My second article, “What We Jews Owe the World,” published in The New York Times on October 10, 2014: 

What Jews Owe the World

By: Michael Laitman

Buying Our Way to Heaven

The holiest day of the year for Jews is Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when they fast and pray. A key part of the prayer is reading the book of Jonah the Prophet. Interestingly, many observant Jews believe that buying the privilege to read the book will make them successful for the rest of the year.

Naturally, only the wealthiest in the community can afford to compete for it. The sums vary according to the affluence of the community, and in some cases, the privilege is sold for well over half a million dollars.

Cracking the Code

What people are not aware of, however, is the real reason why the book of Jonah is so important. Kabbalists determined that this reading is the most important in the year because it details the code for saving humanity, and this, in the eyes of Kabbalists, is more important than anything.

Jonah’s story is special because it speaks of a prophet who first tried to dodge his mission, but finally repented. Another special aspect of Jonah’s story is that his mission was not to admonish the people of Israel, but to save the city of Nineveh, whose residents were not Jewish. In light of today’s precarious state of the world, we should take a closer look at this story and its meaning for each of us.

Shape Up or Ship Out

G-d orders Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh, who became very mean to one another, to correct the relationships among them if they wanted to survive. However, Jonah bailed out of his mission and took to the sea in an effort to escape G-d’s command.

Like Jonah, we Jews have been evading our mission for the past 2,000 years. And yet, we cannot afford to keep evading it. We have a task that was passed on to us when Abraham united us into a nation based on love of others, and it is our duty to set an example of unity for the rest of the world. Abraham wanted to unite all of humanity, but back then he only managed to establish a small group. (For more on that, see my article,  “Who Are You, People of Israel”, published September 20, 2014 in The New York Times.)

That group, namely the people of Israel, must still become a role model to the world. Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook (the Raiah), the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, put it poetically in his book, Orot Kodesh (Sacred Lights), “Since we were ruined by unfounded hatred, and the world was ruined with us, we will be rebuilt by unfounded love, and the world will be rebuilt with us.”

Sleeping through the Storm

In the story, Jonah’s escape from his mission by ship caused the sea to roar and nearly sank the vessel. At the height of the storm, Jonah went to sleep, detaching himself from the turmoil and leaving the sailors to fend for themselves. Gradually, they began to suspect that someone among them was the cause of the storm. They cast a lot and discovered that it was Jonah, the only Jew on board.

In many ways, today’s world is similar to Jonah’s ship: It has become a global village, as though we’re all in one boat, and the sea around us is raging. And the sailors—all of humanity—are blaming the Jew on board for all their troubles.

Like Jonah, we are sound asleep. Though we are beginning to wake up to the existence of hatred towards us, we have yet to realize that not carrying out our mission, just like Jonah, is the reason for the hatred. If we do not wake up soon, the sailors will throw us overboard, as they did with Jonah. In the words of Rav Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar: “It is incumbent upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and the rest of the people in the world… to evolve into assuming this sublime work of “love of others” (“The Arvut” [Mutual Guarantee]).

The Wake Up Call

The sailors on Jonah’s boat make a desperate attempt to calm the sea, and by Jonah’s order, they throw him overboard. Once he is in the water, the storm calms, but a whale comes along and swallows Jonah. For three days and three nights he introspects in its abdomen. He begs for his life and promises to carry out his mission.

Like Jonah, each of us carries within, something that is stirring up the world. We, the people of Israel, carry a method for achieving peace through connection. Unity is the very root of our being. This DNA is what makes us a people, and today we must rekindle it because wherever we go, this untapped power is destabilizing the world around us in order to compel us to unite.

The unity between us will inspire, even compel, the rest of the nations to follow suit, just as the current separation among us projects separation to the whole of humanity. This is the reason for all our troubles, including anti-Semitism. When we unite, it will endow humanity with the energy required to achieve worldwide unity, where all people live “as one man with one heart.” So the only question is whether we assume our responsibility, or prefer to be thrown overboard, only to subsequently agree to carry out our task.

