Entries in the 'Nations of the World' Category

Napoleon and the Third Temple

6Question: It is said that Napoleon was passing through Paris with his retinue on the 9th of Av. This is the day when the First and Second Temples were destroyed and other tragedies of the Jewish people occurred. When Napoleon entered the Jewish quarter, he was surprised that the streets were empty. He entered the synagogue and saw it filled with people sitting on the floor. Napoleon asked the Rabbi: “What happened? Perhaps one of your leaders died or a pogrom occurred that I am unaware of?”

“Worse,” replied the Rabbi,” our Temple was destroyed, and we were expelled from our homeland.” “But that happened 1,800 years ago,” said Napoleon. “No,” said the Rabbi, “it happened just an hour ago.”

Could you please comment on such a response? It is as if history has not moved since the destruction of the Temple.

Answer: Yes. It is believed that time has stopped and we only live until it starts again and we begin to rebuild the Temple.

Question: So does this mean that all of this life is just waiting to return to the state of the Temple?

Answer: Yes, that is how it should be. The state of the Temple is the connection with the Creator. Every person could turn to the Creator and feel that he has connection, he could ask and receive answers. People were at that level. And then there was the destruction of the Temple, meaning the destruction of this connection, and that is it!

Question: Do we have a record that we were at this level?

Answer: Yes, there is a record. It is deeply hidden within us, but it manifests from time to time.

Question: So, we lost this direct connection with the Creator? And so, as it is said here, “lost life” as a result?

Answer: Yes, spiritual life.

Question: It is also said that Napoleon exclaimed: “If the Jews still mourn for their Temple and homeland, they will surely return to their land and rebuild the Temple.” What do you think of Napoleon’s response?

Answer: It is natural; the Temple must be rebuilt. The point is that people regain the connection with the Creator, a continuous, clear connection in their hearts.

Question: So then there is the question of what comes first starting to build the Temple or sensing this point within us?

Answer: Sensing it is most important. Gathering stones and building a structure with them is irrelevant.

Question: So everything will proceed automatically?

Answer: Even if it does not, it does not matter. People will start to feel that they are in unity with each other and are building a place for their upper force.

Question: Since we have touched on this question. Two Temples fell and we are talking about the Third Temple. It is said that the Third Temple will be built by the whole world. What does that mean?

Answer: The whole world will decide that it is necessary to achieve such a level among people—harmony, connection between them—when they are all united under the common force of the Creator.

Comment: Usually all unions happen after major tragedies.

My Response: Yes.

Question: Like the League of Nations after World War I, the UN after World War II. What needs to happen for people to suddenly come to this decision?

Answer: Apparently, the world must experience a serious shock. And after that, a desire for the revelation of the Creator will awaken in the nations. And it will end with the fact that indeed the Creator will be revealed in people, in the hearts of people. This will prompt them to connect with each other, and by being ready to connect with each other correctly, with kindness, in one heart, they will invoke the revelation of the Creator within them.

Question: And naturally, they will start to build the Third Temple?

Answer: That will be the Third Temple.

Question: Why is it said that the Third Temple must be built specifically in Jerusalem?

Answer: Because Jerusalem is such a place where all hopes, thoughts, and desires of people converge. So it is not a physical place.

Question: Then what will happen to the 9th of Av, on this day?

Answer: It will become a holiday.

Question: From a day of mourning it will become a holiday? Is this the right transition?

Answer: That is right. That is how it should be.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 4/8/24

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The Last Stage of the World Development

284.05In the article “The Last Generation” Baal HaSulam described how the structures of the state will look when some people are at the stage of realizing evil, some at the stage of “do not harm others,” and someone is already in love for one’s neighbor.

He specifically describes how the social structures of society, the courts, and everything that exists in the state will look.

In the primary sources, it is said that this should first of all happen in the State of Israel, with the Jews, because this is the nation chosen for the purpose of unity and love for one’s neighbor back in ancient Babylon thousands of years ago. And this does not refer to nationality but to the aspiration of the soul.

That is, the last stage of spiritual development is the existence of the state of Israel for the whole world.

When we can create such a state structure and such emotional relationships between people here, then we will have some tools and we will be able to set an example to others.

And then the whole world will become a closed system that exists according to the rule “love your neighbor as yourself.”
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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Without Benefit for Myself

629.4In Kabbalah there is such a term: from “for my own sake” to “for the sake of the other” (“Mi Lo Lishma—Lishma”).

That is, correction begins with egoistic intentions: I want to get closer to a friend in order to reveal the Creator because I understand that in this system I will have eternal life, I will be able to justify everything.

This is the second stage after the recognition of evil, but it is still egoistic. And then, under the influence of the upper light, the force of the Creator, His emanation, His nature, we begin to change.

That is, a person acquires such an ability when he can already bestow and connect with another without any benefit for himself.

This is already the third stage, a real altruistic property because bestowal becomes a reward for us. As Baal HaSulam writes, everyone should work to the best of their ability and receive only what is necessary.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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The Need for Human Transformation

115.05Question: Baal HaSulam writes that today, in a world where nuclear bombs exist, there is no other way to survive than to just start considering each other. We cannot openly use others anymore. Is this understanding not enough for us?

Answer: No, this requires consent and reshaping of each person and everyone together so that we all begin to move from an absolutely egoistic system of our world, our society, to an absolutely altruistic system.

