Question: Among the heroes of the Purim holiday, who is Mordechai?

Answer: Mordecai – is a mysterious person, but not a “dark horse,” a light person.

He is completely invisible because he doesn’t usually stand out. The only person he annoys is Haman who realizes that if the Jews have a leader, it will not be easy to control, subjugate, and annihilate them.

Question: What does Haman see in Mordechai? After all, Mordechai is sitting quietly by the gate.

Answer: Mordechai is indeed sitting quietly by the gate, but he is calm for the time being. As soon as Haman starts taking serious actions, the power of Mordechai and his stubborn and firm manner is immediately revealed, and this will not be good for Haman. Since Mordechai isn’t siting at the city gate but at the king’s gate, he bothers Haman. After all, in order to approach the king, he must evade Mordechai somehow.

Mordechai represents the potential force that exists in the Jewish people, which once allowed them to unite and rise above egoism. This power still lives and exists in us.  It can attract additional positive forces from the outside that exist in creation, in nature. So Mordechai is a danger to Haman; it is necessary for him to subjugate Mordechai. Therefore Haman comes up with various schemes, as when he turns to King Ahasuerus, etc.

There is a clear contrast between the two characters. Haman represents the attitude of the ego according, asserting that egoism was created to fill a person, to elevate him, to benefit him, and to move forward. In other words, it is a healthy capitalistic approach to life. But Mordechai says the ego is given to us only so that we can rise and work above it, that specifically by rising above the ego it is possible to discover the upper world, the next level, the next dimension, in which humanity must exist.

Therefore there are serious ideological contradictions between Haman and Mordechai. Ultimately it is discovered that even though Haman is right about the ego being the power that motivates us to move forward, it is specifically the characteristic of Mordechai that is the force that corrects and raises us to the level of the Creator, saving and leading all of humanity toward the goal of creation.

Even though the Scroll of Esther tells the story of what happened in ancient Babylon 2,500 years ago, it is applicable for our time more than ever because we are found in exactly the same situation today. The difference is that we have already left the exile, the terrible state of darkness, and now it is up to us to attract and lead all of humanity after us.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/14/16

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Question: Who is Haman, one of the antagonists of the Purim celebration?

Answer: Haman is a vivid historical figure, an amazing spiritual example for modern humanity

Comment: But he was evil.

Answer: Stalin and Hitler were also evil. There are many such people in our history, Haman surpasses them all. His name can be called absolutely all the villains of the world. This is a collective image

Haman is a scientist, astrologer,  and an intellectual, who understands things. He did a lot for mankind and eventually he and all his family, his ten sons and his wife Zeresh, his many concubines, and all his courtiers were put to death.

Everything he did was in order to awaken the Jews, who were dispersed in 127 countries in the ancient Babylonian kingdom of Ahasuerus, so that they would not sit tranquilly but would rebel, unite, and return to their homeland.

It is thanks to Haman’s efforts and the afflictions he brought upon them that the Jews began to unite. The threat of death forced them to unite, to rebel, to destroy all their enemies, and to eventually return to the land of Israel and build the Second Temple.

It makes no difference whether Haman is a positive or negative figure, he moves history forward. Our evolution is mainly under the pressure that negative figures create because people are stubborn, and the most stubborn are the Jews. Enormous negative forces called Pharaoh, Haman, Amalek, etc. rage inside us pushing us toward happiness by a stick that beats us because we don’t understand anything when we are treated nicely.

The wisdom of Kabbalah that is revealed in our times shows us how we can reach the goal in a good way and how to help the whole world develop correctly and bring it to unity. The unity of the world is our ultimate goal, the last phase in our development. Let’s hope that we will be able to fulfill it without wicked figures like latter-day Haman, Ahasuerus, Hitler, or new Pharaohs.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/14/16

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New Life 534 – The Book Of Esther: Who Is The King?
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

We are used to a powerful figure of a king who rules bravely, while Ahasuerus is described as a strange king, Ahasuerus is a king that is managed by others. This is meant to teach us that the upper force allows us to manage our world.

When the word “king” is mentioned, it refers to the Creator, to the upper force of nature, to the general plan of the evolution of reality.

If we approach the king correctly, we can improve our situation. There is a clear consistent predetermined plan of nature that operates like computer software. The plan is to bring the whole world to correction, to bring all of reality to wholeness.

The Jews during that time were dispersed in 127 states. They didn’t care about anything, and each one cared only about himself. At the peak of their separation, at the peak of their disconnection from unity and love that was supposed to be felt between them, Haman arrives.

They have no connection with godliness, with the force of love and giving. Our nation was founded on love of others, on mercy, on the connection between people, in order to discover the upper force. The moment we descend to the lowest point in our relations, an external enemy arrives and threatens to destroy us. This is how Haman, Hitler, and Stalin appeared. If the relations between us had been good, they would not have appeared.

