question: What is this category of desires called Romans?

Answer: “Romans” is a very practical attitude to the world. Before the emergence of Christianity, they treated the world as an absolutely materialistic mechanism that works according to these laws. No problem whatsoever! If you want to make gods for yourself, do it, sculpt whoever you want. If you want a horse, make a horse to a god.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Respect for Jews” 1/21/12

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Question: At which point in history did the Jews lose any sense of spirituality?

Answer: I think they had it until the 18^th century. Then they completely lost it. Only a few knew about it and the rest did not. Baal Shem Tov tried to revive it, but only to the extent that it worked out. Then, closer to our time, spirituality completely disappeared from their sensations.

Question: You live in a country for which the Jews fought for a long time, and from which they were expelled. Can the past sense of spirituality wake up in those who now live here?

Answer: They will have to wake up! It does not matter in which way, but in the end they will still wake up.

I am not talking about what will happen between now and the moment they wake up. Maybe decades will pass during which they will need to go through all sorts of metamorphoses, but they must come together in the same way as they were in the past—as one man with one heart in a state of mutual guarantee, not only them, but all people in the world who feel the same need and understand that it is necessary.

All these people together will become the brain, the mind of humanity, which will lead all the rest, and will begin to shape them, invigorate, and enlighten them toward universal guarantee, until they reach “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

People are still obliged to come to this, otherwise they will not reach similarity with nature and they will lead themselves to destruction.

The law will still be observed, and the thought of the upper force will have to be realized; there is no doubt about it.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What to Expect from the Jews?” 1/21/12

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The three developmental stages of the Jewish people are symbolically called the forefathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or the right, middle and left lines. Sometime after leaving Babylon, this society needed additional development, which can only happen when greater egoism is revealed, is corrected, and it is risen above even more.

In the past, Abraham pondered how the absolute quality of love and bestowal could be reached. Later, he revealed this problem and found the solution: there needs to be a constant growth of egoism above which his group, this small nation, will keep rising.

Therefore, the next stage of development required an increase in egoism within this group and the revelation of its second stage (the first was revealed in Babylon), over which they needed to rise.

But it is not that simple. At first, egoism grows and everyone takes it well, falls into it, and begins to work with it. That is, all kinds of selfish motives dominate, influence, and subdue people. They try to rise above them by adhering to the same methodology, the ideology of Abraham, to unite and care for each other rather than for themselves, as much as possible.

The Torah (Bible) mentions this struggle, about the nation going through the Egyptian states, how they fought among themselves and together against their ego, against the Pharaoh, the new level of egoism that continually broke out between them.

Abraham’s group was in Egypt for 210 years. This is a conditional measurement of units of time, just like the four stages of direct light at the foundation for the four-letter name of the Creator, that is, a formula in which there are always four components of successively developing stages.

Therefore, the egoism that manifested in them consisted of four stages, and the time of the Egyptian exile it was called 400 years. In fact, it lasted 210 years (conventional units), and the remaining exiles fell to 190 years.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. History of the Jewish People” 5/4/14

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We are in a state where, after successive exile from Babylon, Egypt, and Persia, we are figuring out the conditions for the ascent to the last degree, meaning the way out of the current global crisis of all mankind.

Now modern global plagues are manifesting in front of all mankind. They have not yet fully manifested, but we are already beginning to be a little aware of them and we feel their approach. Threatening “tsunamis” are coming at us. People are beginning to understand what Pandora’s Box they have opened with their insane, thoughtless egoistic actions.

Today we must put the methodology of Kabbalah into action. I am happy that I have something to do with this, and I can reveal and explain to people what we are obliged to do, what state we are in, what kind of world this is, and what opportunities we have.

I am glad that we can discover this technique within ourselves, like in a laboratory, and then present it to the whole world, show that it is effective, show how to work practically, become an example for all mankind, and return it to a state of upper force, meaning, to the quality of bestowal and love in a kind, quick way, as soon as it’s possible.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. History of the Jewish People” 5/4/14

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After going through the period of “the exploration of the Land of Israel,” the group of Abraham achieved a state where, from the desire manifested between them, they were able to create one common desire for mutual bestowal and love, in which they revealed the upper force—the Creator.

