In my column on Ynet, “What Is the Difference Between the Flowering Almond Tree and the Falling Economy?”

The Tu B’Shvat customs are simple and kind—we eat dried fruit, drink a little wine, the children plant trees, and that’s it. But the truth is that Tu B’Shvat is one of the most significant holidays because it holds the secret to solving the problems in our lives. Dr. Michael Laitman on the key to a good life that grows on Tu B’Shvat

Tu B’Shvat is not among the “famous” holidays; the holidayis not often talked about. It is hidden among Sukkot, Shavuot, and Pesach, entitled the “New Year for Trees,” and occupies a “modest” place on the Israeli calendar. Its customs are simple and affable—we eat dried fruit, drink a little wine, the children plant trees, and that’s it. The truth is that Tu B’Shvat is one of the most significant holidays! According to the Kabbalists, Tu B’Shvat holds the secret to solving the problems in our lives.

How Everything Is Interconnected

We live in a global world. From event to event it is becoming clear to us how much we are linked to each other in all the various levels of life (1). When an economic crisis breaks out in China or in Russia, it colors the world stock exchanges red; a murderous injury in the heart of Paris puts all the world powers on alert; civil wars in Syria are causing mass migration that is changing the demography and composition of the population in continental Europe, and this is even before we have spoken about oil prices, the war initiated in the Ukraine, or the crazy weather that reminds us that we are living on the same planet and influence its “mood.”

“The 21^st century, unlike the periods that preceded it, consists of a collection of numerous communications networks that are connected to each other by endless intersections,” writes Professor Ludger Kühnhardt, director of the Center for European Integration Studies. Joined by well-known researchers, he describes how much we are linked to each other (2). Unfortunately, it is specifically the global crises that are causing this insight to seep into our feelings (3).

The Nobel Prize Laureate in economics Professor Paul Krugman writes, “In the global age all of us are in the same boat.” And today the boat has cracked and water is slowly penetrating inside. It is clear to all of us that the world is global and managed as a closed system, and in spite of it, we continue to conduct ourselves as every man for himself, as if nothing has changed. The negative system of connections between us is causing the boat to sink (4). One can imagine us as tenants of a single building that suddenly discover that they have signed an agreement that obligates them to mutual responsibility. From now on, we must pay for any damage that a neighbor’s child does, and the problems of one of the tenants is our problem too.

The gap and the contradiction between the global connections, which are “pressuring” us to unite, in contrast to the egoistic concern of every man for himself are the cause for the various crises that are being revealed before our eyes. “Our world is becoming global and integral, which is to say, all of us are connected to each other”, is the way that Professor Yehudah Kahana of the Faculty of Management at Tel Aviv University analyzes the situation. “The change in the significance of values that we require for this is to stop thinking only about ‘I’ and to begin to also think about ‘we’.”

The Question Is, How To Connect?

We have tried a multitude of methods “to plug up the hole in the boat.” Only last weekend the Economic Forum Conference in Davos, a prestigious summit, ended. World summit conferences, regional cooperation, the fake European Union, and countless international organizations have not succeeded in patching the crack, and the boat continues to fill with water…

It is not enough to warn: “Most of all we need to unite today” (5), the time has come to do something. Unfortunately no “union” succeeds and will not succeed in holding its position, for a method for dealing with the egoism that is continuing to grow is missing. Human egoism is the negative force that destroys human relationships. The only wisdom that offers a method for connecting above the egoism that separates us without suppressing it is the authentic wisdom of Kabbalah.

This ancient method (6) teaches us to build links of mutual consideration and concern that are so important in the global world of today. It directs us to realize the ancient principles of connection, like: “What is hateful to you, don’t do to your friend” (Shabbat 31a) “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). By means of this we learn to discover the power of connection in the link between us, the positive power that is inherent in nature, and with its help, balance the egoism in interpersonal relationships (7).

