Entries in the 'Israel Today' Category

The Round Method

From the brochure “The Only Way Out”:

One of the most effective and affordable means of the technique is the “roundtable.” A roundtable is a mechanism for decision-making on matters affecting the interests of all social groups of society, as well as a meeting place for these social groups.

Roundtables have been known for a long time. According to the legend, King Arthur, the fabled leader of the Britons in the 5th and 6th centuries, introduced the roundtable so that his sovereigns and participants at his feasts would not argue with each other about the best place and, therefore, felt equal.

A normal,well-known roundtable has existed for about 1,500 years. The Kabbalistic roundtable has its roots in antiquity. It was one of the most important legislative and educational tools of the Jews at the dawn of civilization. It was used to rule the country and raise the younger generation:

“We sat in a semicircle, in love and friendship, as one whole, like the Sanhedrin, having no doubts in each other. Thus we saw and heard each other and debated with each other until the decision came out properly.

If we had set in a row, and not in a circle, the first ones would not have seen the last ones. But we did not sit in a full circle, so that everyone could exit and enter.”Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Ben Yitzhak (1040–1105),  commentator on the Bible and Talmud and community leader in northern France.

The proverbial roundtable proved itself to be an effective tool for solving various problems. At the same time, the effectiveness of the roundtable, based on the method of Kabbalah, is simply amazing. Complete strangers experience such relationships that exist only between the closest people.

With this tool, you can improve relationships in the family, settle conflicts at work, and resolve the problems at the national level. It is no secret that the root of all problems, from traffic jams to armed clashes, is ultimately in the relationship between people.

It is important to note that the roundtable is held according to certain principles. Its participants should make an effort to add their own individuality and originality to the common pool. Efforts should be directed to minimize disturbances and friction on the one hand, and to enhance each other’s contribution.

The technique allows overcoming any barriers that hinder our understanding: mentality, origin, age, political views, etc.

At the same time, a specific solution to a specific problem is not the goal. This is a natural consequence of the unity achieved in the circle.

Reaching a new level of harmonious, integral relationships, similar to the perfection of nature itself is our goal.

The integral method does not begin and end with roundtables. The roundtable is just one of the many tools of integral education.
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Realization Of The Idea: How It Works

From the brochure “The Only Way Out.”

For the idea of “Love thy neighbor as thyself” to begin to work, it is necessary to come to, in modern terms, real integral relationships between people.

A person is born different to a certain extent and by oneself or by force cannot become integral. This fact is well known and needs no proof. On the other hand, we want, or rather, must become like that.

There is only one way—education, or if you prefer, enlightenment. It should be based not on fictional, even if the most beautiful, theories, but on the laws that were originally inherent in nature and that are described in Kabbalah.

It is impossible to build the correct relationships between people without basic knowledge about the human being, nature, the environment, and their interaction with each other.

The environment is not just the people one is in direct contact with. It includes books, movies, the Internet, and even thoughts.

Only the human being is able to change dramatically under the influence of society, the environment, in contrast to all the other creatures on Earth. Obviously, not by chance, when we talk about the impact of the ecosystem on human, we use the word “environment.”
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How Can This Be Done?

From the brochure “The Only Way Out.”

The human being cannot live without an idea. Arabs cannot live without an idea, neither can the world, and we cannot, or rather cannot succeed in living without an idea.

The ideas of hatred towards others in all sorts of guises march across the entire planet. Not just brotherly countries, but just brothers wage war against each other.

The scary thing is that we are not able to stop this unfounded hatred. Why? Because hatred can be stopped only by love. Perhaps they are lofty words, but there is no alternative.

The only question is how, in what way to turn the message of hatred into the idea of love. We know that this is impossible. Everyone knows this. But still, there is one historical precedent. Its author is the Jewish people. The Jews are the people created initially on the idea. The idea of love.

It is clear that conventional education cannot achieve this. We all know that very well. However, there is a special technique that allowed and allows achieving these results. This technique has not been known to the world until now. It is called the wisdom of Kabbalah.

The world knows about Kabbalah as mysticism, esotericism, religion, etc. We are talking about the science on the basis of which it is possible to make the idea of “love your neighbor as yourself” a reality.

It turns out that when humankind achieves its goal, with respect to the success of the bodies, by bringing them to the degree of complete love of others, all the bodies in the world will unite into a single body and a single heart, … Only then will all the happiness intended for humanity become revealed in all its glory.” Baal HaSulam – Rav Yehuda Ashlag (1884–1954), Kabbalist, author of commentaries to The Book of Zohar.
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What Is Happening To Us?