In other words, they rose to His degree and came to an ideal state. But as soon as they reached it, even greater egoism began to manifest itself, because they took with them from Babylon all the huge egoism that was above them and related not even to them, but to the quality of bestowal and love.

So, the universal egoism of the next, even higher degree began to manifest itself, which is inherent in all of humanity, the whole mass, not just this small group, although they were growing and strengthening in power all the time.

According to Rambam, 5,000 people left Babylon, and when they reached the degree of the land of Israel, there were 3,000,000 of them. That was 2,700 years ago.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. History of the Jewish People” 5/4/14

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Rabbis’ Letter against the new government is a big deal over nothing”

As the new Israeli government was taking shape, an open letter titled A Call to Action began to circulate among American Jewish communities. The signatories, some of whom are prominent figures in American Jewry, pledged “to not invite any members of the RZP [Religious Zionist Party] … to speak at our congregations and organizations. We will speak out against their participation in other fora across our communities. We will encourage the boards of our congregations and organizations to join us in this protest as a demonstration of our commitment to our Jewish and democratic values.”

This letter is worth mentioning only because it is a good reminder for Israelis what American Jewry thinks of Israel. The letter exposes the simple truth that the majority of American Jewry, not all, but certainly a substantial majority among them, oppose Jews being in Israel, and oppose the State of Israel altogether. From their perspective, it would be best if Israel did not exist.

I understand why they need to speak out. First of all, if they keep quiet, it is as if they do not exist, so they need to make some noise. Second, by and large, American Jewry has one goal in mind: to make its stay in the US as safe and serene as possible. Since the world sees Jews as connected all over the world, American Jewry finds itself having to explain the position of the State of Israel, and it makes them feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Because they feel that the existence of Israel risks their own safety in the US, they do not want Israel to exist, certainly not as a Jewish, Zionist entity.

Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?

Lucky for Israel, it is not in any way dependent on American Jewry. The money they donate will not be missed if it stops flowing; Israel is strong enough without it. The lobbying they do for Israel has also not been there for us for many years, and Israel’s strength lies elsewhere today. Therefore, I do not think that Israel should mind at all what Jewish congregations in America think about Israel.

The interests that shape Israel’s position in the world are far more comprehensive than our relationship with this or that denomination in American Jewry. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Iran all take part in the map of interests, and Israel is much more powerful than it used to be, both on the military end and on the economic end.

In fact, even if the US would, for some reason, stop providing military and economic aid to Israel, it would not hurt Israel’s position or harm it economically or otherwise. I do not see such a scenario unfolding, but just to give some perspective as to how independent Israel has become, it is good to remember that we are standing on our own two feet today.

The new government that has just been sworn in is rife with experienced people, who know what they want and how to achieve it, and despite some newspapers’ attempts to portray the new government as a disaster in the making, the majority of the people in Israel feel more confident now than under the previous government.

Yet, above and beyond all the political arguments, the main problem that severs American Jewry from Israel and from Israelis is the simple truth that there is hatred between us. It is fine not to agree. There are arguments in every nation, and some people even choose to leave their country because they disagree with the policy of their government. However, no Chinese in exile and no Iraqi who has fled his country’s regime would want their country to stop existing altogether. This aspiration is uniquely Jewish, and stems from our total hatred for each other, what we Jews know as sinaat hinam (hatred without cause).

If we could overcome that hatred, we would be able to overcome every disagreement. Since we do not want to even admit that our hatred for each other is so deep, we have no chance of curing it. Specifically for the people of Israel, sinaat hinam is an unforgivable sin, the root cause of all the torments that the nations of the world have inflicted on us throughout the generations.