And How Is all of this Linked to Tu B’Shvat?

The New Year for Trees that begins today reminds us of the positive power that exists in nature. The seed that we plant in the ground symbolizes the enormous potential that exists in the relationships between us. This seed will germinate and grow into a tree that gives life, and later bears fruit like: personal safety in the streets, the reduction of disparities and inequality in the economy, a healthcare system that is concerned about all of us and an education in values; it needs the water of life of the wisdom of Kabbalah. When a spirit of oneness spreads between us, like living water, it seeps into all the social systems.

The need to invest in fertile soil, building an environment that will hoist the flag of the importance of unity between us as a key to the good life, is the central and universal message of Tu B’Shvat. This is the reason that this holiday was always important to the Kabbalists. It is not for nothing that the Torah compares humanity to a tree in the field. Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for trees, is an invitation to the beginning of growth, the beginning of a new life (8).

Happy holiday to the whole house of Israel.

References:

(1) “Do not be surprised if I mix together the well-being of a particular collective with the well-being of the whole world, because indeed, we have already come to such a degree that the whole world is considered one collective and one society. Meaning, because each person in the world draws his life’s marrow and his livelihood from all the people in the world, he is coerced to serve and care for the well-being of the whole world…. and therefore the well-being of the collective and his own well-being are one and the same” (Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag – Baal HaSulam, in the article, “Peace in the World”).

(2) “To know who we are, we must understand how we are connected” (Nicholas Christakis, professor of sociological medicine, Harvard University, from his book Connected).

“Within the vast fabric of humanity every person is connected to his friends, his family, his work associates and his neighbors. However, these people are linked to their friends, their families, their work associates and their neighbors and so forth endlessly into the distance, until all the people in the world are connected to all the rest in this way or another” (Nicholas Christakis, professor of sociological medicine, Harvard University, from his book, Connected).

(3) “Globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future, but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must first open our eyes.” (Ulrich Beck, from an interview with Brigitte Neumann, in the monthly, Deutschland, 2003).

“Globality means that from now on nothing which happens on our planet is only a limited local event; all inventions, victories and catastrophes affect the whole world, and we must reorient and reorganize our lives and actions, our organizations and institutions, along a ‘local-global’ axis.” (Ulrich Beck, What is Globalization?, 2000).

“There will not be a solution to problems of the climate, unemployment, the economy, trade, carbon dioxide emissions or any other problem until the world will understand that the solution to all of these problems lies in unity and cooperation” (Gordon Brown, Phd History, former British Prime Minister).

“Recently, from the findings of a report on climate change by the IPCC they stated that there is a 95 percent certainty that humans have been the dominant cause of global warming since the 50s of the last century. The report indicates that ‘effective improvement is not liable to be attained as long as individual agencies will continue to promote their own private goals. Common responses, including international cooperation, are imperative to improve the level of greenhouse gas emissions and to relate to additional climatic factors” (Stocker, Qin, Plattner, Tignor, Allen, Boschung, Midgley (2013), Report on “Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis.” Working Group Contribution).

“Most people are aware that human behavior is harmful to the environment. The damage will now be dangerous – in many areas we are approaching the turning point that will lead to the collapse of ecosystems. It is especially important because human beings evolved from nature; we depend upon nature to exist, for nature is the source of all nourishment, air and water. If the systems of nature that support life on Earth collapse, humanity will collapse” (Dr. James Lovelock, The Vanishing Face of Gaia).

“The three most likely risks for the years 2012 and 2013 are the product of an old selfish paradigm of thought, and they are: severe income disparity, chronic fiscal imbalances and ecological crises, all of which are human acts” (Global Risks 2013 Report, World Economic Forum, Geneva Switzerland).

“Four of the five most probable risks that humanity faces are a product of negative links between people. Among these risks are counted, international conflicts, the failure of leadership, political collapse and unemployment” (Global Risks 2015 Report, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland, page 60).

