Entries in the 'Nations of the World' Category

New Life 555 – Life In Perpetual War

New Life 555 – Life In Perpetual War
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

After so much suffering it’s time to ask why is this happening to us? After all, there is nothing accidental in nature.

After not finding secular and religious answers, we understand that the answers are found in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Peace depends only on us; it doesn’t depend on any other factor. Only we can bring a positive force into the world.

Two forces operate in this world, positive and negative, give and take. The evil force constantly grows by itself. Adding the positive force hidden in nature requires work only the Jews can perform.

In ancient Babylon, our father Abraham discovered a method for doing this, the method of love, “Love covereth all transgressions” (Proverbs 10:12). Thousands gathered around him, and that is how the people of Israel were created, living according to: “What is hateful to you, don’t do to your friend” (Talmud Babyli Shabbat 31a), and “You shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

If we want to build the people of Israel in the land of Israel, it is up to us to return to this spiritual source. The systems that oppose Israel will stop only when we understand that the key to world happiness is in our hands, the positive force is in our hands. If we fight for connection between us, each one against his ego, we will be spared from external wars.

Like soldiers, we are strong, we are ready for self-sacrifice. The problem is that it is not clear to us what our destiny as a people is. If we fight with the inner enemy, with the negative force that separates us, the external enemy will disappear.

We see that today people are leaving the country; it is not clear to them what the point of their living here is, in this nation with all of its problems. It is up to us to reveal the positive force that is concealed in nature that will connect us. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us this method.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 555 – Life In Perpetual War,” 4/16/15

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Moses

laitman_740_02The first hero of the Passover holiday is Moses, the spiritual leader. This is a special quality within a person that leads him to the exodus from Egypt.

If we don’t talk about Moses as a quality within a person but as a character, then he wasn’t a born leader. Moses is a person who is closed within himself, who wants to achieve, to be aware of the surrounding world, his characteristics, himself.

Moses lived in the palace of Pharaoh and used all the benefits that were due him as a prince. In the palace they respected him and he learned the Egyptian wisdom, magic, everything that was used in Egypt in his time in the construction of the pyramids, in perceiving the universe through astronomy and everything that had been developed back then. Moses was a scientist and so all this was very attractive, but he was not connected either with the Egyptians or with the people. He was simply a prince.

When he was in exile from Egypt, the Creator called for him to return to Egypt and he obeyed, but without any personal intention. When he returned to Egypt, he went to his grandfather, Pharaoh, and his stepmother, Batya, as an opponent, standing before them and saying to Pharaoh, “Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1). But Pharaoh opposed this and argued, “The children of Israel are living here with their families and cattle; they manage their households and have been mine for quite some time already. They don’t intend to go anywhere.” Imagine a situation in which we apparently demand from President Obama, “Let the Jews go to Israel.” And he would answer, “I don’t intend to free them; I need them for the development of the economy, science, and commerce. Try approaching them and listen to what they will answer.”

After all, the Jews were living very well in Egypt. They used all the benefits even more than the Egyptians themselves. So it was impossible to approach them in any form, even from the point of view of Pharaoh and from the point of view of the Jewish people themselves. The people of Israel were fat, lazy, and under the influence of traditions, culture, science, arts and entertainments of the Egyptians. They had everything they needed, including huge pastures for their cattle. One can say that they lived in the best place in the world.

The moment Moses began to ask Pharaoh to free the people of Israel from Egypt, they began to feel the evil side of Pharaoh: blows, pressure, oppression, taxes, great persecutions, and pogroms. Generally, everything that we have seen throughout the history of the Jews suddenly began to appear in Egypt with the people who had been totally pampered in every way! And so the attitude of Pharaoh towards Moses became sharply negative. In spite of this, Moses went to Pharaoh according to the command of the Creator and demanded from him, “Let my people go!”

Moses was afraid of Pharaoh and the Creator, and didn’t know what to do. He tried to convince the Creator that he was tongue-tied and stuttered, that he was not a natural leader. But the Creator replied, “I know whom to choose, so onward!” And he went. Moreover, when the Creator said, “Let’s go together. I will harden the heart of Pharaoh so much that it will be preferable for us to go together.”

The wisdom of Kabbalah talks about the deepest and innermost characteristics of a person, which he must discern within himself specifically through the pathway of spiritual development in which a person begins to search within himself for the characteristics of Pharaoh, Moses, the Creator, the people of Israel, Egypt, and all the rest of the images in the Torah.

Ultimately, he reaches a state of absolute darkness when he understands that he cannot leave Egypt, he doesn’t want to leave it, and doesn’t know what forces will make it possible for him to do this. And then at night an immense power, a storm breaks out, lightning and thunder in the spiritual sense. The person is found in a terrible panic! But he runs after the Creator.