It is a simple equation and it repeats itself: separation leads to Haman, connection leads to wellness. Connection means being incorporated in one another by mutual caring and consideration, through “love thy friend as thyself.” Despite the big ego that everyone has today, we can summon a miracle that will connect us. We can choose how we want to arrive at the predetermined goal, and this is the reason that we have the wisdom of Kabbalah.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 534 – The Book Of Esther – Who Is The King Here?” 3/3/15

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Comment: The leader of the left wing Isaac Hertzog said that the actions of the extremist on the right and the left will lead to the establishment of a new state in Israel called “Israstine,” and that we need to unite.

Answer: What does this unity come down to? After all, a politician doesn’t think about anything but reaching a higher position. This is the reason he is a politician.

I believe that political bickering has always been the death of Israel because we are a nation based on the unity between different peoples. Abraham formed a group that was later called Israel from peoples who lived in ancient Babylon who were very different from each other, and so what forms the Jewish nation is actually the unity between its people.

The Jews have no nationality and whoever joins the idea of unity, the right mutual integration between people, is called a Jew. The word “Jew – Yechudi”  stems from the Hebrew word “unity – Yichud.” Therefore, “love thy friend as thyself” is the main natural law and the basis for the existence of our nation.

But we have forgotten all that and have not been living according to that for ages. We are not the same Jews who lived in ancient times anymore. We don’t have the same ideology, the same basis, or the same constitution. Nevertheless nature still treats us according to the same principle, which means that we have to exist above all the differences, in unity, since otherwise we will not be a nation.

This is how the First Temple was destroyed. Then we united a bit and built the Second Temple, and then we began to fight one another once more and because of this the Second Temple was destroyed.

This means that the most important thing for our nation is our unity, despite all the problems that come up between us, as it says “love will cover all our transgressions.”

We should understand that we have to live on two levels. On the lower level we can feel repulsion to such an extent that we will not speak to one another, as often happens among Jews. There is a Joke about a Jew who builds two synagogues, one that he goes to and one that he says he will never set a foot in. He builds the second synagogue on purpose so that he will not set a foot there. This expresses the Jews’ attitude toward one another.

Today we simply have to restore the two levels, establish an attitude of love above all our transgressions, and live on these two levels. On one hand, we don’t accept one another according to the earthly ego on the animate level. As a human being I don’t accept and hate you, and others too, but nonetheless, I cover that with love in my connection with others, without destroying the ego. It is actually as a result of living in this dual attitude of the two levels that I don’t love you, but in spite of myself and my attitude to you, I love you.

It is a very complex system of mutual relations, but only in the connection between these two dimensions is the Creator revealed, and the system of the upper Leadership that descends to us from Above. When we focus on this system of mutual relations, the upper world is revealed to us, so this is what we should do.

No one understands that, not those on the left wing, the right wing, or in the center, so we will not succeed unless we implement the rule of our mutual relations.

I know I am an egoist, but we have to build a bridge between us above the abyss that separates us. The abyss remains, but we constantly keep our intentions as we sustain and build the bridge between us more and more.

It is actually above this abyss, in the connection between us, that the upper force that will enable us to feel the true world, true existence, eternity, and wholeness is revealed. We will reveal the meaning of the creation of this world. And then we will see and discover what the Garden of Eden is and enter it. This is the way to happiness.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/6/16

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New Life #348 – Peace In Israel And In The World
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Why can’t we have peace? How is this related to the fact that the world is always against us and what is the role of Israel in the world?

Summary

Peace in Israel refers to inner wholeness. Abraham, the nation’s patriarch, taught mercy and love.

• When there is no love between us but unfounded hatred, we are not a nation.
• As long as there is no peace between us, there will not be peace on the outside.
• We need to live in peace between us and to learn how to connect before there can be any reconciliation with the Arabs or with the world.

If we live a life of love and connection in Israel, everything around us will quiet down and everyone will want to learn from us.

• Today we are like a pain in the neck for the world, and the other nations don’t know how to get rid of us,
• We have to search internally and begin to build the nation of Israel.
• There is no one to be afraid of but ourselves. Today we are destroying ourselves, Being a “Light unto the nations” means building a social model of life that is based on connection and love in Israel.
• We should start a general educational process in order to unite the nation, connect above all the differences, like in a family. Let’s start with that and the neighboring nations will become our best friends; we will also connect with them. The more the socio-educational process will penetrate them, the more will be as one with them.

The whole world subconsciously feels that the key for a good life is in the hands of the Jews.

• The right approach for peace that Israel should adopt is first of all educating ourselves to live in peace among us.
• It is from here that love will spread all over the world until all of mankind will be as one family.
• No one other than us can bring world peace, but we are asleep and therefore others hate us.

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From KabTV’s “New Life #348 – Peace In Israel And In The World,” 4/10/14

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In the News (polosa.co.il): “Last week, the concept of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by dividing the land of Israel into two independent national states ended. In other words, last week, the idea of creating a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria died. The death of this concept was announced almost casually, as something self-evident. It was announced not by Netanyahu, Abbas, and not even Barack Obama. It was announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin.