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday, people need to know what is happening to them, for whatever reason it happens, and how they can change the situation.

We see from day to day the hastening of the events that bring us closer to new states more quickly. We can only detect this sequence in which a punishing imperative is seemingly inherent.

Throughout the world, we are witnessing growing anti-Semitism, outbreaks of hatred towards Jews, antagonism against the State of Israel, and all kinds of demonstrations. Various media are trying to distort the facts, creating news and daily analysis in an anti-Israel light.

We see that the whole world as if discovers in this a common force, one spirit that permeates the atmosphere with hatred towards the Jews and Israel.

When the human being recognizes this general trend that is sweeping the world in a manner of weeks, one naturally asks oneself: How is this possible that there is such a powerful reaction to this small war, in comparison with the hundreds of thousands who are being killed in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Africa, Afghanistan, etc.?

Here indeed lies the ultimate destiny, and only the secret wisdom, the science of Kabbalah is able to explain what is happening to us and how to act correctly in this situation.
[141845]

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A War Between Good And Evil

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Do you feel that the warm unity that is being revealed in the people of Israel in the latest war is only a small taste of that complete connection that must exist between all people?

Answer: Very much so. A connection like this must exist between all people in the world, without exception. Everyone must feel that others are like his blood brothers. And the people of Israel must show an example of this: giving power and energy to this, helping others to organize.

This is specifically what the anti-Semites say, except differently; for after all, they still have not received any help in this from the people of Israel. And so they are asking for something good from us, but they blame us for being the source of all suffering.

Question: How does the connection of the people of Israel that is created in a time of war influence the world?

Answer: It has not yet influenced the world because we have not attained true unity. In the meantime, we are far from the state of being like one person with one heart. We must organize according to those processes that bring the people to general unity. And likewise, it is necessary to explain to the whole world that we are building an example for everyone.

The process that Israel must go through to unite as one nation is intended for other nations. And this symbolizes being “a light to the nations,” “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Without the inclusion of all peoples in this process, creation will not become a single integral system.

The people of Israel were already in a state like this. Now it is charged with an additional task: not just to connect between us as we once were, but specifically to bring the entire world to connection. So this is called the “complete redemption,” “the last generation.”

All of humanity must attain the same connection that once existed among the people of Israel. We are not just returning to that state. We are not connecting just to be united between us but in order to connect others. This is another task from the start, a new level, a new direction, and a new goal.

So we must disseminate this knowledge to all of the people of Israel, and to the whole world as well. This is specifically what we intend to do: to unite in order to unite the people of Israel and the whole world after it. We need to remember this goal from the outset, as it is said, “the final act is in the initial thought.”

So we must disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah and all that it says about the correction of the world and the mission of the people of Israel. And we will see how much this will be accepted in the world.

But if we don’t do this, then the whole world will join to support Gaza. Imagine the whole world siding with Gaza, connecting to it with all their heart and soul, and sending battleships, weapons, missiles, and aid there. What would we do then?

And this is what will happen if we don’t translate this war between good and evil inward, by directing against our evil, against the opposition to connection. This war of Gog and Magog was described clearly by the prophets. It was said that the whole world will join our enemy, and for example, the enemy that we see at the moment is Hamas.

Yet in fact no enemy exists, we materialize it through our separation. If we want Hamas to disappear, we only need to unite. Hamas has no other role besides the unification of the people of Israel.

All wars and suffering are directed only towards one goal, to obligate us to feel the power of unity and to rise to the level of a single consciousness. But we see that the moment that the war ends, the situation calms at least a little, and it becomes a bit quieter, we immediately fall from the level of unity.

And who has the responsibility for the people of Israel not descending from this state of unity? Those with have the method of Kabbalah, of unity. This means people who are studying the wisdom of Kabbalah and understand the whole program, the process, the powers of correction; they are the ones who are responsible for everything that is happening and must bring the method of unification to all of the people.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 8/12/14

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A Ring Of Unity Is Closing In On Us

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why is anti-Semitism increasing throughout the world and how does this hatred towards the Jewish people connect with the eternal connection that exists within it?

Answer: This eternal connection among the Jewish people was created at the time of the exodus from Egypt when the people of Israel were hated and enslaved. The pressure and the blows helped to consolidate us, to agree to be as one person with one heart, and to reach the source of unification, the required power and intensity.