Indeed, if we want to end our troubles and be rid of anti-Semitism, if we desire to turn judgment into mercy and have a safe and happy life, we must unite and thus set an example of unity for all the nations. This is how we will bring peace and quiet to the world. Otherwise the nations’ hatred toward us will keep growing. Now we can see why people are willing to pay so much for the privilege of reading the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur.

I’d like to conclude this essay with another quote from Rav Kook (the Raiah): “Any turmoil in the world comes only for Israel. Now we are called upon to carry out a great task willingly and mindfully: to build ourselves and the entire ruined world along with us” (Igrot [Letters]).
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From the book The Essential Secret of the Jews, M. Brushtein

If you dig deeper in search of the perpetrators, the circle of suspects begins to narrow. Of course, it’s the Jews. Is there really a better candidate?

For example, famous Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis is sure of this.

American Jews are behind the world economic crisis that has also hit Greece.  (The Global Jewish News Source)

Surveys carried out in Europe indicate this. In seven European countries, 3,500 people were interviewed. About a third of those surveyed, 31%, responded that the perpetrators of the financial crisis are the Jews. (Lenta)

Surveys, done in the USA have shown the same results.

“In order to assess explicit prejudice toward Jews, we directly asked respondents ‘How much to blame were the Jews for the financial crisis?’… Among non-Jewish respondents, a strikingly high 24.6%  of Americans blamed the Jews a moderate amount or more, and 38.4% attributed at least some level of blame to the group.” (Boston Review)

A surprising paradox. On the one hand, the Jews are accused of all mortal sins, and on the other hand, “A Jew is a pioneer of culture. From time immemorial, ignorance was impossible in the Holy Land, even more so than nowadays in civilized Europe. Moreover, at the time when the life and death of a human being was worth nothing, Rabbi Akiva spoke against the death penalty which is now considered to be an acceptable punishment in the most civilized countries.” (Leo Tolstoy “What is a Jew?”)

Additionally,

“I admire the spiritual steadfastness of the Jewish nation, its manly idealisms, its unconquerable faith in the victory of good over evil, in the possibility of happiness on earth.

“The Jews—mankind’s old, strong leaven,—have always exalted its spirit, bringing into the world restless, noble ideas, goading men to embark on a search for finer values.” (Maxim Gorky, About Jews)

And finally.

“Some people like Jews and some do not; but no thoughtful man can doubt the fact that they are beyond all question the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has ever appeared in the world.” (Winston S. Churchill, “A Struggle for the Soul of the Jewish People”)

Is all this coincidence? Was the crisis an accident? Are the Jews blamed for the crisis by chance? Are the laudatory remarks about Jews random? Maybe, a brick falls on someone’s head by accident?

“‘A brick is neither here nor there,’ the stranger interrupted persuasively. ‘A brick never falls on anyone’s head. You in particular, I assure you, are in no danger from that. Your death will be different.'” (Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita)

It could take a long time to prove that there are no coincidences, and it is a meaningless activity. Let’s focus for now on the compromise proposed by one of the greats. An accident is a non-understood regularity.
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The revolutionary process in which we are participating began with the Big Bang and continued through stronger and stronger connection: from fundamental particles to atoms, from atoms to molecules, from molecules to more and more complex structures, until the appearance of the human body, including the cognitive system, the nervous system, and additional systems. Some of them are not known and some are not understood by us.

In general, this process evolved in two directions: extension and connection.

Everything aspires to connection, and only humans, their societies and their nature, receive an opposite form. In a society, we become more and more connected. However, on the other hand, we oppose each other because the ego separates us. As a result of this, we don’t build a cohesive society based upon mutual support, according to the principle of every living body, including our own. Instead of this, we build something very strange, and our society becomes like a cancer that ultimately devours itself and dies.

