Entries in the 'Israel Today' Category

Developing A Second Wind For Our Work

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe must be concerned about fuel for advancement and the quality of the work, and not just run after the quantity. Otherwise, this will lead to a great fall. We must sit together and think about a method for approaching people. The moment you seriously begin to take care of the general public, you will get a second wind. Now, you feel tired after a long run. Even though you had great success, this no longer excites you and doesn’t give you the same vigor as you had before. You have gotten used to being successful and there is nothing new about it. Everything comes to an end and you have begun to get sick and tired of it.

It is like the four phases of Ohr Yashar (Direct Light). Why can’t the first phase go on forever? This is because, after it (Aleph-Lamed-Peh) finishes, the second phase (Bet-Yod-Tav) begins. After that finishes, the third phase begins.

The Light influences the desire and constantly changes it. Eventually, it becomes qualitatively new from reception to bestowal, from Hochma to Bina. So, the same thing will happen in our work as well. It is impossible to play the same game until the end of life.

When people fall in love, they swear that they will love each other until the end of their lives, but it is clear that love will fade before we die, for we evolve quickly. In our day, development is very rapid, so people marry and divorce a number of times in their lives.

It means that each state will end and we shouldn’t wait for it to happen. Already, in advance, we should understand that even though our dissemination work is productive, correct, and good, and we cant diminish its importance, it already requires additions. It is up to us to think about the quality of the work, for every new level is attained by improving the quality.

It means that the connection with people must be more qualitative. The next stage is precisely the same as the previous one, but with a greater level of connection. We need to meet with the same people we already have contacted and begin to teach them the method of correction. It is necessary to send explanatory material to them, to have workshops and unification evenings with them, and to teach them through the television channels and the Internet to continually keep them interested. It is as if we enrolled them in a school, and now it is up to us to begin the first grade.

As a result of this, we will become a conduit that connects people with the Creator. We are not yet this conduit, rather, we have only reached the first point of contact.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/21/14, The Book of Zohar

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Passover 2015

Dr. Michael LaitmanAn article written by my student , M. Brushtein:

The Passover Seder (festive meal) is not far off.  Many people know that this holiday is dedicated to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, which occurred about 34 centuries ago.

Since then, this momentous event is celebrated every year for the whole week. If we consider that it is preceded by a lot of laborious activities and accompanied by all sorts of restrictions, there is a fair question, “Why is such special attention paid to this holiday?”

The tragic events that preceded the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and that subsequently occurred during the wanderings in the desert are well known. Along with this, one event stands out from all the rest. The fact is that nothing like that had ever happened to anyone else.

For the first time in history of humanity, the Jewish people decided to raise the bar of interpersonal relationships to the level of “as one man with one heart.” If we look at the holiday of Passover from this point of view, then much if not all of what that we know about Passover and the Jews may have to be radically reviewed.

Imagine for a moment the situation of those days. The Jews under the guidance of their leader Moses are leaving Egypt – a country, where they were enslaved for centuries. It would seem, what do former slaves need? – To settle quickly in a new place to live safely and enjoy new found freedom. But in reality, something strange took place.

After a long ordeal in the desert, the Jews gather at the foot of Mount Sinai and take on themselves, frankly, an unbearable burden. They agree to guarantee for each other. We know that this is impossible in principle. Didn’t people have other things? Who needed this mutual guarantee anyway?

But in fact, the answer is obvious: “In order for a people to live, thrive and grow, it must be united, and it is unlikely anyone will argue with this.” Question: “On the basis of the principle, ​​through what idea can this be done?”

Of course, you can unite the people on the idea of ​​universal equality and brotherhood and on the idea of ​​national superiority; it is also possible to unite the people by the American dream.

There is a practical question – “How and for how long will these principles and ideas work?”  We know the answers. With all that, these principles are rational and understandable, but the idea of ​​”mutual guarantee” or even worse – “love thy neighbor as thyself” – is irrational, that is, essentially impossible.

Why then, has the idea of ​​”love thy neighbor,” irrational at first glance, lived for more than 3,000 years and is perceived with understanding by anyone in the world, but rational ideas – “national ideas” are always taken ill and die within a generation?

