Entries in the 'Israel Today' Category

Clearing The Way To Unity

Laitman_931-01The Torah, “Numbers” 11:18 – 11:20: And to the people, you shall say, ‘Prepare yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat, because you have cried in the ears of the Lord saying, “Who will feed us meat, for we had it better in Egypt.” [Therefore,] the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.

You shall eat it not one day, not two days, not five days, not ten days, and not twenty days.

But even for a full month until it comes out your nose and nauseates you. Because you have despised the Lord Who is among you, and you cried before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”‘”

The Creator promises to feed the children of Israel with their ego saying: “first it will seem good to you, but when you reach a state that you cannot overcome the ego, it will begin to overflow on all sides, and you will look for a way to restrain it and will not find an answer, and the ego will begin to manage and control you. Thus, reluctantly you will advance towards death, suffering,, and illness and will see how your children hurt themselves and die before your very eyes. You will not be able to escape anywhere! Everything that is dear to you: your parents, your children, and your grandchildren will suffer terribly for a very long time. They will wish to die but will not be able to. This is what your ego will do to you.”

The Prophets said that righteous women will cook their children and eat them. A person’s internal egoism will force him to behave this way. This is where we are headed and everything may happen like the Prophets said if we don’t turn to the right line in time, in the direction of connection and unity so that the MAN will begin to descend upon us.

Ascending above the ego isn’t death at all. Death is the freedom from a meaningless existence. Today many of us would gladly give up this life: it is better not to be born at all than to live this way. But a person cannot die. A person spins around in a whirlpool of great problems; he will crawl and hold on with his fingernails and scratch himself until he bleeds, but he will not be able to do anything with himself. He will dream of dying but to no avail.

When he finds himself on the verge of death, under such mental afflictions, he will gradually begin to understand his egoistic nature, until he is determined to get rid of it, but it isn’t immediate and just like that. He will have to go through this road to the end because he follows it according to the method of punishments and sufferings. On the other hand, everything happens in a totally different manner along the path of the Light: the Light shines and you see that on the one side there is a black abyss that swallows everything, and on the other side there is the Light. Along the path of suffering, on the other hand, there is no Light, you don’t see anything but great emptiness full of sufferings and you want to die every minute because wholeness seems like a great gift to you.

Therefore, the Creator’s answer to the request to feed the people meat is very hard: you will continuously eat meat until you are sick of it and then you will come to your senses. This means that you will follow the path of suffering until you understand that your egoistic life is death itself, and the Creator that you abhor is the attribute of love and bestowal. Try to change and choose one of the two: either the path of the ego or the path of love.

For the first time in history we are at this crossroad. We see how the world’s natural, bonded, internal, anti-Semitism is revealed. The nations of the world will all begin to hate us instinctively without exception. They will oppose us, thus baring their teeth like wolves. It isn’t their will but the doing of the upper Providence that operates through them. It isn’t aimed at anything but only at our ego. If we change it to the attribute of love and bestowal we will see only good loving people before us.

We can do it!
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/25/15

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United Nations Resolution: Israel Is The Only Nation In The World That Is Violating Economic And Social Rights

laitman_272In the News (mixednews.ru): “According to a post of UNWatch, that includes 54 nations, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations passed a resolution that declared that the nation of Israel is the only violator of economic and social rights in the world.

“The United States resolution accuses Israel of crimes like ‘the destruction of homes and property, economic institutions, farmland and gardens in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem as well as in the occupied Syrian territories in the Golan,’ the ‘exploitation of natural resources’ and the ‘disposal of all kinds of garbage in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and in the occupied Syrian territory in the Golan, which seriously threatens ecological safety.’

“Hamas is not mentioned even once. Syria is mentioned 13 times, but only in the denunciation of Israel for ‘alleged’ violations against citizens in the occupied Syrian territories in the Golan whose relatives live on land in the Syrian Arab Republic. The bloody regime of Assad is not even mentioned. No other nation in the world except Israel was denounced at the annual socioeconomic meeting of the United Nations.”