Essentially, we don’t know what to do. Scientific studies of the forces and mechanisms that move us have discovered that we have no possibility of avoiding  a third world war and chaos. Scientists know this and write that there is no real solution to this way of development, and what is left is only to submit to the mercy of the process that leads us toward an unknown future.

We are destroying the planet, depleting the natural resources, and doing with nature and ecology whatever we please. All this is not because this came to us, but because we don’t know how to build systems that consist of opposites that connect into a single structure. This union of opposites is precisely the essential law of complex systems.

Here, we come to the wisdom of Kabbalah. This problem arose even 3,500 years ago in ancient Babylon. On the one hand, its inhabitants were very close to one another and depended upon each other. On the other hand, they could not stand each other. They hated one another and felt mutual repulsion. And there was nothing they could do about it, the very structure of society was such that it was devouring itself.

It was then that a wise man by the name of Abraham discovered that the transition to a new level of development was concealed here. Essentially, there was nothing unique about that state. Just like the transition from the level of the still to the vegetative, or from the vegetative to the level of the animate, so also is the transition from the level of the animate to the level of the speaking. This transition requires us to attain the power of connection between opposites so that they can be connected and form a completely harmonious system. In spite of the polarities, in spite of the hatred and the rejection between us, we can utilize a unique force, a unique network in order to reach balance between one another and build a life.

We don’t really understand the significance of this step. We don’t understand what the source of life is and how two opposites can connect. However, it is precisely the absolute polarities between plus and minus that form the atom, a stable system in which they are opposed and yet simultaneously connect.

To continue, according to that principle, combinations are constructed that are more and more complex, possessing the ability to evolve. Plus and minus are combined between them in order to attract what is useful for development and the balance between them, and to emit what is harmful to that balance. Thus, by means of absorption and emission, life is created. There is more and more complex development, until there is a need for building a new system that the Kabbalists call the spiritual system. In other words, it is higher than the systems that are familiar to us.

Abraham discovered that there exists a universal law in nature that encompasses all systems, that maintains and develops them. It is possible to call it the power of Light, the power of the Creator, the higher power. However, it has one goal: to keep all parts of reality in harmony and mutual connection.

It is possible to attract and use this force even now, when we want to rise to the new level and become one system. Through this, we awaken the universal force, and it builds the long-awaited balance between us.

In Kabbalah, the law that Abraham discovered is called the law of equivalence of form. If I am personally attracted to the one force of equivalence of form, then to that degree, I arouse its influence on me and it builds the connection between me and other people to whom I am attracted. It builds among us a harmonious and balanced system between all of the parts.

Abraham discovered the deepest layer of that general integral law of nature that already was known and to which he called all of the Babylonians to join him.

Maimonides, the 12^th century philosopher, said that Abraham wrote a multitude of books and did great dissemination work so that people would understand what he discovered and that he was speaking specifically about a law of nature that one should not oppose. That is how we evolve, without a possibility of escaping from its flow, from the natural tendency toward balance, connection, and harmony.

On the level of the still, vegetative, and animate, we reach balance spontaneously, without free choice. However, on the level of the speaking, this no longer will succeed because we need to participate consciously in building balance and a universal human system. It is up to us to understand, recognize, want to invest effort, and choose to try to organize correctly in order to advance.

So, thanks to these efforts, we arouse the only universal force of nature, which is the Creator, the Light. It doesn’t matter what you call it. In response to our efforts, it will influence us and carry out the right action of connection on us. This is what Abraham taught people.

The subsequent history is known. Some of the people heard him and realized the method for a while, but later, and in spite of it all, dropped out of the process. It is impossible to build one harmonious and balanced system if all the rest of humanity is broken. That is why we have reached the situation today where the Babylonian crisis of separation has come back upon us.

Why is it specifically today? This is because humanity, as was the case then, is discovering that it is connected in one universal system. We are closed within one system, one society, one family, on the face of the Earth, and all of us are linked to each other.