And yet, how could the Jews implement this idea in reality? Let’s not talk about such things as the upper force or the Creator. Let’s talk about where we started – mutual guarantee.

It says in the Torah that the Jews, one and all, decided unanimously to guarantee for each other. It can be said it was a matter of the whole people, with all the consequences. Obviously, this was the reason for success.

Later, as we know and due to various reasons, the people became indifferent towards this idea in order to then return to it again.

In both cases, the Jews thrived and prospered. Having united as one man with one heart in those ancient times, the Jewish people became a model for many nations and the founder of the ethical values ​​that underlie the whole of civilization.

Today, the Jewish people as one, can give an example of correct relations. If all the people becomes engaged with this and if this idea becomes nationwide, as in the days of Moses, then without a doubt, the Jewish people will be able to realize it.

The choice is ours.
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Meeting On The Bridge Above Hatred

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why is it customary to have a meal on Pesach evening when the entire family sits around the table?

Answer: Pesach is a special holiday because it symbolizes the birth of the Israeli nation. It says that it is only after the exodus from Egypt that they become a nation, and that we cannot be called a nation as long as we are separated and divided, and the egoistic force tears us to pieces. It is only when we resist these foreign forces and try to connect that we discover the force of unity that ties us and that we become a nation. Therefore the Israeli nation today is not called a nation according to the true Kabbalistic definition.

Comment: This state of division was very strongly revealed during the elections in Israel that ended not too long ago and divided the nation into many parties and movements. The internal division is increasingly growing and deepening.

Answer: These elections were very harmful to the nation since we celebrate the fact that we have conflicts and that we hate one another. During the election’s propaganda, we emphasized these differences and everyone tried to harm the other as much as he could. This is terribly harmful to our nation, although it is called democracy. After all, the entire basis of the Israeli nation is unity above all the obstacles and the differences.

Question: But, what should we do if our opinions differ?

Answer: This is a very good thing! It is actually the connection between plus and minus that generates energy. It is good that we don’t share the same opinions. We only must learn how to connect above all the differences. Therefore, the connection to which the wisdom of Kabbalah brings us is far from being a simple idea. We must find the special force in nature that will help us unite despite our differences and oppositeness. The opposite opinions remain, but we know how to make peace between us above them so that love will cover all the sins. This is a very profound principle. We are both sinners, you and I, but we build a bridge above the hate we feel towards one another.

The Book of Zohar tells us that Rabbi Shimon’s ten students who sat in a cave and wrote this book hated each other so much when they began to study at midnight they wanted to burn one another. But, to the extent that they studied together and made efforts in order to gradually build the bridge above their burning hatred, they reached spiritual revelations about which they tell us later in The Book of Zohar. Such a bridge can be built only above opposite opinions.

Question: Does that mean that whenever we have disputes, we always can build a bridge above them?

Answer: We can always build a bridge above our disputes, and moreover, it is forbidden to pressure a person to force him to concede and change his opinion. The more different his opinion is from the others, the better it is.

Question: So, what will build the bridge between us?

Answer: For example, we can take an electric or electronic system that actually works thanks to the fact that it burns energy as a result of the potential gap between two electric wires that reach it. When we are in a conflict and opposite one another because of our egoistic nature, and, at the same time, connect above it, these two levels create spiritual attainment within us. We attain the spiritual world in the potential gap when we discover and get to know not only our current corporeal world, but also the upper world. The attainment of the spiritual world is called a soul.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Is A Person Free Or A Slave To His Nature?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: I don’t feel myself enslaved; it seems to me that I am a free man. So how is the instruction on the Passover holiday to represent myself as leaving the servitude of Egypt every year relevant to me?

Answer: It seems that we are free because we don’t feel that we depend upon each other. We try to arrange our lives so as not to be associated with anyone, so nobody will bother us. That is our nature.

For the sake of this independence, we invent new computers and mobile phones. In every house there are so many household appliances that require minimal help from others. This makes it easier for our egoistic nature, and we carry out its demands: I don’t touch anyone and try not to have anyone touch me.