The exodus from Egypt happens in haste; from where and to where is unknown. What matters is that the Creator wants this, and the person carries out His will.

There is nothing else! What matters is what the Creator wants and that we follow Him because it is impossible to get our bearings by using our feelings or knowledge—neither through the heart or the mind. Only the upper force shows a person where he or she should go. The Creator leads you by a pillar of fire or cloud, and you go; it cannot be in any other way.

To be completely purified from Egypt and take everything above your reason and feeling, you must leap into the sea! The sea is a terrible state in which it is up to the person to take a step absolutely contrary to all of his emotions and reason! After that, nothing is left of what was his! He exists completely pure. In this state, a spiritual birth happens. After full purification of emotional and physical memory, a new life begins.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/11/16

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The Ten Plagues Of Egypt

Laitman_514_04Question: What are the “Ten Plagues of Egypt”?

Answer: The purpose of creation is going to the next level of existence, the upper world. While living on Earth, we have to feel the upper world, to see the system of management, the Creator of everything that exists in this world and is hidden from us today.

Egoism, which is our foundation, the enormous force of nature that we must transcend, is what “runs” us. On the one hand, the ego is drives us upward; on the other hand, it will not free us. After all, if it were to lead us as usual within itself through all the configurations and structures through which we have passed in the course of human evolution—the primitive era, the era of slavery, the feudal era, the capitalist era, and the socialist era—it would not be clear toward what we would continue.

But egoism puts a “wall” in front of us, we cannot move further; so the current phase is called “the last phase of human development on Earth.” In other words, egoism is requiring us to become rounded, to unite on the one hand, but on the other hand, it won’t let us unite. Therefore, the only solution we can come to is to transcend “Pharaoh” (egoism), above Egypt to the next level of existence, the higher system of management.

This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about. This is what we must reach. The “Ten Plagues of Egypt” exist in order to completely break away from egoism. This is because our egoism consists of ten parts, which are the ten Sefirot: Keter, Hochma, Bina, Hesed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. Each one of them “portrays” for us a particular type of existence within the ego.

We must gradually release ourselves from these ten Sefirot, these ten modes of existence. This happens when we begin to see that each one of them is finite, incomplete, leading to a blind alley and giving us no hope of continuing our existence within the ego.

The final phase of each of these ten levels, these characteristics, these parts of our ego, is the ten plagues of Egypt. After them it is no longer possible to remain within the ego. Instead we must get up and run away from it blindly. On the present level, we cannot see the next level. So the flight from Egypt happens at midnight, in total darkness.

The ten plagues of Egypt are in fact a separation from our egoism, when we run away in the dark and it is unclear where we are going. But the main thing is that we are running away from it! And so gradually we develop before us a new life, a new world, new eternal, infinite, and perfect new expanses.

Question: Is it possible to get along without the plagues?

Answer: No. In fact it is not pain but insight, enlightenment. The plagues pass over our ego and in these states we rise above it!

Comment: It turns out that if I identify with the ego, I feel the plagues. But if I rise above it, i.e., identify with Moses who is leading me forward, I don’t feel them.

Answer: This how the plagues function. They obligate a person to rise above them, and then he stops feeling the ego. If the person is elevated above it, he stops feeling it. Then a relaxed, new life begins.

So in fact, the ten plagues are not really plagues. They are the highest gift that the Creator gives a person, pushing him out of egoism forcefully. So, let’s go, let’s run away from it and gain a new world!
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/12/16

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New Life 554 – Holidays And Festivals: The New Israeli

New Life 554 – Holidays And Festivals: The New Israeli
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

How is the new Israeli different from the Sabra image that was built after the establishment of the nation? How does his activity on behalf of connection among the people change them for the better and how should his desire for love of the people and the homeland be directed?

The Sabra image helped us in building the nation. After that, western culture came and the dream faded. A generation grew up focusing on itself and was less interested in the homeland.

Today, inner gentleness has reawakened, people want spiritual connection. A sensation of emptiness indicates this. Materialism no longer fulfills us.

The next Israeli hero will be a person who understands that prosperity and happiness comes from connection with others.

When the nation was established we were forced to connect in order to survive. Today, emptiness pushes us to connect. After all the materialistic successes, emptiness is eating us from the inside. We lack warmth, we lack connection.

When we begin to build connection and good relationships between us in Israel, nobody will consider leaving the country, emigrating to some other place. Connection will deeply fulfill a person from within and elevate him to a new level of existence.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 554 – Holidays And Festivals: The New Israeli,” 4/14/15

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Titans, Spiritual Giants

laitman_276_02Question: Within various writings in the Bible there is information according to which before the deluge, giants and titans dominated the Earth. Is this true?