Today, we don’t need to fight. It is enough to sever connections with some nation and it will not bear this isolation. Modern weapons are the same primitive, barbaric clubs in a sophisticated form. No one needs them in a worldwide global system that is like a global village. Today, commercial, industrial, financial, and logistical connections determine everything. If you sever these arteries for a nation, it is like disconnecting some organ from the body. It is clear that it will not survive on its own.

That is also what happened in ancient Babylon in Mesopotamia, the cradle of humanity, when it became one society. The same thing is happening today as.

The Kabbalists, students of Abraham in all generations, spoke about this and even made a calculation in a timeline according to the law of human development to understand when humanity would return to the same situation. The law of unification began to be clarified at the end of the 19^th century, and according to everyone, reached clarification at the end of the 20^th century. More precisely, the Kabbalists wrote about this as being since the year 1995.

This is the situation today. When I began to study the wisdom of Kabbalah in 1975-76, I didn’t believe that this would really happen. However, in reality, there was a very sharp transition, and suddenly there was talk about a unified system, a unified humanity, about a global village, and absolute dependence upon one another, and so forth.

Together with this, the evil of human nature was revealed showing how much we are the opposite to each other and not ready to connect in a correct manner. After all, in spite of the oppositions between us on the level of the still, vegetative, and animate, the universal force connects us such that the polarities are transformed into a dipole that connects us and keeps us in balance and harmony.

However, on the level of the speaking, in the human connections between us, it is up to us to awaken in ourselves the influence of the universal force and to participate in the balance between plus and minus, between the two extremes. This requires specific work from us.

First of all, it is up to us to understand and recognize the situation in which we are found and to continue to invest shared efforts in order to build the right environment. In Kabbalah, these efforts are called raising MAN, meaning making a request for connection. Through this, we awaken the influence of the universal force on us that will connect us into one system and into harmony for all of human society.

This is right for the present historical moment. Today, the wisdom of Kabbalah, the science that Abraham discovered, has been opened before everyone. This is because all of us must utilize the system that has been created and begin to correctly use the conditions that have been created for building the future society. Otherwise, humanity is liable to be destroyed.

So, the Kabbalists, the people who are involved with this problem and its solution, bring to our attention the truth about our situation and our future. They tell us that, in any case, we are reaching a collective balance. However, if we don’t awaken the only force of nature that brings our unification and the right connection between us, then it will nevertheless be revealed as the only power that connects and gathers us together, but without our inclination and desire. In that case, we will need to obey this law against our will, and this will bring us to very unpleasant situations through disasters, plagues, and wars.

This is a good force, for it connects the entire system into one. However, if we oppose it, then we awaken upon ourselves the influence of opposing forces that act upon us as disasters.

The Kabbalists try to bring this knowledge to all humanity and teach humanity how to reach the right understanding of connection, awakening in us an attraction toward it, and in accord with our yearning, stimulating the discovery of the one force without arousing disasters. As a necessity, we will come closer to the correct, integral singular state and advance in the best, most pleasant and desirable way. Such an effort is what is required from us.

The most difficult problems today are being discovered in human society, even though everything good exists in the world. Scientific and technological advancement has reached its peak, but they don’t dare show some of this modern technology to humanity. Otherwise, people will not need to work and there won’t be any need to invest effort.

Essentially, we already have gone out to a new level of development, but we still are not ready to realize it because of our inadequacy. We have the tools in our hands, but we are not ready to integrate them correctly on the new level because our approach is not integral, meaning our inner structure is not integral. On the contrary, we are egoists, and our tendency is to be distant from one another and not connect in harmony.

As a result of this, we look with fear at the future state of united humanity, and we don’t know what to do with seven billion human beings who won’t be working. We don’t have any concept of another form of existence and about a different connection between us while we rise to another level of perception, to a different life and way of living.

There are a multitude of surprises hidden behind the new situation, but we still are not ready to digest them because our perception is not integral.