But basically, all of us are connected and interdependent. It becomes clear that all the still, vegetative, and animate nature also constitute a single integral system in which everything is connected with everything else. So the wisdom of Kabbalah warns us that we depend upon one another and we will yet discover this dependence in the future.

If we don’t attain unity, then it will be very bad for us. In the meantime, we don’t feel the necessity for this to any great degree and because the wisdom of Kabbalah was not disclosed in the bondage of the previous generations, thousands of years it was in hiding. We didn’t have a need for it as we were not ready to discover that we are interdependent.

But today the whole world feels this mutual dependence. To the degree that it discovers this negative connection, it will turn to the Jewish people, for only this people possesses the method that makes it possible to unite above all differences.

There is a very great demand for this method in the world today. Therefore if we don’t convey this method to other people, we will feel very strong pressure. Anti-Semitism will continue to grow and the nations of the world will bring more and more claims against the Jewish people, blaming us for all their troubles.

They won’t exactly know the reason for their hatred towards us, but it is derived specifically from that. This pressure can be expressed in different ways, as we see in the attitude of the United States towards Israel deteriorating day by day.

Question: When you look at the world today, would you define our state as slavery?

Answer: Certainly, we are enslaved to our nature. I am always carrying out the commands of my inner nature and I obey them without any clarification, criticism, or opposition. I am simply not prepared to go against it.

My egoistic desire demands that I succeed and obtain benefit without considering anyone else. And if I am in an integral connection with others, how could I not take them into consideration?  I become limited in all of my actions.

Question: So the problem isn’t in my doing well,  but my doing so at the expense of others?

Answer: I cannot even succeed that way. Today not even an entire nation can succeed if it is isolated from others. All of them are discovering the necessity for connection with each other, but they cannot do this correctly. Nobody knows how to establish good connections between them: America, Russia, China, Europe, Jews, and Arabs.

Nobody can succeed and go out in the first place if it isn’t done through a totally good connection. It follows that the most successful will be the one who most accurately takes our mutual connections into account and acts accordingly. And this is what going out from slavery to freedom symbolizes. Everyone, all of humanity, must learn this.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Passover Is A Reminder Of The Future

Dr. Michael LaitmanPassover reminds us not only of the past, but also of the future.

From time immemorial, Passover evening has united Jewish families around the holiday table. The feast is spelled out in every detail, yet is foreign to formalism, and its unhurried ceremony revives the exit from Egyptian slavery.

But if we came out of Egypt, then why do we again repeat: “This year we are slaves, next year we will be free?”

Our sources state that behind the known events and ups and downs, there is one more layer of information that is not so much about history but about human relationships. Or rather, it is about the unity and mutual understanding that the Jewish people reached and is so necessary, not only to the Jewish people, but especially today to the whole of humanity.
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True Religion And The Religion Of Exile

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: As I understand it, the wisdom of Kabbalah came from Judaism and all of the Kabbalists of the past were very religious. What is the real connection between the wisdom of Kabbalah and religion?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah is the foundation of true “religion.” Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose.”

The three major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—are based upon the teachings of our father Abraham. But Abraham specifically discovered the wisdom of Kabbalah, which is the foundation of all religions, and he described his discovery in the Kabbalistic book, Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation).

The main principle of the religion that was discovered by Abraham is “And you shall love your friend as yourself.” So it is also written, “And you shall love your friend as yourself is the great general rule of the Torah.” In principle, this is meant in every sense. Or minimally: “What is hateful to you, don’t do to your friend.”

The entire Torah speaks about good relationships between people. Relationships of this kind existed among the people of Israel before the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash (Temple) 2,000 years ago, which was destroyed because of the sudden eruption of unfounded hatred.

Everything revolves around only one point: Good or bad attitudes among the Jews determine what will happen with them and the entire world in general. This is precisely the reason for anti-Semitism; it is because the Jewish people cannot reach agreement among themselves and because of this the whole world suffers.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is involved only with how to attain the right connection between us, and this is the foundation of the entire religion. And what has been considered religion in the last 2,000 years is the maintenance of all kinds of traditions that seem to be enough for people.