In this manner we began to feel the higher power, the central force that manages nature. It is possible to call this force the “Creator,” meaning nature. The name is unimportant; the main thing is that this power was revealed to us. We were already in this state, but afterwards, as a result of various events, we lost this power that united us and from this unity we descended to a state called “exile.”

We have already been in this exile for two thousand years. But now, according to a process through which all of nature is passing, we have reached a kind of limit when the people of Israel must return again to unity and bring all of creation to it. All of humanity must live in total unity and not just the people of Israel.

Therefore, nature is awakening the people of Israel and the whole world to this. It is impossible to believe, but people who have never seen a Jew in their life, somewhere in distant Oceania or South America, nevertheless, feel themselves belonging to that process. Everyone blames Israel.

Question: But this hatred is the opposite, against unity.

Answer: The hatred is derived from there being no unity among the people of Israel. This is the reason that all of the nations of the world feel bad. All of nature, the entire earth, must attain balance.

The world of the still, vegetative, and animate are in balance and harmony, in that, they support each other mutually. And only the human, because of his ego, departs from this balance and doesn’t want to be connected with all of nature. The human doesn’t even feel that he belongs to nature and is a part of it. The ego obliges him to think as if he exists on his own.

In the past, the people of Israel attained this power of unity that exists in nature and used it. We were connected among us, with all of the nature of the still, vegetative, and animate, and likewise with the higher power that manages all of creation. This higher force is called “nature,” “Creator.”

Today we live in a world in which the higher power is again approaching us, this force of the universe is beginning to influence the planet, all of human society, as if a ring of unity is closing in on us. From this we feel ourselves dependent upon each other.

This is a cyclic process as usually happens in nature: sometimes this connection is revealed more and sometimes it is weakened. And as of today we are at the peak of the revelation of this power of unity. It is approaching us again, just like there are periods of maximal solar activity or some processes within the earth.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 8/12/14

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Anti-Semitism As A Demand For Attention And Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe force of unity is a force of nature that passes through a certain process of changes. Today, this force affects the Earth and compels us all to unite. The whole system should become integrated, connected through all its parts. Also, it has to become global, spreading throughout the world.

We must achieve this state. But of all the world’s population, only the people of Israel have ever lived in this state of unity and reached balance with the still, vegetative, and  animate levels of nature, and with the general upper force. The rest of humanity has not had this experience.

It happened two thousand years ago when the nation of Israel, living in the land of Israel, built the First and Second Temples. We were called the people of Israel because of our orientation straight to the Creator, Isra-el, Yashar-Kel, directly towards unity, harmony, and brotherly love for one another.

Today the whole world is suffering from the external pressure of the upper force that is getting closer to us. Israel does not want this approach, to be in a state of spiritual destruction, expulsion from this upper force, from the connection with each other.

Therefore, the rest of humanity feels that Israel is not fulfilling its obligations: Israel does not pass this upper force to the other nations, the method of unity, is not a Light for others, it does not teach them how to live in connection and unity. We do not realize our mission is to become “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation,” teachers for all of humanity.

Subconsciously, the whole world is awaiting this from us. The world hates the Jews because they do not bring good to them and thus cause suffering. All the nations accuse Israel of being the source of all ills. In this way, they want to say that Israel has the opportunity to become a source of good for the world but does not do it.

Anti-Semitism is the evidence that all the nations feel dependent on Israel. Imagine what a serious condition this is. As if you fell into complete dependence on the neighbor who has gathered a complete report about you and has the opportunity to tell your relatives and friends about all your secrets, all the crimes that you have committed in your life.

He keeps this report at his place and gradually reveals the facts from it, bringing you terrible suffering here and there. And he does it deliberately, as a clever and cunning criminal, leaving you alone neither day nor night, and tormenting you day after day.

How would you feel in this situation? Can this be called life? Your life would be worse than death! It would have turned into one continuous suffering, renewed every moment when you do not know what to expect. That’s what the nations of the world feel, and day after day this feeling is increasing.

Question: What exactly causes the world to feel this way about Israel?

Answer: The reason is that the people of Israel are not united. We have to become united, and then the unified upper force will flow through us and will affect the world, bringing it in order.

We bring harm to the world by our disconnection from each other since the upper force of good cannot flow to the world because of us. We do not teach the world how to be in good connections with each other. The whole world has to be organized in a global system: people have to connect with each other with good ties and become like one body, one man with one heart.