The main thing in the integral system is to forego the individualistic view of me against the world. Instead of this, I must acquire an integral perception and see a whole picture where all of us are connected and completing one another. Only then do I discover the future state in which humanity must exist, and then I understand and feel this life that is expected at a propitious time.

It is up to us to reach this perception, and this is what the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us.
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From the Convention In Mexico “Day One” 8/1/14, Lesson 1

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Question: What do anti-Semites of all generations want from the Jews?

Answer: They want to stop feeling that the Jews “command” them; they strive to end the sensation that the Jews are the reason for all their problems. Their claims to the Jews are very natural and correct.

Question: Correct?!

Answer: Yes! According to nature, everything they say is absolutely right. The Jews are the bearers of the ideology that harms the entire world.

“What’s wrong with us? We don’t harm anybody,” the Jews exclaim. In fact, without knowing it, they are lying. They are guilty. Today, they bring disasters to the world because they are separated. Accordingly, if they manage to change, they will attract immense happiness to this world.

The world thinks that they can get rid of the Jews, but this is an error in thinking. We have to show the world the real way out of this problem.

Anti-Semitism, the question of the attitude toward Jews, and everything connected with this issue will continue to expand, become stronger, and soon will replace all other most obvious and blatant problems worldwide. No matter what happens, whatever trouble or disaster occurs—wars, afflictions—everything will be blamed on the Jews. “If there is no water in the tap, the Jews drank the water…” (Russian satirical song). Nothing can be done; it’s a law of nature.

For how long will this situation last? It will continue until we, the Jews, will change the trend of things so that everybody reaches complete balance with the Creator and rises to His level. Until then, their accusations,in fact, will be natural and correct.

They just have to understand what exactly they demand from the Jews. As soon as we comprehend these issues ourselves and start moving in the right direction, they will realize it through us and help us. In this way, we’ll attain the level that Abraham wanted to reach in ancient Babylon.

Therefore, we currently are in the most critical point. Here it is! It’s right in front of us! It is happening as we speak! From this point on we have to start growing very rapidly. In other words, we will have to connect with each other and show the entire world the way to reach ultimate peace, the best eternal and benevolent state.
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From KabTV’s “Babylon Yesterday and Today” 9/3/14, Part 6

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Question: How did the exile of the two tribes happen? Were they “slightly in touch” with “Babylon” without “dissolving” in it completely?

Answer: Yes. This state of affairs has continued for two thousand years. If they lived absolutely separately, isolated from the rest of humanity, nobody would ever “pick” on them. However, it is impossible for spiritual reasons. They had to connect with other nations, thus leading humanity forward to the future ascent, to the upcoming “enlightenment.”

That’s why the upper governance “spun” things in a way that they involuntarily were forced to live among other nations and somehow transfer the wisdom to them. The Jews always were physicians, clerks, etc. They initiated banking and various technologies. Everything started with them.

Question: And while they were in a state of unity, they weren’t in exile?

Answer: Right. They entered one or another country poor and ragged, huddled together. They were accepted in that “shape.” For the time being, everything went well and they led quiet and peaceful lives.

However, as soon as they were settling down and, most importantly, getting richer, the distance between them grew. The level of equality and brotherhood among them rapidly diminished. There were rich and poor Jews. The “scalpel” that separated them from each other plunged more deeply into the gap created between them. It was then that the problems arose and they immediately become hated until they were expelled from the countries they were living in.

We can draw a parallel with the Egyptian exile. First, the Jews were given the land of Goshen, a fertile piece of land and they started developing the country. This period is described as “seven years of satiation.”

Then, why did the “seven years of hunger” come? Why did the new ruler of Egypt intimidate them? Why did Egyptians hate the Jews and force them out of the country?

It happened because the Jews grew “fat.” It was a result of their “compliance” with egoism during the “seven years of satiation,” at the time when the Jewish influence was very high in Egypt. They “sold” themselves to egoism. As soon as they reached the maximum level of selfishness, “seven years of hunger,” the period of suppression and overpowering began. This period ended by “expelling” the Jews from Egypt.