This is the form religion takes in exile when we were separated from the principle of “And you shall love your friend as yourself,” from the yearning to unite. This is the form in which the Jewish people had to ripen for 2,000 years, to go out to the nations of the world and be mingled with them, and after that to return to their land.

But after we physically returned to the land of Israel, we needed to revive the wisdom of Kabbalah, so that it would live among us and help us build a people and a nation in the same form as it once was: with love and unity between us.

There are no restrictions on this. If a person studies the method of connection, it makes no difference if he is religious or secular, what country or community he came from, or if a person is a man or a woman. Everyone must study this method and as soon as possible because our good future depends upon this.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to realize this unity, and in a practical manner makes feeling this possible during the workshops and in the connection in the discussion circles that we have brought everywhere. Thousands of people have already participated in our roundtables, and they feel that within half an hour of discussion according to the method of the wisdom of Kabbalah, they suddenly experienced an unusual feeling, an illuminating, an awakening of inspiration and warmth. And this feeling spreads to all the participants.

Comment: I was able to participate in these roundtable workshops that were transmitted according to the ancient wisdom of Kabbalah. And I remember that in the beginning the people who gathered were very skeptical and even cynical, they regretted the time they were wasting. But at the end of the evening, people simply floated from excitement and emotion, they were moved to tears and embraced each other. This was an outbreak of vital force and warmth that melted all of the ice and indifference that separates our hearts.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 2/15/15

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The Election Is Over, But The Choice Remains

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Who needs to be in power in Israel, the right or the left?

Answer: Neither one nor the other. Managing the process should be people who understand what unity is. As it is said in Jeremiah 51:5: Israel is not widowed. There are people like this in the world and I hope that we find them and that they will also organize and act.

We hope that we will succeed in bringing the people of Israel to such a state in which nobody will feel himself hurt or left out, where everyone will have a normal standard of living, housing, and everything they want. After all, if we unite, we can organize life in the best way, without any obstacles, and become an example for others.

The world of today is split, divided, and separated, and in this state, thanks to the right example, we can truly become a “light unto the nations.” This is what we must choose bit is because also the true choice of the people now. In whatever direction we go, we must choose the path of agreement and mutual understanding, the golden path that connects the camps of the right and the left.

What I hope for today for the people of Israel is that they make the real choice after the political election. Good luck!
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From the Talk on “Elections,” 3/18/15

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Ending The Old Myths About The Wisdom Of Kabbalah

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: My acquaintances tell me that it is dangerous to study the wisdom of Kabbalah because you can go crazy. Is it true that it is so dangerous and what should one beware of in the study?

Answer: In the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” the main textbook for studying the wisdom of Kabbalah, it is written that the Kabbalists intentionally spread the rumor that it is dangerous to study the wisdom of Kabbalah because they didn’t want people to come to study. So the wisdom of Kabbalah was concealed from the time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) almost until our day.

This had to happen because humanity had to develop and the people of Israel had to go through exile. The exile is also detachment from the wisdom of Kabbalah, from knowledge of the system, and a sinking into darkness. So we were in darkness for 2,000 years and this myth has existed about the wisdom of Kabbalah until today. But it was spread by the Kabbalists themselves to keep people away from the wisdom of Kabbalah until its time would come.

And today everything is precisely the opposite. Just as our entire world has transformed, so has the attitude towards the wisdom of Kabbalah changed. The Kabbalists write that from our day and onward everyone must discover the wisdom of Kabbalah and see what it gives to the people of Israel. This is because we cannot solve our problems nor exist any longer without it.

So there is nothing to fear. It is possible to open the book and study, and there are plenty of books that are appropriate for beginners, men and women.

Question: So it follows that in recent years humanity has reached a stage in which the wisdom of Kabbalah must be studied by everyone? Previously this wasn’t so and there even existed a prohibition on its study. But today humanity is found in such a blind alley that the only exit from it is to learn about life existing beyond these boundaries?

Answer: It is specifically the same outlet that is revealed to us through the study of the wisdom of Kabbalah that takes us out of the blind alley in which we are now found.

Question: What do you mean by “beyond the boundaries of life”?