Answer: The term “titans” refers to great people, not in size but spiritual giants. There were titans and giants before the deluge. They attained the upper world within the ego, which could imagine the spiritual level on an egoistic level, which is the smallest, negligible level.

They were not great egoists. But specifically thanks to their having negligible ego, they could move with great ease through all the properties and all the strata of the spiritual world. So they were called titans.
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New Life 552 – A New Israeli Vision

New Life 552 – A New Israeli Vision
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Why were all the difficult events that have happened to the Jewish people necessary? What is the destiny of the people of Israel, and how is it possible to transform the nation of Israel into a model for the whole world?

In order to understand where Israel is heading, there is a need for our inner Torah, the wisdom of Kabbalah. Our social vision should be adjusted to what is defined in the program of development in nature….

Today, on the one hand, a need for connection has been revealed, and on the other hand, there is a lack of desire for connection. Each one is separate. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches how to bring a positive energy into our lives and create a balance between the negative and the positive.

An independent Israel is a nation that will lead humanity to true independence and everything that is good.

In the Israel of tomorrow, a person will not feel alone; he will be connected to others. He will love like a mother loves and is concerned about her children. A person will not feel isolated because he will be enveloped by warmth and love. And this will be what is most pleasant in the world.

From a social aspect, we will begin to feel how corners become rounded. Generosity, consideration, and mutuality will be revealed. Different opinions will exist as plus and minus, with mutual acceptance, because above everything there will be love. Israel will be a nation that balances the two forces of good and evil and provides an example for the whole world.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 552 – A New Israeli Vision,” 4/12/15

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A Cyber-Attack On Israel

laitman_600_02Question: It was reported that pro-Islamic and pro-Palestinian organizations are planning a massive cyber-attack on Israel. They are planning to break into the email boxes of Internet users, attack Facebook, and so on.

Answer: I call on them to attack me and steal from me everything that is written on our site and disseminate it. But seriously, all of the wars today are in virtual space. I don’t understand what these organizations are arming themselves against in the first place.

Question: What if we could spread our information this way?

Answer: The point is that there is a person to whom you send the information who, being trapped by his ego, says, “I don’t want to.”

What’s the point in giving him information about the need to unite? You will not be able to give him anything unless he is given a good spanking and forced to open his mouth from above, but all of this is still ahead of us. It is probably impossible to manage it without blows.

Pesach (Passover) is before us now. Passover tells us about a person who begins to move toward freedom and continues to evolve only after he has undergone terrible afflictions and feels that he must attain the truth. Therefore, being in Egypt is essential.

A person must undergo all of the ten plagues of Egypt and reach the state in which he must exit them and attain the right goal that actually is determined while being in exile in Egypt. Egypt symbolizes our ego and how we suffer from it, and the ten plagues of Egypt are ten serious blows to the ego, which means to our desires, to a comfortable bourgeoisie life, to domination, glory, knowledge, pleasures, and so forth.

The exile in Egypt, the terrible suffering, helps us break away from this type of life, and then we begin to feel that they are worthless, meaningless, hopeless, and useless. Neither drugs nor wealth can help us—nothing! It is also impossible to die, and all that we have left is this mortal existence that is much worse than death.

Then, a person decides that he is ready to do anything in order to find the truth. It is actually from this state that he yearns for the truth, so exodus from Egypt is exodus from spiritual exile.

Question: Can a person hear the message of Kabbalists and avoid such extreme states? Otherwise, what are we disseminating this information for?

Answer: We are disseminating information so that people would be able to reduce their corporeal suffering, which can become very great before they want to get rid of them, so that they could determine as quickly as possible that egoism is bad and that a person should escape it, but only toward the right goal.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/7/16

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New Life #369 – The Heroes Of The Bible: Moses

New Life #369 – The Heroes Of The Bible: Moses
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Summary

What is Moses’ heroism? How does he lead the people of Israel toward fulfilling the connection and unity between them, and how is this historical story related to our life today?

Moses was raised as a prince at Pharaoh’s palace until the age of 40. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, his point in the heart was awakened. The killing of the Egyptian symbolizes Moses’ reluctance to be part of the Egyptian culture, values, and idols.

Staying at Jethro’s home is an intermediate stop before the next 40 years. Moses’ heroism is in accepting the mission he was given and not evading it. Moses serves Israel; he takes them out of Egypt and brings them the Torah, which is all about “love thy friend as thyself.”

