Question: There is a well-known story of Rabbi Akiva, the great teacher of generations, when he and three sages stood amidst the ruins of the Second Temple, and suddenly a fox ran through the place where the Holy of Holies stood. All the sages wept, but Rabbi Akiva suddenly laughed. They asked him, “Why are you laughing?! Wild animals are already running where the Holy of Holies stood!”

He said, “One prophecy has been fulfilled, the prophecy of the prophet Uriah, that the Temple would be destroyed, and this means that another prophecy will also be fulfilled, the prophecy of Zechariah, which says that Jerusalem will be rebuilt.” And so on. In response, the sages said, “Akiva, you have comforted us!”

Rabbi Akiva understood that the prophecy of the future Jerusalem and the Land of Israel would be fulfilled.

How would you comment on the words of Zechariah in his prophecy?

His prophecy relates to the period of the final redemption, which is called “the end of times.” He lived 350 years before our era.

Zechariah predicted, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of staggering unto all the peoples round about. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a stone of burden for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it“ (Zechariah 12: 2-3).

What is the “end of times”?

Answer: The end of times is when the time has come to hold righteous judgment over all people.

Question: How can we Jews become a “cup of staggering” for all nations?

Answer: Because the nations will see that in our hands lies the ability to correct ourselves and thus correct the world, yet we fail to do so.

Question: Is this what it means to become a “cup of staggering”? It feels like this time is approaching. I see how people are beginning to treat us.

Answer: Yes, it will come in waves, sometimes rising, sometimes falling, and it will reach a point where the entire world will want to destroy us.

Question: So will it truly become a cup of staggering?

Answer: Yes, but our actions must be the opposite. We must show the world that only by uniting among us can we save the world and then a force called “Messiah” will emerge within us.

It will pull all of humanity out of egoism and elevate them to a spiritual level. “Messiah” comes from the word “to pull out.”

Question: Further, Zechariah writes: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem“ (Zechariah 12:9).

So far, today armies and diplomacies are fighting. In what case does the Creator engage in battle? It is written here that He, the Creator, fights for Israel.

Answer: He does not fight for Israel as it exists today. He fights for the manifestation of faith in the Creator in the world and the need for Him to teach all humanity how we truly should live.

Question: Here it says, “I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” What does it mean?

Answer: Jerusalem represents the fear of God. It is Ira Shlema, complete fear, before the Creator.

Question: Then it continues: “And there shall be no more extermination; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely” (Zechariah 14:11). How do you understand this?

Answer: I understand that from then on, people will no longer attack each other. They will try to live in peace and fully follow, as much as they can each time, the laws of the Creator.

Question: Are you referring to all people in the world in this case?

Answer: Yes.

Comment: Although it is said that “Jerusalem shall dwell safely.”

My Response: Jerusalem represents the whole world.

Question: Moving on. Zechariah predicts: “Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls” (Zechariah 2:8). When there is no need to build walls anymore, what kind of state is this?

Answer: This is already the common redemption of people from their egoism, from all prejudices, beliefs, and so on, and the revelation of the Creator to all nations.

Question: Are you again talking about the world?

Answer: Yes.

Question: “Yea many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favour of the LORD (Zechariah 8:22). …in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one “(Zechariah 14:9).

What does it mean “mighty nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem”?

Answer: Because He must be revealed in this city, in this place. But Jerusalem is in the heart of each person, the most central, secret place. They will strive to feel Him there: “Is there a Creator in me, at the center, in the depths of my heart?” And everyone will seek like this.

Question: Do I have this point of fear before the Creator?

Answer: You do. Every person does.

Question: Will they find precisely this point? Then what does “shall the LORD be One, and His name” one mean?

Answer: Then they will connect all these points in the heart, and God will be one and His name will be one.

Comment: This is very beautiful! If we say, “the LORD is one,” then all religions, all beliefs…

My Response: All of that will be abolished. There will be one aspiration.

Question: When we say “The LORD is one,” are we talking about the quality of the Lord? Love, bestowal,  is that what we mean?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Moving on: “Thus saith the LORD: I return unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth” (Zechariah 8:3).

This phrase I return unto Zion always goes after the Jews, after the people. Poets and Psalms talk about this. What does the return to Zion mean for the world, if we are already talking about the world?

Answer: Zion, or rather, Tzion, comes from the word “Etzia,” exit and distancing. That is, through distancing from Jerusalem and coming as if to Jerusalem, through these small steps, the Creator creates a real desire in us to reveal Him.

Question: If you said that this is the point of fear before the Creator within us, then we lose it, find it, lose it, and find it again. Does it become stronger as a result?