“Nearly one out of every ten Americans in their twenties, and one out of every sixteen of all ages, have experienced symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder” (Stinson, Dawson, Goldstein, Chou, Huang, Smith, Pickering (2008), Prevalence, correlates, disability and comorbidity of DSM-IV narcissistic personality disorder: Results from the “Wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions,” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 69(7), 1033)

“Narcissism among the youth is on the rise” (Twenge and Campbell, “The Narcissism Epidemic, Living in the Age of Entitlement,” 2009).

“Our social connections rapidly collapse” (Shirley Turkle, Life on the Screen, Simon and Schuster, 2011).
“Till now man has been up against Nature; from now on he will be up against his own nature” (Professor Dennis Gabor, Nobel Prize recipient in Physics).

“We are by no means strangers, and we are linked by a common destiny. And these turbulent times must bind us ever closer together” (Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund).

“The challenge that we face today, on a background of the systemic crisis, is to create a civilization that will weld the energy of all of us, even our mutual hatred, for the creation of a common collective” (Mikhail Delyagin, Director of the Institute of Globalization Problems).

“There is a need not only for a change in the social system, but for something much more complex, profound changes in the consciousness and behavior of modern man” (Boris Wolfson, expert on the study of comparative education and the history of education).

(4) “Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai gave a parable about people who were sitting in a boat. One of them took a drill and began to drill underneath him. His companions said to him, ‘What are you sitting and doing?’ He said to them, ‘What does it matter to you, am I not drilling underneath me?’ They said, ‘The water is rising and flooding the boat on us’” (Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus, Parshat 4:6)

“Do not be surprised that one person’s actions bring elevation or decline to the whole world, for it is an unbending law that the general and the particular are as equal as two peas in a pod. And all that applies in the general, applies in the particular, as well. Moreover, the parts make what is found in the whole, for the general can appear only after the appearance of the parts in it, according to the quantity and quality of the parts. Evidently, the value of an act of a part elevates or declines the entire whole.” (Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag – Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” 68).

(5) Pascal Lamy, Director-general of the World Trade Organization.

(6) “There has never been any kindness as there was with Abraham…and he brought peace between one person and his fellow, for after all he was the father of many nations, because of this he unified and made peace among all the created beings” (“Gevurot HaShem,” Chapter 6)

“Abraham was forty years old when he became aware of his Creator. … And he began to stand up and proclaim in a loud voice to all of the people, to let them know that there is one God for the whole world and that He is worthy of being served. And he went and called and gathered the people from city to city and from kingdom to kingdom…until thousands and myriads gathered around him, and they were the people of the house of Abraham. And he implanted in their hearts this great principle, and wrote books about it…and the matter went and increased among the children of Jacob and in those who accompanied them, and a nation was made in the world which knows the Creator” (Rambam, Mishnah Torah, The Book of Knowledge, Hilchot Avodah Zarah, Chapter 1).

(7) “The great evils that occur between people, from one person to his fellow, are derived from ignorance. Were a person to have knowledge about the human form, he would cease all harm to himself and others. This is because knowledge of the truth removes animosity and hatred, and eliminates the harm that people do to each other” (Rambam, “Moreh Nevuchim”).

“The Wisdom of Kabbalah is the Wisdom of Truth” (“The Shelah HaKadosh,” Toldot Adam).

“The Wisdom of Truth teaches us the oneness of the world, the equal side that is to be found in everyone’s being, higher and higher, to the image of the form of the Creator, and how to go in the way of this Light without any obstacle” (The Rav Raiah Kook, “Orot HaKodesh 2,” 393)

“Only this is the entire Wisdom of Kabbalah—to know the behavior of the Supreme Will which created all of these people and what it wants from them, and what will be the end of all the orbits of the Earth” (Kelach Pitchei Hochmah, Preface 30).