In order for a person to begin to fight not with his own kind, but with his own ego, a great transformation must take place in him.

Question: Is it not enough for us to understand that our ego leads us nowhere?

Answer: No, that will not do anything. A person needs to realize the evil of his nature so much that he stops using it. Egoism must be revealed in him to such an extent that he sees that taking something from another is like death, thinking badly about another is like killing yourself.

Comment: But as I understand, nature itself or the upper mind cannot give us such a system; otherwise, we will not have freedom of choice and we will just be like robots.

My Response: Of course. Therefore, it will always be concealed.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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The Only Path for Humanity

109Question: When I hear what Kabbalists say, something inside me rebels: “But this is some kind of utopia! That is impossible! How can this be?”

Answer: Certainly, because if we compare the demand for unity and love with the egoistic laws of our nature, then, of course, it certainly seems impossible. But, on the other hand, we see that humanity has no other path. Either it will destroy itself in some terrible war or try to rise above its nature and start a better life.

It is necessary to look at everything, not with egoistic eyes, but to take into account the existence of an upper force that has a goal to which it leads us.

Question: The educational process is very long. Should a person see the ultimate goal from the beginning, or is it enough to focus on: “Let us realize that egoism is bad and try to limit it somehow”?

Answer: A person should study all the stages and understand that the most important thing for him now is to begin to feel his closeness to others. And so he will come to a vision of the whole process, which will gradually be realized.

Question: So even if I am now making some product that, as Baal HaSulam writes, will clearly show a person that, living in the world of atomic bombs, a person cannot exist, and it is time to recognize this evil, he still needs to see the final stage of development to reach the purpose of creation?

Answer: Naturally.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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Study and Teach

271Question: According to Kabbalistic sources 6,000 years are allotted for the complete world correction. According to the Jewish calendar, it is now 5785. So the correction stage should end somewhere in 2240.

Is this a firm date, or could the correction end sooner or take tens of thousands of years more?

Answer: No, there does not have to be an exact date. But by all indications, we are, as they say, at the end of days.

Question: What must we do to move on to at least the first stage of spiritual development—the awareness of evil?

Answer: Study and teach.

Question: In other words carry out the educational process?

Answer: Indeed! You do not need anything else! As soon as we are convinced that our most important task is to accept the laws of a correct relationship with each other, we will immediately begin to join the new system of relationships and thus accelerate our development.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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Why Is the Torah Given to The People of Israel?

933Question: Why were the people of Israel granted the Torah by the Creator?

Answer: Initially, the people of Israel are the most egoistic of all the nations of the world. They may not feel this, but by their internal nature, they are exactly that.

Therefore, they needed the Torah to correct themselves. Without the Torah, this is impossible to achieve. Thus, the people of Israel must come to correction first and thereby show the way to the rest of the nations of the world.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/26/24, Writings of Rabash “Concerning the Omer [Count]”

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Stages of Getting Out of Egoism

290After recognizing their egoistic nature, people come to the second stage: “That which you hate, do not do unto your friend.” This is already a qualitative change in a person when one understands that by harming another, one harms oneself.

Comment: We see that people in extreme situations, for example in war, can even give their lives for another let alone not do harm.

My Response: Yes, but these are still the first stages of getting out of egoism.

Question: Is it not enough to recognize the evil of our nature? Do we also need to understand that there must be some higher goal and higher values? What could they be? After all, there should always be two points.

Answer: The highest value lies in the absolute exit from egoism when everything a person does, he does for the sake of others and not for himself. This is one degree.

The second degree is his desire to become like the Creator. The Creator is an absolutely anti-egoistic system to which a person must rise, adhere, merge into it, and thus achieve his purpose: adhesion with the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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Do No Harm to Others

963.4In order for an individual to want to get rid of his egoistic nature, he must, on the one hand, understand what evil it brings to him, that it is like a disease that does not allow him to live a high-quality life. On the other hand, he must have the desire to become like the upper force that gives him eternal life.

In other words, he needs to somehow see the benefit of fighting his egoism and understand what he loses by not being within the Creator’s system. Otherwise, the mere recognition of evil does not achieve anything.

After he stops himself based on the principle “do no harm to others,” the next stage is that he must open up and start emanating good, become its source. At this point, there is already some closeness to the Creator, with His quality, and to others, because the quality of the Creator is attained through closeness to others.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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The First Stage of Spiritual Development

115.06Question: The spiritual development of the State of Israel and the connection of the country of Israel with the whole world can be divided into five stages.

One of them is the awareness of the evil of our selfish nature. Do you think this is the first stage for further development?

Answer: Yes selfishness is our primordial nature, and we we cannot get out of it by ourselves. The only thing we can realize is its depravity, its doom for us, but nothing more.

Question: Baal HaSulam writes that our natural selfishness is the essence of every human being and it gives us a sense of self. As each develops their abilities, they are ready to enslave others, take over the whole world, and control it. Why did the Creator create mankind like this?

Answer: The Creator specially created humans this way so that in the end we would reveal our egoistic essence, want to change it, and start developing from selfishness to altruism consciously.

Therefore, our egoistic essence is the foundation from which we begin to grow. Thanks to it, we see who we are and do everything only for ourselves in our narrow animal egoism. From this point, we begin to rise.

There are several means by which we can rise a little above selfishness, explore it, and then change it.
We have been given the worst foundation, the worst condition on purpose, and we must rise to the opposite.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 5/9/24

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