In essence, the same processes took place in other countries. The last, most vivid example is Germany. There the Jews really strove to be like the Germans. They were lawyers, doctors, politicians. One of them seriously aimed at becoming Chancellor. We all know the result.

Question: How did the two surviving expelled tribes of Israel live in Babylon? In essence, wasn’t anti-Semitism that accompanies the Jews until today was born at that time?

Answer: Generally speaking, anti-Semitism originated in ancient Babylon since Abraham’s group was meant to exit, to get away from there. Then, the same situation repeated in Egypt and once again during the Babylonian exile. It is about the same state of equilibrium or absence of balance between the Light and the desire.

However, the first open manifestation of anti-Semitism happened in Babylon at the time of Nebuchadnezzar after the loss of the Temple. The truth is that the Jews were not pushed out of there; rather, the terms of the exile expired. After Haman made an unsuccessful attempt to exterminate all the Jews in the country, a new king Cyrus, Esther’s son, а patron of the Jews came to power. By the way, during the Babylonian exile the queen of Babylon was a Jewish woman. So, her son Cyrus helped the Jews to return to Israel and gave them everything they needed to resurrect the Temple.

It was the time of prophets who shared the exile with their people and exited from the exile together with them. At that time, the people were at a spiritual level, not in the power of complete darkness as it happened later
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From KabTV’s “Babylon Yesterday and Today” 9/03/14, Part 5

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In the News (from the Jerusalem Post): “Executive director of the Kings Bay Y in Brooklyn, was attacked by a pro-Palestinian protester following the exhibition basketball game between the NBA’s Nets and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

“Petlakh said he required eight stitches and his nose was broken after being punched on Wednesday while exiting the Barclays Center arena following the Nets’ 111-94 victory.

“Fans verbally sparred inside the arena as the game was ending when pro-Palestinian protesters began shouting slogans and a pro-Israel fan grabbed a Palestinian flag from one of the protesters, according to Petlakh.

“As the crowds spilled out of the arena and onto the street, one of the protesters took a swing at Petlakh, who was with his 14 and 10-year-old sons. The assailant ran away and Petlakh sought medical care. He reported the incident to the police, who are investigating the attack as a hate crime.”

My Comment: I can only say one thing and that is that one hundred years later history repeats itself. Before WWII, Baal HaSulam warned of impending tragedy and offered the only means: uniting the Jewish people for the revelation of the Creator and attracting the whole of humanity to this action.
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Question:  A significant portion of the original sources emerged during the “vague” period of the destruction of the Temple. So, the books that appeared at that time had to be very elevated because they were written between the fall and the upcoming ascent. Is that right?

Answer: Of course! It was the time when the great Talmud was written and also a tremendous number of other books were created on this edge, including The Book of Zohar.

Those who wrote these books knew that people would fall into absolute darkness and rise again after many generations. They knew that in a number of centuries these books would surface again in order to let people implement the knowledge at the next higher level, together with all of humanity, all of Babylon.

Before, it was prohibited to put this knowledge in writing. Everything had to live in a person, and people worked internally. Why would anybody document anything if this wisdom was already written in the annals of their souls? Absolutely every bit of knowledge was inscribed in the memory of the “spiritual computer.” However, when people started losing connection with this computer, they obtained permission to write down the knowledge on paper. They began writing books, which is why we have ​the​ Babylonian Talmud, Mishnah, Gemarah, and The Book of Zohar.

Even today, after hundreds and thousands of years, there are dozens of volumes left, even though many parts of The Book of Zohar did not survive! Can you imagine how much they wrote?

That’s why the “Talmud” became a household word denoting something huge and comprehensive. We are talking about an incredible number of canonical texts that nobody is ever allowed to correct. Even if some lines seem wrong to us, they should still be left intact. It’s quite possible that later we’ll figure out that these lines are correct. We should know what is written there.