“The Wisdom of Kabbalah doesn’t let us pass our lives in the dust, rather it raises our minds to the summit of knowledge” (Johannes Reuchlin, German philosopher and humanist, De Arte Cabbalistica).

(8) “The person is called a tree of the field, and Rosh HaShanah is the time of judgment, for better or for worse.

“It is written, ‘For ever is mercy built’ (Psalms 89:3). So on Tu B’Shvat, which is called the New Year for Trees, we must be strengthened with the quality of kindness, because for this we merit fruit, which is called ‘a tree bearing fruit’” (Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag – Rabash, Dargot HaSulam, the article, “New Year for Trees”).

“…that each and every individual will understand that his own benefit and the benefit of the collective are one and same thing. In that, the world will come to its full correction.” (Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag – Baal HaSulam, the article, “Peace in the World”).
[175587]
From the article on the Ynet website

Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Israel Today - No Comments →

Question: The international media constantly lies when they cover events in Israel. When a border policewoman was murdered and another was wounded, CBS reported that “3 Palestinians killed as daily violence grinds on.”

Israel immediately protested and the headlines were changed to,“Israeli police kill 3 alleged Palestinian attackers.” When Israel protested again, it said, “Palestinians kill Israeli officer, wound another before being killed.” This has been going on for quite a while, and nothing can be done.

Answer: Nothing will help, either. On the one hand, this angers me, but on the other hand, I understand where it stems from. There are conflicts all over the world, and the reason is the terrible relations between people. At the same time, the reason for the conflict itself is that Israel isn’t fulfilling its mission of uniting people in a good way. Therefore, the more conflicts there are in Europe, the worse our life will be here. Israel will be responsible for every clash or breakout anywhere in the world.

The Jews always will be blamed for all of the troubles in the world. This is true because every conflict and clash, or every feeling of pain, is an indication that a sufficient portion of the Upper Light that can balance the pain and turn it to pleasure has not been received. It is the Jews who aren’t supplying this portion of Light.

Question: How do you relate that to the fact that the media are constantly lying about Israel?

Answer: They cannot do it any other way. From their perspective, if we are attacked, it means we are to blame. We must think about this in a spiritual manner, not a corporal manner. We are to blame according to the laws of nature because we have not provided the right portion of goodness and have not balanced the evil with goodness in advance. This is the reason that it was born, developed, and united against us.

If we don’t wake up in time, the nations of the world eventually will declare war against us and want to destroy us. If the Jews don’t begin to listen to what Kabbalists say and continue to think that someone else is to blame, the same genocide we have witnessed in the past will be repeated, but this time on a much larger scale.

Question: Does this mean that you believe we should shut down Israeli public relations since it will lead to nothing?

Answer: Absolutely, nothing.

Question: Should we also shut down the Israeli foreign office?

Answer: We don’t need anything but a Ministry of Education implementing the method of uniting the nation. It must be the great educational project of Israel. This is what we must produce, and the world will buy it.

This is the mission of the Jewish nation. We need only one office, a kind of a Sanhedrin, a spiritual leadership, and so we need Kabbalists who understand the real laws of nature. These laws teach people how to unite so that there will be peace in the world and among us, so that the connection between us and the Creator will be revealed in us, and flow from us to the entire world. We don’t need anything more than that. We don’t need to wait for the Western media to push us forcefully in this direction or wait for them to love us. It will happen only when we perform the correction.
[176516]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/5/16

Related Material:
Why Does The World Blame Israel?
“Calls For Anti-Jewish Terror”
A “Dead” Terrorist Comes To Life

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, News - No Comments →

Question: Several influential rabbis strongly condemned the campaign in support of the mobilization of the ultra-Orthodox youth in military and alternative service.

In particular, the rabbis in Jerusalem said that the campaign should be considered sinful and deserves condemnation. They even signed an Halachic ruling.

It is a long struggle that is now gaining momentum. More recently, police detained a group of ultra-Orthodox on suspicion of incitement against the supporters of the mobilization. What do you think about this?