If we tried to love one another, we would not have to hate each other in politics; we would not feel we must appease the nations, and the world would not hate us. When humanity looks at us, it sees our hatred for each other, and seeing it makes them hate us to the core, to the point where they do not want our existence in this world.
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All the states described in the Torah do not speak about geography, not about the way the group of Abraham left Egypt, approached Mount Sinai, crossed the desert, and entered the Land of Israel, but about internal states of people. They began to feel a great development of egoism. It was hard for them, but gradually they came to the point that they were constantly ascending and descending in connection with each other and trying to stay at the level of love, friendship, and the state of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Sometimes it was working and sometimes not, but it went on like this until they realized that they must break away from egoism because it became so huge that it was impossible to deal with it.

You cannot immediately jump onto this mountain, but only gradually revealing the ego to the extent that you can use it, rise above it and thus raise yourself, even though negative qualities are constantly being revealed in you. But you are not afraid of them. You understand that thanks to them you rise above them by using them correctly, and this is your spiritual elevation.

It was in this way that the group of Abraham in connection with each other broke away from the egoism that is called “Egypt,” rose, and began to work on themselves. First, they began to establish a relationship of mutual assistance, so as not to harm each other, since before that they were ready to bite each other’s heads off. Mount Sinai represents the mountain of hatred between them.

Their state can be called a “desert” because they did not feel any taste in it since work for bestowal does not bring any fulfillment to egoism. So, they worked on themselves for 40 years, until they fully rose to the level of Bina.

Then they went through the so-called 40 years of wandering in the desert. Wandering symbolizes a constant search: Where in this egoism, which I constantly raise out of myself, can I find the quality of Bina, the quality of bestowal?
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. History of the Jewish People” 4/5/14

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The four stages of transition from one level to another are mandatory according to the condition of the ten Sefirot or the four-letter name of the Creator Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey. The Creator is the entire nature, its four levels of development, and the transition from the previous state to the next one. And so it is between all steps and within each step.

If there is a transition, it must necessarily go through these four, even in the smallest stages of development.

Therefore, there are four states of development, moving forward. The first is a partial exit from the absolute animal state to the human level. Man is a movement toward solidarity, connection, the property of bestowal and love, but still in its initial state.

So it was under Abraham when he led 5,000 people out of Babylon and organized his first Kabbalistic society. That is, this was a spiritual society in which people treated each other as equals although all of them were different, and everyone cared only about each other and society but not about themselves. In principle, this was their ideal.

Upon this basis Abraham led those who were ready to advance toward this ideal out of Babylon.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. History of the Jewish People” 5/4/14

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do Israelis think of Israeli reporters being boycotted and ignored by Arab fans in the Qatar World Cup?“

Recently at the Qatar World Cup, Israeli reporters experienced strong hostility due to their connection to Israel, which surprised them.

For instance, there was a situation where a Qatari approached an Israeli reporter and told them, “I’d want to tell you welcome, but you’re really not welcome. Get out of here as soon as you can.”

People from all over the world came to Qatar and were greeted with smiles and hugs; and the Israelis were treated terribly. Israelis thought that the recently-signed Abraham Accords with some of the Gulf countries would bring some moderation, but instead the same hatred revealed itself.

Indeed, we will be hated until we become more like Abraham, or in other words, until we show the world that we truly want peace, that we have a tendency toward peace, and that our goal is to bring peace, wholeness and tranquility to the world.

Today, Israel is viewed as a threat to world peace. It is because we indeed have the ability to turn the world to war or peace, and peace depends on us uniting above our differences. Until there will be peace among Jews, there will be no peace in the world, and people will increasingly point the finger of blame on the Jewish people, that we are the ones causing various wars and conflicts.

It has nothing to do with Israel’s foreign relations, i.e. how Israel treats other nations like the Palestinians, but it solely depends on our inner relations. If we treat each other favorably, like good neighbors, within Israel, then our positive relations will extend a heatwave of connection throughout the world. If we currently held such an attitude toward each other, then our reporters would have instead enjoyed a warm and friendly welcome at the Qatar World Cup.

Based on the video “Israeli Reporters Shunned at the Qatar World Cup – A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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