My Comment: And I understand them! For nature, meaning the Creator, speaks through them, teaching us through the nations of the world about our situation, which requires urgent correction, by really approaching “and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Only by approaching this value will the nations of the world not only turn to us with friendship, but also with love and a readiness to help everyone, advancing the entire world towards its best future, as it is said, “…and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2). In spite of everything, we must reach such a state, either by the way of suffering or through a conscious approach.
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The Race of Anti-Semitism

Laitman_121From the News (cursorinfo.co.il): “The organizers of Holocaust Memorial Day in Ireland have banned the use of the term ‘Jewish State’ and ‘State of Israel.’ Shortly before that, Belfast authorities removed the plate that gave mention to the late Chaim Herzog from the house where he was born. He was a former President of the State of Israel.

“The modern day anti-Zionists of today don’t talk about going to war, they speak of peace, but they demand concessions only from Israel. They do not become angered that the terrorists hide their weapons in hospitals and schools and people’s homes, but blame Israel for disproportional defense, and compare Nazi Germany to Israel.

“Today European countries started the race on recognizing the Palestinian State, a state that never existed, and whose nation always belonged to the Arab nations.

“The Palestinian project was designed and developed as resistance against Israel, and is designed to eliminate Israel. They didn’t succeed in a military way. Today we see the appearance of a legal war. They are trying to remove Israel from its rights and declare an economic blockade on Israel.”

My Comment: Everything is correct, but the issue is that only we are able to correct this situation. And all the nations of the world search for and will continue to search for our destruction. That is nature’s law, and there is nothing to hate them for. We only need to understand that it is in our power to direct history into a good direction.

I wrote about this in the article, “Who Are You People of Israel?”  that was published in the New York Times.
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The Elections Continue

laitman_229After the results of the election reached the Knesset in Israel, the social networks presented two strong feelings that were held by the people: happiness and rejoicing from victory and hard disappointment from defeat.

A Divided People

In the recent elections 26 parties participated: How can such a small country have so many parties and opinions?

Even if this is good, it is good only if there is something that unites us into one people. But we see that this is not happening.

Those Who Fell Into Hatred

Within the nation there stands an essential problem: How is it possible to find the right base among us, a reliable common denominator? This will be possible only if we begin to balance the power of the ego that arouses disputes, separation and internal wars between us with the power of love. This is latent in our people and we lived according to its laws before the destruction of the Second Temple, which was destroyed because of unfounded hatred. So we fell from the level of love to hatred, and today, with the end of the exile, we must rise again from unfounded hatred to love between us. Only in this way will we create a situation in which nobody will want to go away from here and everyone will live in peace, in happiness, and in security.

That is how it has always been; only union is what saved us. From the start our people were founded on the union of people who were strangers to each other in ancient Babylon, under the authority and leadership of Abraham. That is how the people lived and existed, in conditions of union and love above hatred, according to the principle, “love covereth all transgressions” (Proverbs 10:12).

Put an End to Division

Even today it is up to us to understand how to establish bridges between us and overcome mutual hatred with the help of love. Only in this way can we continue on the way. I very much hope that this message will be heard by both these and those, that the right part of the population will not yield to strong euphoria, and the left to strong disappointment. For the moment of truth has arrived, but we don’t see where we are.

The next step is a necessary step from our perspective; this is the union of the people above all these differences and contradictions, above the distances, the isolation, and mutual hatred. Struggles have already occurred in our history and we must not allow a situation like this now. This weakens us and threatens us with terrible consequences, which are not even desirable to think about.

The wisdom of Kabbalah tells us that we can’t even be sure of another exile, for the former traditional ties no longer connect and bind us to each other as they did in the past. And so we must now find a means, a method, that will connect all the ends of the spectrum and consolidate us into a single people. It is necessary to rise above the views of the right and the left to a state of a single people. There fulfillment and wholeness is to be found, in it everyone will feel wholeness. It is incumbent upon us and it is possible. I very much hope that the people will begin to reflect and think about this.

First of all, it is necessary to understand that there is no other way out, that the former approach has exhausted itself. It is not worthwhile to close accounts with the past, let’s direct our view towards the future. This is the method and this is the only situation in which all of us can exist from now on.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About the Situation in Israel After The Elections” 3/18/15

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Wars: Worldly Or Spiritual?

laitman_570Question: What can the Islamic neighbors of Israel bring?

Answer: The idea is that even among the prophets it is indicated that at the end of the world, when humanity will need to rise to the next level, to the next dimension, the engine of this process will be the Arabs. This will be revealed in the end of history and they will start great wars on land, in the air, and in the sea.