That’s why the Old Testament, i.e., the Torah, has remained intact since then. All further editions are identical to the archeological findings, no matter how old they are.

Question: So, the original texts carry some core rod?

Answer: Yes, they do. Even now, we continue studying the laws that explain how we should relate to these texts. We cannot change a thing in them! No matter what we think about the texts, we are strictly prohibited from changing them.

However, it is acceptable to make adaptations with references to the original text. At this time, we have processed The Book of Zohar slightly and made it more accessible to the general public. Otherwise, it is extremely hard and practically impossible to understand what’s written in these books, since they were meant for a different type of intellect or perception.

Question:  If so, the texts are written on the verge of the light and darkness, on the edge of the light and the exile. Do they carry the fetus of our further ascent?

Answer: The Mishnah, Talmud, Schulchan Aruch and many others were written and studied during the various phases of the exile. Starting with the fifteenth century, from the time of the Ari, the major book that acquired the biggest popularity among scholars is undoubtedly The Book of Zohar.

The two tribes from Abraham’s group carried the books with them through the entire exile and continued observing the principle of “loving their neighbor as themselves.”

The rest of the tribes vanished. They didn’t take the books with them because they were descendants of the First Temple, during which writing was completely prohibited.

Question: Does it mean that during the exile people were united around these writings? Were they written to attain unity?

Answer: Yes. Their task was to store the wisdom throughout history. At the end of the descent, The Book of Zohar had to be revealed. It was meant to help people leave the exile.
[144226]
From KabTV’s “Babylon Yesterday and Today” 9/03/14, Part 6

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We remember that this last summer was hot in every sense. Most of the whole year that passed gave our nation the longest military operation in many years. Its uniqueness is in the fact that it ultimately marked and emphasized the dead end we have reached. The battle is over, but there is still a threat and there is nowhere to which we can escape.

The moment another round is over, the shadow of the next round is hanging over our heads. Each time we stall for different reasons and postpone any decision making hoping that things will somehow work out on their own.

But things haven’t changed for decades. On the contrary, the connection between the contradictions around and inside our country is growing increasingly tighter. It is a clear sign that we have to do some self-clarifications before we can clarify and face our problems.

The prophet Jonah found himself in a similar situation thousands of years ago and is the hero of the book that we are used to reading on Yom Kippur. Strangely, this story keeps repeating regularly and although the atmosphere or the environment may change, it is always relevant. Our times are no exception.

The plot seems like an adventure novel, as Jonah receives a mission from God to help the people of Nineveh overcome the mutual hatred they feel and to fulfill the principle of love thy neighbor as thyself.

It was Abraham who first fulfilled this idea and founded the Jewish nation on this basis. It makes no difference today how he attained it, but the important thing is that the Jewish nation succeeded in doing what is basically impossible.

“What would have happened to mankind if Abraham hadn’t been a man of sharp perception and if he had stayed in Ur and kept his ideas to himself and not founded any unique Jewish nation? The world without Jews would undoubtedly be very different than it is today.” (Paul Johnson, British scientist and historian).

Today more than ever before, the entire world—not just the Jews, Arabs, Russians, and Ukrainians—is in need of love, or at least elementary, mutual understanding.

At the same time, just as in the past, similar ideas are perceived as totally unrealistic. No wonder Jonah decided to escape overseas, thinking he could escape the mission he had been given.

Just like Jonah, we too are trying to hide from the great, “impregnable” problems in our daily routine, and let others deal with them while we deal with our personal problems. Although our personal problems are not on a global scale, at least they can be resolved. Our whole life is a cycle of daily problems that we sometimes manage to float above.

It isn’t by chance that Jonah’s story is read on Yom Kippur. From ancient times comes the reminder that it is impossible to escape the mission we have been given.
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From the Russian Brochure: “The Main Secret of the Jewish New Year”

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Question: Did the Jews remain as people of Israel in the spiritual sense of the word after the destruction of the First Temple?