The people of Israel must set this example, show its unity to everyone, and help others to unite in the same way.
[141627]
From KabTV’s “A New Life,” 8/12/14

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An Honorable Privilege To Serve People

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The last war [in Israel] has brought about a special change in the younger generation and suddenly there is a different understanding, a great desire that did not exist before. A couple of months ago words like “unity” and “connection” did not appeal to young people, but the latest events have made them feel the connection between people and it is as if this feeling has been imprinted in them.

On the whole, it is actually the same generation that fought the war and if not they themselves, it was their friends. My daughter’s friend couldn’t wait to be recruited and was eager to reach the front and to do his share. For some reason he had the feeling that if he didn’t participate in it he would be missing something.

Answer: A person feels that he doesn’t get what he deserves. When he reaches the front, a soldier feels that he gets something for being there and not that he gives. It is a new phenomenon that we didn’t see before in wartime or in military operations. It belongs to the next level of a human being who begins to feel his giving as receiving.

A soldier who reaches the front and receives a weapon to carry out orders should feel that he sacrifices himself when he serves the nation. However, he suddenly feels that he receives since he acquires a feeling of belonging to his people and to the action that unites everyone. He receives the force of unity from that.

If he doesn’t go to the front, he doesn’t have this strong impression; it is as if he remains empty and he lacks this. So he yearns to be in the center of events in order to be with everyone not just physically, but mentally. It is then that he feels a filling. He understands that this is the only place that can fill him.

This time the feeling was very clearly expressed. Let’s hope that it will be enough to help us move forward this time without war.
[141550]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 8/12/14

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The Origins Of Anti-Semitism

An excerpt from the brochure “The Only Way Out.”

What kind of a secret are we talking about? It is an idea, expressed in just five words: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Any secret has a price. The price of this secret is anti-Semitism.

Anti-Semitism is not an accident or someone’s whim. It appeared simultaneously with the Jewish people, whose father, as everyone knows, was Abraham.

“A people, a nation, is like a tree which is born with its own shadow. The higher the tree, the longer its shadow. If you like, you may call it not a shadow but fate. The shadow of the Jewish people is prophecy-vision of the end of the days. The shadow of the Romans was fame, domination of foreign lands. The shadow of the Russians is anti-Semitism.” (Albert Einstein)

What is the relationship between the ethical principle of “Love thy neighbor as thyself” and anti-Semitism?

First of all, let’s look at things realistically. It is unlikely that someone other than the finished idealists believes that this ethical ideal corresponds to human nature. The latest world events confirm this once again. We know this; this is what is happening before our eyes. In fact, the world is at a dead end.

And yet, imagine for a moment that someone in some unimaginable way has managed to conform to this principle. What will happen then? Then, there would be hope that everything could be different. And this is important. Then, we would have the confidence that it is possible to treat everyone nicely, and everyone will treat everyone else in the same way. Then, violence and cruelty would disappear. Then, nations would become friends and live in peace. Hunger and poverty would vanish…

But it is a utopia, everyone would say, and they would be right. It is not possible today, and it was not possible yesterday. And yet, human history has one exception to this rule—the people of Abraham.
[141621]

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An Ideological Revolution

From the brochure “The Only Way Out – Israel Today.”

Recently, expressions such as the “chosen people,” “people of the idea,” “spiritual people,” evoked a feeling of unease, of savagery, religious restrictions, and most importantly, a sense of not belonging to all of these phrases.

The war against Hamas has made, in fact, an ideological revolution. The media, especially social networks, were literally flooded with these kind of expressions. They come from both Jews and non-Jews. When rockets reach anywhere in the country, the position of an outside observer quickly disappears.

On one hand, there is some feeling of hopelessness; on the other hand, no one talks and writes that we should leave Israel and seek a safer place in another part of the planet.

Why? Because we all see that the planet does not want Jews. If previously we talked about anti-Semitism in some countries, today it is difficult to find a country where anti-Semitism does not exist. Literally, every day where anti-Semitism was manifested before, its activity is increasing, and where it did not exist before, it begins to grow rapidly.

Such a full-blown wave of anti-Israel, or rather anti-Semitic declarations has never been, unless, of course, we do not recall Nazi Germany. Even countries, such as El Salvador, Peru, and Argentina, joined the general mayhem and have begun to withdraw their ambassadors.

The world does not care that we provide food, energy, and medical care to those who are constantly bombarding our cities. The world is quite seriously concerned why so many terrorists are killed and why there are so few casualties among those who oppose the terrorists.
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