Answer: This is a big problem that has to be solved. I can not imagine any of the Orthodox Jews that are surrounded by the Arab population, not being protected by the Israeli army. On the one hand, they understand that perfectly. On the other hand, do not wish to participate.

There is no doubt that the Arabs don’t differentiate between non-religious and religious Jews and don’t really care who is who. Today, they are the spearhead in the attacks to destroy Israel and the Jews.

And the ultra-Orthodox Israelis must defend themselves from third-party influence. They protect themselves, the “ghettos” in which they live: Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, ultra-Orthodox areas in all the cities of Israel, because otherwise they can not exist. They are afraid of dissolution in the secular community, and therefore I understand it.

Question: Don’t you see a solution?

Answer: There is no solution. It is a serious schism that has been going on for a long time. There must be a division between the general religious population and the Orthodox sector because there are other religious sectors who serve in the army, and many of them even serve in combat units.

This is basically a political game because from the non-religious perspective, the Israeli Defense Forces don’t need them. We simply must leave this issue and not deal with it. It is a political squabble before elections when each party takes pride in being for or against it, and thus tries to make a political gain.

Generally speaking, this issue isn’t worth discussing since it will lead to nothing. I don’t side with any of the parties. I simply am stating a fact.
[176173]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/1/16

Related Material:
The Difference Between The Secular And Religious Approach
Why People Become Disappointed In Religions
Connection—Above All The Differences

Filed under: Israel Today, News, Religion - No Comments →

New Life 562 – The Root of Racism
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

The differences in skin color are deeply rooted in nature: black, white, yellow, and red. The problem of racism cannot be resolved because it is deeply rooted in human consciousness.

All we can do is a thorough treatment and to educate to “love thy friend as thyself” with the power of the Light that Reforms, because our ego naturally wants to be above others and to feel that it is unique and exalted.

There are four phases in the evolution of matter, and therefore there are four colors of mankind: white, black, yellow, and red. This division into four parts exists in every detail and is the general formula of the creation, י-ה-ו-ה (Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey). Therefore, it is impossible to relate to everyone equally but only to ascend to our one common root. It is like a mother who has four children, white, black, yellow, and red, all hers and all of whom were generated from her.

A person looks at someone who is different from him and feels a distinction. No ordinary education or legislation can solve that. Modern development occurred first among the white people and then the yellow, red, and finally black. This doesn’t mean that one is better than the other; it is simply the order of development.

So in egoistic human history, white man has always dominated others and was aloof. They tried to correct the negative attitude toward blacks in the US and have invested a lot, but eventually we all see that it explodes in our face. The only solution is to raise man above his body, above his heart and mind, above earthliness and materialism. Then man acquires a new spiritual perception and sees others according to their spiritual attributes.

The only solution is to raise man to our common root, to the level on which there are no differences or distinctions. The wisdom of Kabbalah provides a person with values of bestowal and new attributes that can pull a person out of himself and toward others. “Love thy friend as thyself” is the only thing that totally eliminates racism. There is no other solution!
[158955]
From KabTV’s “New Life 562 – The Root of Racism,” 5/5/15

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, New Life - No Comments →

Question: Statistics were recently published about the services provided by the local authorities in Israel for their residents. The numbers are astounding.

A resident of Tel Aviv gets a variety of services and activities totaling 6,700 NIS, while a resident of Kiryat Yam receives municipal services totaling 360 NIS, 20 times less, and respectively, in Ra’anana it is 6,158 NIS, and in Ofakim it is 537 NIS. I understand that, in Ra’anana, the residents earn more and pay more in city taxes, but 20 times is unreasonable. This is absurd.

Answer: This is the way of our government. It has no plan to bring equal conditions to people, so accordingly the mayors also don’t plan to bring equal distribution of services to their residents.