Answer: This is life beyond the boundaries of our corruption, a life in a corrected world. The world continues to act according to determined laws and nothing is changed other than our attitude. The wisdom of Kabbalah explains to us how to manage the forces and the network of connection between us so that everyone will be connected in the right way.

We reach such a harmony, such a unity, in the relationships between us that we discover a unique force between us that helps us rise above this life that is within the body and only for its sake. We begin to feel life on a higher level, and in this manner we go out beyond the limits of this world, this life.

Question: Doesn’t one have to be a great sage for this?

Answer: This is accessible to everyone. In our house there is a refrigerator, a stove, a microwave; do you know how they work? Even if you don’t it doesn’t keep you from using them.

In the same way there were wise Kabbalists who created the method, like a microwave. And there are ordinary people for whom it is enough only to learn to use it. Each one must learn to some degree, similar to how we need to know how a microwave works, in terms of what buttons to press and how to change its states.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 2/15/15

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There Is No Land Of Israel Without The Nation Of Israel

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Torah, “Leviticus,” 25:1 –  25:5: And the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them: You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce, But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest, and you shall not pick the grapes you had set aside [for yourself], [for] it shall be a year of rest for the land.

We first meet the concept of “the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to the Lord” in the weekly section of the Torah, Ba’har, since there is no Sabbath of the land. But when a nation that obeys the spiritual laws lives on that land, everything below that nation, the world of the still (the land), vegetative, and animate begin to acquire the attributes of that nation and its effect.

Therefore, there is no land of Israel without the nation of Israel. When they gather in that place, there is a corresponding phenomenon with the nation of Israel in the land of Israel. The laws that operate on the land are a replica of the spiritual laws of the people that live on it.

This means that that the customs of the people who live there apply to their environment, and in particular, their day of rest, the Sabbath. This isn’t a vacation, a day of rest, but a day full of efforts, a special spiritual state since there are very special corrections done on the Sabbath that people cannot do on any other day.

When a person’s spiritual states are replicated unto the lower levels of the still, vegetative, and animate (or parts of our world), everything changes and is defined differently. For example, a week, becomes a year. For the land it is a year of prosperity, a special year when we are absolutely forbidden to work the land. It is a year of Shmita.

In ancient times, this commandment was observed in Israel more than 2,000 years ago before the destruction of the Temple. The crops of the sixth year were enough for the three years that followed, which seemed to calm everyone, “Don’t worry, you will have enough crops for several years to come until you have a new crop.”

Comment: But the human mind objects to this saying: “You have to collect the crops every year, how can I take a break?!”

Answer: We are speaking about the spiritual state of a whole nation in which the laws of our world do not apply.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/13/14

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The Scroll Of Esther: Our Spiritual Heritage

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Scroll of Esther 3:8: Haman said to King Achashverosh, There is one nation, scattered and dispersed among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, whose laws are unlike those of any other nation and who do not obey the laws of the King. It is not in the King’s interest to tolerate them. Unity was always the basis and the foundation of the Jewish people and was the power that didn’t let them dissolve while in exile.

There is a wonderful destiny for this unity, and at the beginning of it was Adam, the first man to rise above himself.

Spiritual Heritage

Adam laid the foundation for the spiritual history of humanity. He was the first among all humans who ascended above the properties of ego and self-love to a higher level of love of others. In this higher characteristic he discovered the upper world, a world outside of himself and outside of his ego.

His students continued the spiritual elevation of Adam, and with the passage of 20 generations, this chain reached ancient Babylon, which was the cradle of the present civilization.

Abraham lived here and continued the way of Adam. After gathering people from among the Babylonians who possessed an identical outlook, Abraham went with them to the land of Israel in order to give the whole world an example of real unity. The continuation of this group became the same people that still haunts humanity.

Thus, the Jewish people arose originally not on an ethnic basis, but an ideological one. Our ancestors picked up an idea, and throughout the history of humanity, and it alone determines our common path: the path to the universal unification of humanity.

With the passage of almost 1,000 years after leaving ancient Babylon, we fell from the level of love of others into increasing egoism, and with this we again found ourselves in the same Babylon, and in exile.
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From the brochure about the holiday of Purim, 03/2015

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