Unfortunately, since all of humanity and the people of Israel bear great egoism, so the connection between them can only be egoistic. And this is what war symbolizes; with egoism there can be no other connection. So mutual connection between peoples must be discovered before their correction, realized through a process involving several wars. These could be physical wars and they could be spiritual wars. On the spiritual level they will happen much more rapidly, without blood, without destruction and reconstruction. But for this there must be leadership of this process; this is what the people of Israel need to take upon themselves.

If we can connect among us, and with this connection and union put ourselves against the whole world, that is how we will provide it with an example; then there will be wars between the forces of Light and darkness on an ideological level in the form of explanations and discussions, but not in the form of physical war. In the opposite case, this will be a long, drawn out process with much suffering. But this creates a problem; how do we reach this? The idea is not with representatives of Christianity or Islam, but only with the people of Israel, how much they can unite presenting themselves as a single complete unit and show the world an example of union. And when it proclaims this, then all of the clashes will subside.
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 7/9/15

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How Do We Win The Love Of Humanity?

laitman_228Comment: Today anti-Semitism has changed its face. If before it spoke about Jews, now they speak principally about their nation. The Second World War and the Nazi regime put into question and challenged the idea of anti-Semitism, because now anti-Semitism is identified solely and only with Auschwitz, Buchenwald, etc.

Answer: This doesn’t bother anyone. There is no problem in repeating the same scenario that existed at the time of the Second World War. That anti-Semitism is now directed against the nation of Israel is basically only a cover. After all, we see how among all the nations of the world, under this mask, speeches and taunts are taking place against the Jews that live there.

Comment: But today nobody can proclaim with pride that he is an anti-Semite anymore.

Answer: Soon this will also be popular, and all kinds of aristocrats will elevate their image with this. There is no difference between anti-Semitism and hatred towards the nation of Israel. Everything depends only on one question: is this a political or social problem? They are connected together.

Comment: In the year 2014, an additional international poll was conducted regarding the attitude towards the nations of the world. Among a multitude of questions, it was proposed to say which nation is the biggest danger to the world. Israel overtook Iran in most of the items and found itself in first place!

Answer: I am happy to hear this. People subconsciously understand from where the force that is prepared to change their future is derived. This is very good; this says that it is possible to explain to them why such an inner unconscious determination exists in them. When I raise this subject in my lectures abroad, I feel that people are beginning to understand what sums up their special attitude towards Israel and the Jews.

In fact, very few people in the world think about the nation of Israel and about what is happening there. For a person who is living somewhere in a remote settlement in Russia, America, or Europe, this nation generally doesn’t matter. He is not a political person but a simple citizen, so his attitude is not in regard to the nation, but in regard to the people. More correctly, it is not even in regard to the people, but in regard to what he regards as the cause of all his troubles and problems.

Comment: Recently the United Nations published a report about the right to conduct a war between Israel and the Gaza Strip. And again Israel was faced with the question: what is to be done? How can one explain to the world who is justified and who is to blame?

Answer: There is nothing to be done; the world will blame the Jews anyway. They can present all kinds of arguments, but the world will answer: “I don’t believe it!”

Question: In Israel, on the political level, there exists what is called a “public relations department.” If you were to manage this department, what would you explain to the world?

Answer: I would explain to everyone the mission, the role, of the Jewish people: Why it was created, why it exists. The world needs to know that among the many billions who have lived throughout humanity, a special group of people appeared that rose above the laws of physics and nature; they have a special destiny and they constantly demonstrate the possibility of connection and union to the world, either correctly or incorrectly. This group shows the world what it must attain, even though it isn’t found on this level itself.

Question: Along with this, it arouses sympathy on the one hand, and on the other hand, contempt, hatred, and a desire to annihilate it. Where does all of that come from; where must it go?

Answer: It is imperative for everyone to understand that this is not a nation but a group of people who must unite among themselves according to the natural law, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” and show everyone the right connection between them. Humanity must reach this state, and then it will begin to rise to the next dimension. This world is finite, limited in its existence, and our senses have already exhausted themselves. We must rise to the next level.

This is talked about by all the religions that are derived from the wisdom of Kabbalah: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The prophets predicted this, and we see that everything is materializing. We must explain to the world that we are in fact an example for the whole world, even though in the meantime it has been an unsuccessful example. We must become the teachers of the world, meaning that we must unite among ourselves to provide the world with an example of how it will be possible for the whole world to do this together. It requires this and it is specifically here that the origin of the hatred towards us is concealed; it is because we haven’t brought unity to the world.