If you investigate the various strata of the population within a city—in the center of the city, on the periphery, and in the rest of its areas—you will see an immense difference between them according to the same principle as exists between the center of the country and the periphery. The matter indicates that, as of today, our government still requires changes.

The people must demand that the periphery be at least like the center of the country. It must be even better because the conditions there allow for it, such as large areas and extensive possibilities. The problem is the lack of attention devoted to this.

Question: The emphasis placed is placed on the fact that every industrial area, i.e., all of the work, is found in the center.

Answer: That is not important. The entire periphery is a sleeping area. Under today’s conditions, the residents of the entire periphery can reach every central office or factory by train within an hour to an hour and a half. The problem is that it is necessary to dedicate more attention to this, and the peripheral areas need to be good residential areas.

Where have you seen an American who wants to live in the center of a city? He needs a good house with a garden in nature and will even commute an hour to work, while at home, there are wonderful conditions for the family.

All of my relatives live in Canada and travel an entire hour to work. But along with this, they have a house and a plot of land near a lake, woods, and clean air, i.e., all the conditions for a good life.

Our periphery is advancing very slowly toward a good level. Government programs should take this into account.
[176062]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 1/27/16

Related Material:
What Does Social Inequality Depend On?
Should They Starve?
The Most Useful Occupation

Filed under: Israel Today, News - No Comments →

New Life #644 – Socio-Economic Balance
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mendelbaum ben Moshe

Summary

Business owners don’t sleep at night because of all their worries and there is no point demanding greater economic fairness because man’s nature is egoistic, it is the evil inclination.

We live in a social fantasy since no one in the government cares about the public but primarily about himself. Protests will not lead to any meaningful change since human nature is evil. Replacing the government will not help either. A person wants to gain something from an action he performs so it would also be a good idea to find out what the protest organizers want.

There are no non-egoistic people in the world; we are all egoistic. Man’s nature is to take advantage of others for his own sake. Everyone uses the public for his own interest.

Tycoons all over the world throw the public crumbs from their table. The social struggle may lead to an addition of some butter on the bread crumbs but nothing more than that.

The root of the problem is the evil part in human nature, which has to be balanced by the good force. There is no other solution. The ego destroys all our systems, the climate, the economy, commerce, culture, education, and the family.

Our complaints to the tycoons can also be directed at rich countries that should help poor countries! But it won’t work. Only a thorough treatment will help because man’s nature is totally evil and cannot bear the fact that he doesn’t have more than others.

Only if we bring the good force into our life will it balance the evil in us and then the two forces will balance each other. We don’t know such a treatment. It started with Abraham and continued until the destruction of the Temple. The world needs a cure for evil, and so it angrily turns to Israel because only we have the method to balance evil. A balanced Israel is a society in which one person cares for another more than for himself. This is the law of balance.
[170046]
From KabTV’s “New Life #644 – Social-Economic Balance,” 11/5/15

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Economy, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, New Life - No Comments →

Question: On January 31, 2016, the Secretary General of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Angel Gurria gave Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon a report regarding the economic situation in Israel.

Although the housing prices are rising and poverty increasing, Israelis feel happier. How can this paradox be explained?

Answer: Apparently for Israelis, happiness does not depend on money. In fact, the feeling of happiness doesn’t depend on whether you have an apartment or not. I believe that you can live and be happy in a Bedouin tent or a small room.

Comment: But the Israelis keep complaining.

Answer: I understand that they are complaining, but on the other hand, they buy more and more apartments every year even though housing prices are rising sharply. And the state is interested in that because it actually determines the price level by raising taxes. When a person buys an apartment, he pays the state, through the sellers, 40%-50% of the price and even more.

Moreover, I saw a TV program not too long ago where a fancy 5-room apartment that costs a million dollars, for example, could be bought on Arab territory for the price of $50,000, which is 20 times cheaper, although it is built of the same materials and is of the exact same standard. You can buy 20 flats of the same standard and even houses for the price of one flat that was bought in Israel, not too far from the center, at a distance of 50, 20, and even 10 kilometers from the center, as long as it is not under the jurisdiction of local laws.