Answer: They were aware of their inability to resist the egoism that controlled them. This fact is documented in historical books and chronicles.

There are lots of materials that cover this topic. They were written in the remote past by immediate participants of the events, not by contemporary researchers.

The Jews were a highly literate nation. They conveyed their knowledge from generation to generation. Their writings were preserved, systematized, and classified. Thus, they were well-kept for centuries.

Hence, the people clearly realized: “There is no Creator among us!”

Question: Still, what did they take to the exile? What did they carry with them? Previously, they observed Abraham’s principles, but what did they have after the collapse took place?

Answer: They remembered their history quite well. It’s not that they were totally unaware of it, as if they were hit on the head. Moreover, the fall never happens immediately; it unfolds gradually; people slowly cool down, leave their prior states behind, and continue making unsuccessful attempts to return back to their previous states.

We exert holding on to our past, but we are unable to do so. At the same time, by making attempts to return back to it, even if we don’t achieve results, we still continue exploring and revising our prior states, thus retaining them in our memory.

It is similar to the distribution of the Light in a Partzuf and its further exit out of it—TANTA. At the very last stage, when everything else is already gone, all is left are recollections (Reshimot). However, at this stage, they are quite fresh and are called vessels (Kelim). These kind of vessels are correct. They reflect the right sensations, the definitions of what’s going on inside us, only at this point, one realizes what state one was in before. At the time we were in that state, we didn’t understand what it actually meant for us.

It happens in everyday life as well. Often, we tell someone: “You’ll remember this situation and understand it differently later.” So, something always stays when we lose our past situations and when it’s not in our power to discontinue the tendency of losses.
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From KabTV’s “Babylon Yesterday and Today,” 9/3/2014

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Filed under: Ancient Babylon, Group Work, Israel, Israel Today, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: What do the “parting” with Babylon and construction of the Second Temple mean?

Answer: These notions stand for building positive bridges between the two remaining tribes in accordance with the principle “Don’t do to others what you don’t wish for yourself.” It is a spiritual level that existed for several hundreds of years until it collapsed.

Question: In other words, Abraham’s message guides us upwards, but the path we pursue is full of “bumps” that often lead us downward, is that true?

Answer: The path is not easy. After the initial spiritual ascent, they fell to Egypt. From there, they rose to the level of the First Temple, and then they fell to Babylon. Afterward, they rose slightly to the level of the Second Temple, and later they descended to internal destruction. In other words, they even lost the level of “not doing to others what they didn’t wish for themselves.” They just were not able to continue implementing this principle any longer since their growing egoism broke the remnants of their prior love.

So, by the beginning of the first century of our era, love completely disappeared.

Comment: They even started fighting and killing each other.

Answer: These things were happening at the time of the First Temple. After it collapsed, diverse segments, such as captains, merchants, dignitaries, administrators, etc., appeared among the people. They exhibited enormous egoism, even though they were at high levels.

It’s quite different from building relationships at lower levels, such as in little villages or among those who own one cow or a sheep or a horse. To survive, they had to lend their cattle to each other.

However, when you and I have billions, and others also have as much as we do, wars and battles are inevitable. Each one possesses their own army and holds on to their interests. This is why problems arise.

Question: So, falling from the spiritual level leads us deep down to the manifestation of the evil. Is that right?

Answer: Yes, it’s true. On the other hand, it is a natural phenomenon. These issues happen in all countries that are going through the phase of decline. The modern world faces the same threat: Russians, Europeans, and wealthy Americans will soon create their own armies and fight each other.

For the Jews, these periods usually end up very sadly, since at the time of spiritual collapse, conquerors show up and destroy the temples.
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From KabTV’s “Babylon Yesterday and Today” 9/3/14

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Filed under: Ancient Babylon, Egoism, Israel, Israel Today, Kabbalah Dissemination, Nations of the World - No Comments →