Everyone gets a chance to be like Moses during his lifetime, but we evade it. To come out of Egypt, out of the house of Pharaoh, means becoming free of the domination of the ego and coming out to the love of others.

Moses demands and receives powers from God. Anyone who wants to help others advance receives the powers to do so. Egypt is the egoistic force; Jethro is wisdom in understanding the ego. The giving of the Torah is receiving the method to correct it. Today heroes are those who can lead our society and free it from being slaves to our egoism.

It is a pity to wait for the 10 plagues today. It is better to advance on our own toward connection, toward brotherly love.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #369 – The Heroes Of The Bible: Moses,” 5/13/14

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“We Must Expel The Gentiles From Israel To Saudi Arabia”

Laitman_509Opinion (timesofisrael.com): “Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said that non-Jews should not live in the Land of Israel if they do not abide by a set of seven laws mandated by Judaism.

“’According to Jewish law, gentiles should not live in the Land of Israel,’ Yosef said Saturday in a sermon. ‘If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia. When the true and complete redemption arrives, that is what we will do.’

“The only reason non-Jews were still allowed to live in the Jewish state was the fact that the Messiah had yet to arrive, he said. ‘If our hand were firm, if we had the power to rule, that’s what we should do. But the thing is, our hand is not firm, and we are waiting for the Messiah,’ he added.

“Yosef added that gentiles who do agree to take on the Noahide Laws — a basic moral code that includes prohibitions on denying the existence of God, blasphemy, murder, illicit sexual relations, theft, and eating from a live animal, as well as a requirement to instate a legal system — will be allowed to remain in the land and fulfill roles reserved for gentiles in the service of Jews.”

My Comment: That’s right, that is even said in the Torah, but the meaning of the “Land of Israel” is our corrected ego, a desire of love for everyone, as called for in the entire Torah: “Love thy neighbor, the great rule of the Torah.”

There is no place for all other desires in the corrected desire, they must be removed from it, meaning that they have become corrected with a feeling of absolute love—a condition called complete deliverance (of selfishness), and a person must actively wait for this. He must wait for the influence of a unique power on him, which corrects all of the egoism in a person. This is called the Messiah—from the word “pulling out,” extracting a person from his ego.

To the degree that the ego is corrected, a person feels a desire for bestowal and love in its corrected part, which is called the upper world. The full correction of the ego is called the attainment of the “Garden of Eden” (paradise, heaven). Therefore love toward others is the general law of the Torah.
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Ynet: “It Seems Like Modern Blood Libel”


Published in my weekly column in Ynet: “It Seems Like Modern Blood Libel.”

The difficult history of the people of Israel has not made us experts in treating the disease of anti-Semitism. Now that the danger is in the doorway but still have the option for action, we must carry out preventative treatment. Rav Dr. Michael Laitman decodes the mechanism that is hidden behind the phenomenon of anti-Semitism of the leaders and politicians against the nation of Israel and challenges us with social experiments to neutralize the hatred against us.

Currently Channel 10 News is airing a documentary series that reveals the scale of the boycott against Israel (BDS) in the academic institutions of the United States. Therefore, it is no longer just the EU or the Swedish Foreign Minister. The venom and hatred against Israel also has permeated the citizens of our best friend, the United States of America. More and more statesmen, political leaders, academics, and key figures in many areas freely and openly express hostile and uncompromising hostility toward Israel.

Leading Experts – Result, None

In order to deal with the wave of virulent hatred, Israel has enlisted a front of information ministers, business executives, and representatives from around the world and has launched high budget Internet campaigns.

However, despite the significant allocation of resources, Israel’s image has not improved and the problem persists. Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is mounting, world public opinion has surrendered to an anti-Israeli perception, and racism against us is intensifying.

(Venom and hatred against Israel have penetrated everywhere) (Photo: citizenside.com)

Anti-Semitism has been our inheritance for years and has never had a logical explanation. The worldwide impression is backed by a strong inner feeling that Israel and the Jews are to blame for all of the troubles and crises in the world. It seems that the urge to condemn Israel, to annihilate and eliminate it, lies in the subconscious of the nations of the world, and in recent times erupts from the mouths of senior officials.

What do they want from us?