Why is that so? Because such prices and inflated profit are common both among the builders and those who collect the taxes.

What can we do about that? Ask the state since it has determined the building policy. If the state had clearly determined the level of housing prices according to size or location, everything could certainly have been different. It is all in the hands of the state but they don’t take this matter seriously.

Question: Is feeling happy an Israeli quality?

Answer: Yes, basically we feel good. Despite the fact that no one loves us, everyone pressures us, etc., an Israeli who lives in the country, surrounded by others who are like him, with his army, and with its industry, feels good. His children can study in a university even if they have to work part-time since things aren’t always that simple, but they can still do it. There are still social elevators. Even people who were born and grew up in the periphery may, in a few years, attain high positions in the hi-tech industry and get very high salaries. I believe that Israel is still a land of opportunities.

It is a unique country with unique minds that will still “sell” their brains. Hi-tech is our future. We will live on it and everything else will disappear because there will be no need for it. We don’t even need agriculture because others can do that, but the brains cannot be transferred to others.

Our future is in hi-tech and good minds. This is enough in order to be the head of the world. It isn’t bad and not too little; we only have to use our mind correctly.

Question: What about the spiritual factor?

Answer: This is what I meant when I said that you have to know how to use your head. Besides, we have to provide the world with new technology as to the right development and how to build the right society in order to bring the world new technology and new techniques.

I believe that we will also discover that because what we have and no one else does is the wisdom of Kabbalah, which can show the whole world an example of unity, peace, and real happiness. Then the whole world will be happy just like Israelis are today.
[176275]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/2/16

Related Material:
When And Where Does One Take Time For Happiness?
When All Of Us Will Be Happy
The Plague Of The Century

Filed under: Economy, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, News - No Comments →

Question: The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius announced that Paris will recognize a Palestinian state if the peace process in the Middle East doesn’t move from its frozen point soon. The government of Israel has rejected this peace initiative that has been put forth almost like an ultimatum.

Why does Paris have such a strong desire to support a Palestinian state at a time when it is itself experiencing Islamic terrorism?

Answer: This is not important. Even if all the nations of the world experience fear, humiliation, and pain from Islam, they will be anti-Jewish and not anti-Islamists because they feel that all the evil that happens in the world is specifically because of the Jews.

When we cannot connect between us and bring good to the world through that connection, we are supplying the world with the force of evil. We allow this force to develop and are not counterbalancing it with the force of goodness.

We are the conduit through which the higher force of goodness can descend into the world, providing the the proper balanced existence. As long as we have not begun to unite between us to become the conductor of this force in the world, humanity will feel more and more that we are the reason for all the troubles in the world.

It will not help us to think wisely and logically, saying to ourselves that Europe is now going to see what kind of situation the new extremist Islamic preachers are bringing to the world, etc. Europe will not see it, on the contrary, it will get along with them and try to rein them in a bit.

The incursion into Europe by millions of Muslims will continue, along with the entry of many militant extremist elements. But Europe will be more and more considerate to them and will hate us, not because we are good or bad to the Muslims, or because we are for or against their state, but because we are not bringing the power of goodness into the world. It is necessary to distinguish between these things.

Question: Does anyone understand this?

Answer: Nobody understands. The nations of the world act instinctively; they feel that the evil is due to us.

When we say: “Have we done something bad? Have we been carrying out acts of terrorism?”, they answer that the evil is due to us. They don’t know why.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that this is because we are not conveying goodness into the world through us! We need to be unified with “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), and through a connection like this between us, through us we will convey the good force that is found in nature and must be revealed in the world.

Question: Why has this task been specifically imposed upon us? In what way are we to blame?

Answer: We are not to blame for anything. We were chosen for this task and so we must do it.