If we were to succeed in showing humanity that it must live as one people with one heart, that through unity and not through ego the next level of existence which is called the Upper World is revealed, then we would win such love, such recognition, that would have no equal in the world.
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 6/23/15

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In The Name Of “Love” For Jews

laitman_433_02In the news (inosmi.ru): “Within a single day the Hamas organization was removed from the list of terrorist organizations and the European parliament adopted a declaration in support of a Palestinian state. By blaming Israel, the people of Europe are released from feelings of guilt about genocide. Such is the process of ‘purification.’

“If the nation of Israel is implementing ‘Nazi’ activities regarding the Palestinians, then the German and European crimes are no longer so monstrous. Two types of service for the price of one: ‘Purification’ from guilt and old anti-Semitism.

“Simultaneously the weight of a group possessing several million Muslim immigrants has grown in Europe, having become an electoral resource for local politicians. They dictate anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli politics to the parties of the Left, who are interested in their voices.

“And the Leftist Israeli politicians, who are suffering from an exile complex, take upon themselves the guilt that is imposed by the European anti-Semites, and that is how they justify European evil, by creating an alibi for it.”

My Comment: And yet, the Jews are guilty! Because everything that is happening in the world depends only on them! This is because only they have the freedom of choice to change the direction of human development. The Jews must understand and evaluate correctly what is happening; they are still able to change the development of the world from a direction that leads to world war to a direction that leads to a world that is good for everyone.
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We Are In The Same Boat

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe boat that Jonah sails on is caught in a storm. The sailors do everything they can in order to save themselves: They throw everything that they don’t need overboard, pray to their god, and of course begin to look for the one who is responsible for the situation.

However, at the same time… Jonah goes to sleep as if everything that is happening around him doesn’t concern him.

It is only later when he has no choice that he confesses that he is running away from a mission he has been given and asks the sailors to throw him overboard.

In other words, Jonah is even ready to die and not fulfill his duty.

But this doesn’t help either. In the sea, a big fish swallows him ,and after spending three days in its stomach, he is forced to agree to accept the mission he has been given.

It is the same today: the world is becoming a global village and it is as if we are all floating in one boat on a stormy sea and the nations of the world, the sailors, blame the one Jew on board, the nation of Israel, for all the crises, wars, terror, afflictions, and disasters in the world.

Just like Jonah, we are still sleeping. We are immersed in the Israeli reality and pride trying to ignore the fact that the nations of the world hate us. We close our eyes in the midst of the stormy Arab Spring when the ever accusing finger of the world is pointed at us, waiting for everything to somehow quiet down by itself.

We did wake up for a moment under the missile attack and felt that we were one united nation, sharing the pain of others as our own. We felt the threads of our common love between us, of our common fate, but now we are sinking into a dream again, and soon we will probably not even remember our last summer’s awakening.

Still, every war and every new wave of anti-Semitism shows us more and more clearly that our fate is inevitable, just like the fate of Jonah who was responsible for the storm. If the sailors tried to save Jonah then, today the sailors on the global boat only wait for the right moment to throw us overboard. We will not even have to ask them to do us this favor…
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5775 Years Ago

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe first festival in the coming series of the holidays of Tishrei is Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year. It symbolizes the beginning of the awakening of spirituality; it comes up on the same day in which for the first time human beings on the face of the Earth were awakened to a yearning for something higher, of higher value, for something that would give greater value than what the days of the week give.

The name of this person was Adam. And as we understand it, he wondered about the meaning of life. So the first day when such an exceptional desire appeared in Adam and the questions that accompanied it, is indicated on the Jewish calendar as the holiday Rosh HaShanah. As far as it seems, this is the only event in ancient history about which we know precisely when it took place, on the first of Tishrei (September-October) 5775 years ago.

In decisive moments of life we also, like Adam, contemplate something higher; about something that will help us practically, and will not just be reassurances again by political, religious, or any other promises.

It was really not that long ago that our people stood precisely before questions of this kind.
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A Message From The Past

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe holidays in Israel are much more than just a tradition; they are connected to the present much more than we think.

The holidays of the Jewish people are a dotted line of our destiny, a broken cardiogram of the beating of our common heart. In them lies the symbolism and information that could easily be lost in the impenetrable labyrinths of history or distorted beyond recognition.

Every holiday carries within it a message, not only about our past, but also about our future.
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