Henry Ford, one of the biggest anti-Semites, published a series of booklets entitled, “The International Jew.” Among other things, he wrote, “The Jew has been too long accustomed to think of himself as exclusively the claimant on the humanitarianism of society; society has a large claim against him that he cease his exclusiveness, that he cease exploiting the world, that he cease making Jewish groups the end and all of his gains, and that he begin to fulfill, in a sense his exclusiveness has never yet enabled him to fulfill, the ancient prophecy that through him all the nations of the earth should be blessed.” Ford is one example among many.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is no reason to be surprised. The age-old hatred of Israel is rooted naturally in every person (1). Moreover, there is a direct connection between the hatred of Israel and the system of relationships among the people of Israel. The source for this has its origin somewhere around 3,500 years ago when we agreed to walk in the footsteps of a Babylonian priest named Abraham. Abraham taught the Babylonians how to hold unity as the highest value despite the divisive ego that leads the people to mutual hatred (2).

Against the force that separates, a force that connects is available. Its function is to link the various parts, connect them, and bring unity. The people of Israel are the first who must realize this process. The connection must begin here between us because we are the initiators of the method of connection called the wisdom of Kabbalah (3). The moment we unite, a positive force will spread through the world that is capable of creating wonders (4).

Uniting Against The Anti-Semitism Within Us

At the foot of Mount Sinai, Israel contended with an additional dilemma when an unequivocal choice was placed before them: mutual responsibility or unfounded hatred, all or nothing. With Titanic effort, they conquered the mountain of hatred and connected “as one heart.” From there, the way to the land of Israel—the building of the Temple, and prosperity—was short until the poison of unfounded hatred swept the people, the Temple was destroyed, and we went into exile (5).

Two thousand years have gone by since then, and even though we have returned to the land, we still behave in it as if we were in exile. Divided tribes and communities alienate each other, engage in self-glorification instead of building commonality, emphasizing and sanctifying difference instead of building what unites, and we actually are detached from our spiritual roots (6). The world expects us to be “a Light of nations” (Isaiah 49:6), providing a good example of a model society in which everyone lives in connection and brotherly love above all differences (7).

Waves of modern anti-Semitism have visited us. They must be used as a reminder to us of the role imposed upon the Jews to make the world unite “as one man with one heart.”

According to Kabbalah, anti-Semitism is a law of nature that can be measured. Let’s challenge ourselves and arrange a nationwide experimental study, a practical tool by means of which we examine on our own flesh the immensity of the power of connection. For a limited time, we will try to create and adopt a warm, sympathetic, and connected social atmosphere in the relationships between us, above the cold feelings, above the alienation and indifference between us, and we will see how a change in attitudes toward others leads to a significant reduction in the hatred toward us (and improves political relations, productive and friendly attitudes toward us in the world) (8).

References:

1. “It is a fact that Israel is hated by all the nations, whether for religious  racial, capitalist, communist, or for cosmopolitan reasons, etc. It is so because the hatred precedes all reasons, but each merely resolves its loathing according to its own psychology.” Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam). The Writings of the Last Generation, Part One, Section Nine.

2. “There has never been kindness as it was found with Abraham…and he brought peace between a person and his fellow, for he was the father of many nations, for this is the one who unites and makes peace between all creatures.” Gevurot HaShem, Chapter 6.

3. “Also, it is upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and all the people of the world to develop until they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of others, which is the ladder to the purpose of Creation, which is Dvekut with Him.” Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee),” section 20.

4. “Through the people of Israel, who are more prepared than all the other peoples to approach the Creator, abundance will be bestowed upon the rest of the peoples.” Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash), Letters, “Letter 18.”

5. “The house was ruined because of unfounded hatred. Their hearts divided and they were parted and were unfit for a Temple that is the unification of Israel” Rabbi Israel Segal, Netzah Israel, Chapter 4. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-laitman/when-we-are-united-isis-i_b_8717558.html

6. “It is a shame to admit that one of the most precious merits we have lost during the exile, and the most important of them, is the loss of the awareness of the nationality, meaning that natural feeling that connects and sustains each and every nation. The threads of love that connect the nation, which are so natural and primitive in all the nations, have become degenerated and detached from our hearts, and they are gone.” Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Nation.

7. “Israel brings Light to the world as it is said, (Isaiah 60:3) ‘And nations shall walk at thy light’” Midrash Rabbah, Shir HaShirim, Section 4, Verse 2.

8. “When Israel will be elevated according to its true inner quality, giving the whole world a new and corrected form, then not only Israel will be elevated but the entire world. Then will begin a new era in which there is no mixture of evil filth; wickedness and insurgency will not work against it at all, anger and sadness cannot dominate within it, and worry about the balance of the world will not be able to arise in the heart. Then brute force will be essentially eliminated and the sword will lose its major importance and will become a complete disgrace.” Rav Raiah Kook, Ein Aya, Shabbat 2, Jerusalem 5660, pages 98-99.

9. Ford, H. (1949). The International Jew: the World’s Foremost Problem. Library of Alexandria. Pp. 51-52.
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From Ynet, 4/13/16