“We” is the group of people who will convey the good and uniting force into the world the moment that they unite. It is only in this way that we will be able to ensure a good future for ourselves, and not in any other way.

I am happy that I am living in a generation like this in which events like these are happening. I hope that the people of Israel will understand what is written in the wisdom of Kabbalah, which is the foundation of the people of Israel. This wisdom was discovered 6,000 years ago and we need to understand it because otherwise we could lapse into a new Holocaust.
[176168]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/1/16

Related Material:
Why Does The World Blame Israel?
On The Threshold Of A Third Intifada – Part 12 “Why Doesn’t Anything Help Stop The Terrorism?“
On The Threshold Of A Third Intifada – Part 11 “Do We Only Need To Wait For Everything To Calm Down?“

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, News - No Comments →

Comment: Member of the Knesset Sharan Haskel from the Likud submitted a bill to cease incriminating marijuana users in Israel. The legal amount, however, is limited to 15 seeds or 5 grams of marijuana for personal use and the penalty for the possession of a greater amount is a fine of 1,500 shekels.

Answer: Such restrictions are useless since no one can enforce them. I am sure the use of marijuana will be permitted everywhere and the infrastructure of drug dealing will decline and disappear.

Question: Will the state take this responsibility?

Answer: The state will not take responsibility for that, but will only allow the free consumption and growth, and that’s all. Anyone will be able to grow and consume marijuana, and thus many will seat peacefully at home and smoke.

The outcome of the technical revolution we are undergoing will be that the next generation will sit at home idle and 90% of the people will be redundant.

Then we will have to tell people about the meaning of life and gradually discourage them from using drugs. I believe that it is actually thanks to the use of marijuana that people will feel what a dark hole they are living in.

Question: Why will this lead to the question about the meaning of life?

Answer: Because a person will face a clear and sharp question: Do I want to cut myself off from this world and die while still young and healthy, or do I not want to cut myself off from the world but attain the upper world through it?

There are only two options: either to deteriorate or to ascend, and if that is the case, why would a person want to be tossed about on the level of this world?

Question: This means that he will lose interest in the corporeal world because he will see that there is nothing he can attain here, but how will he discover that there is an upper world?

Answer: It depends only on the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah. But these questions will eventually come up.

I am absolutely sure that everything that happens is only in order to accelerate the development of humanity, so we shouldn’t ban or get rid of anything because it will not help. The only thing that can help is the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah and knowing how to attain the Creator.
[175979]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 1/26/16

Related Material:
Marijuana By Prescription
The World Needs Heroin
A Win For Marijuana Is A Loss For Everyone

Filed under: Health, Israel Today - 1 Comment →

New Life #645 – Ideological War
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

Where does Islamic ideology draw its strength; what kind of future does it offer the world, and what future can we offer the world in contrast to it, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

It is a deep and wide issue that began in the days of Abraham and his son Ishmael almost 4,000 years ago.

The Arabs see themselves related to ancient peoples who lived here, but historically, the fact is that there is no connection between them. They attach themselves holy people and holy places and tell the world that it is all Islam. They want to spread Islam all over the world and simply aim at bringing all of the people to believe in one God. They promise anyone who accepts Islam in this world Heaven, and this is the reason that they are not afraid to die. They plan to take over the entire world—including China, India, and Russia—and they have the patience to do so.

According to Kabbalistic sources, Islam will rise and almost conquer Christianity, but in the end, they will unite together against Israel. However, we have a stronger ideology, the wisdom of Kabbalah; if we connect to it, we will be saved from any affliction. There is no point arguing with anyone but only to connect to one another in love. Then, we will change everything through the upper force. Kabbalah will give us the inner power, and we will manage all like puppets on a string through the connection between us. Eventually, the ideology of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which we must promote, will rule the world.
[170206]
From KabTV’s “New Life #645 – Ideological War,” 11/8/15

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, New Life - No Comments →