“After the meeting, Merkel said ‘now is not the time to move towards the creation of a Palestinian state.’ Do you understand? Now is not the time. For nearly five decades, Europe has called, insisted, and demanded only one thing ‑ Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and the establishment of a Palestinian state there. And suddenly – it does not.” …

My Comment: Merkel already understood her mistake back when the EU was established, but it is impossible to change the European attitude and make them realize that this idea will not work without first changing their psychology and without re-educating them first in the spirit of unity, connection, and even of brotherhood and love.

To create an alliance, or least a cohabitation of neighboring nations, all of the parties involved have to agree without any external pressure. It is only after being educated for some time that the two new states can be built cooperatively.

Kabbalah can help here. By the way, we must re-educate the Jews in the spirit of unity, no less and even more than the Arabs! This doesn’t stem from the policy of the EU, but from the purpose of creation and the Creator’s desire for the two nations
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New Life #610 – The Messiah: Myth or Truth?
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Summary

All people have their own legends about what once was and what will be in the future and in between, a difficult daily life. The problem is that we are not familiar with the world we live in, its processes and purpose.

Contrary to what the world thinks about us, we don’t understand anything about the process of development that the world is going through. On the one hand, the people of Israel are close to the Upper Light, on the other hand, they lack any real grasp of it.

I have been involved with the wisdom of Kabbalah for 45 years and only through this wisdom have I understood what the Messiah, the redemption, and more truly are. I lived among the people of the world for 30 years; I felt in my being their special attitude regarding Jews.

We have a connection with the upper force that manages all of reality, but we don’t feel this connection. The resurrection of the dead doesn’t mean that physical body will come back to life; it is a particular stage in the development of the soul. The soul doesn’t belong to our beastly bodies; it is the development of a feeling and intelligence for perceiving divinity. The power that develops us spiritually is called the “Messiah” (Moshiach), it attracts (Moshech) us upward, the Light that Reforms.

Physicality means distance from, rejection, and hatred of others. Spirituality is love and bestowal. The power that helps me advance from physicality to spirituality, from myself to others, is called the Messiah. There is a private Messiah that has the power to develop Kabbalists in every generation, and there is a collective force of Messiah that is for all people. Is the Messiah already here? It is possible to declare that the Creator is also already here. Only someone who feels….

The establishment of Israel was the beginning of the redemption, but we have not yet realized the opportunity that we have been given. To accommodate ourselves to the concept of the Messiah, Israel must direct everything toward, “All Israel are friends.” Difficult or easy days are ahead for us; it all depends on us. The difference between exile (Galut) and redemption (Geulah) is in the letter “Aleph,” meaning, the revelation (Gilui) of the Creator. There is no need to wait for the Messiah; if this force approaches us without proper preparation from our side, it will be bad.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #610 – The Messiah: Myth or Truth?” 8/13/15

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New Life 701 – The Secret In The Scroll Of Esther
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

The story begins with King Ahasuerus who symbolizes the king of the world, the Creator, and Queen Vashti who symbolizes the world that is not listening to Him. That is, a lack of connection is revealed between the Creator and the creatures, which they must correct. Queen Esther is humble and not arrogant, like Vashti. And the king wants to bring the world to identification with Him. Esther doesn’t reveal that she is a Jew because the people of Israel are hated. Everyone is arrogant and represents separation.

Bigthan and Teresh want to murder the king, meaning they want to bring a new control of the world. They stimulate Mordecai to take action, and in fact, the forces of Mordecai and Haman clarify why the world exists. After Mordecai saves him, the king specifically elevates Haman to stimulate Mordecai to demand something. The king seems to have been led by his advisors, yet he really is leading everything toward his goal.

Esther calls for the Jews to gather, fast, and pray, meaning to transcend the personal ego and connect, because the people of Israel are scattered among all the nations; i.e., they are immersed in foreign cultures and not in unity and connection. The threat of annihilation brings the people back to a clarification of who they are and what their role is in the world, which is serving as an example of love. So they kill their haters, meaning the evil that is in each one of them that opposes connection and love, and that is how they advance toward the purpose of creation in which the people of Israel lead all creatures toward love and connection with the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 701 – The Secret In The Scroll Of Esther,” 3/10/16

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New Life 528 – The Holiday Of Purim
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

What do we celebrate on the Purim holiday? What do the holiday customs of wearing costumes, getting drunk, sending gift packages symbolize, and what is the figure of Haman, and how do we get rid of it in our lives?
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From the KabTV’s “New Life 528 – The Holiday Of Purim,” 2/24/15

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New Life 527 – As We Enter Adar We Increase Happiness
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

What is the meaning of the month of Adar? And what arouses happiness in it; what kind of happiness are they talking about and where is it found?
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From KabTV’s “New Life 527 – As We Enter Adar We Increase Happiness,” 2/24/15

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