Answer: Yes.

Question: So, by doing so, do we come closer and closer to it?

Answer: Yes, in this way it is revealed more and more in us each time.

Question: Should there always be these entrances and exits in us?

Answer: Yes.

Question: They do exist. You lose, then you find… All the time either in disbelief or in faith, that’s how you are.

My question is: Jerusalem as the “city of truth.” “Truth” what does it mean here?

Answer: Truth is when it will be revealed that there is truth in the world.

Question: Does this relate to the fear before the Creator?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Is this what truth is?

Answer: Truth is to know the Creator.

Question: We constantly say, “We seek the truth. We seek the truth.” Is this what we are seeking? Are we constantly seeking the Creator?

Answer: Yes.

Comment: But He hides behind all the clothing, and so on.

Further, there is a very beautiful phrase, just the song of songs!

It says: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for every age. And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the broad places thereof” (Zechariah 8:4-5).

My Response: Beautiful!

Comment: Very beautiful!

My Response: This is tranquility, this is wisdom that descends upon the city, which represents all the aspirations of humanity, and which will receive all this wisdom and distribute it to all the nations.

Question: It is very interesting here. Why does it speak specifically about the elderly who will sit in peace “with his staff in his hand for every age” and then it immediately talks about boys and girls playing?

There is not some kind of middle, just old age and youth.

Answer: This is because the more a person strives for wisdom, the younger he becomes. The wisest and the youngest in each person will find each other, understand each other, and coexist in joy.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 3/18/24

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Inna writes:

I cannot stand being disliked; I have been this way since childhood. I always do my best to be loved: I give gifts; I do everything I’m told. And here I see how my people are disliked. I have been living here for 30 years and I feel ready to give up everything just to be loved. But on the other hand, I understand perfectly well that you can’t buy love that way. So what should I do?

Answer: Look for ways to get closer to other people.

Question: They don’t want us to be here. What kind of heart do you want to open to them? They say, “Maybe we will love you, just so you are not here.”

Answer: No, we are not talking about that. We received this from the Creator, and we cannot give in.

Question: Then what actions can we make to be loved? If you and I both have that desire, what should we do?

Answer: Show them our love, and if they do not agree, we are ready for war.

Question: What does it mean to show them love without giving in?

Answer: That we love them in our hearts. But if they do not agree to reciprocate, then we will be forced to fight.

Comment: Hamas is still nearby, here next to us. There is Hezbollah.

My Response: We can show that we want peace, we want friendship. If you are strong, you can say that.

Question: Is this the law of the East?

Answer: Yes.

Question: So, we must be strong for this?

Answer: Yes! This comes first!

Question: Do we have to show them this strength, that we are strong?

Answer: Yes, we must.

Question: Once Jabotinsky wrote an article: “The Iron Wall.” He said then that they will not back down from getting us out of here unless we create an “iron wall.” They must understand that this is impossible.

Does this enter into a state of love for us? Is this the construction of an “iron wall” that makes it impossible to throw us out of here?

Answer: Yes, that is the priority. We need to understand that, on one hand, we must come to peace with them, to mutual understanding. And on the other hand, we must always think about our security and not giving them the opportunity to capture us, conquer us, and so on.

That is the psychology of our neighbors, and there is nothing difficult to figure out here. Whoever they are, if they are our neighbors, especially our neighbors, then they are always against us.

Question: And we must show our strength?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And at the same time show that we are ready for peace, for communication, and so on?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Are these two states even possible, that you show strength and the second, that you are ready for peace?

Answer: Of course.

Question: So what is our miscalculation? We even sent them money, supplied them with gas, and more.

Answer: None of that does anything.

Question: What will?

Answer: Only strength.

Question: And what about what you always say that we must internally love our neighbor as ourselves, and so on? Where do you attribute this: to strength or to some other part?

Answer: To strength.

Question: Is that strength?

Answer: Yes.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 4/15/24

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Dear Michael Laitman,

I am 92 years old. I have been living in Israel for 34 years. I love this country, I love my people. My children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all are here, no one has left.

Tell me, we have been celebrating Independence Day in Israel for 76 years. We have defended Israel in six wars. Today, we are at war again, and I see that beasts are against us. Hamas are beasts. In the north, there are Hezbollah terrorists. Iran will not leave us alone. There is such antisemitism all over the world! It is scary for a Jew to walk the streets. So many people want our country not to exist, and this worries me greatly.

Michael, tell me, will we be able to celebrate our independence in a year or in ten years? I am not thinking about myself when I ask you this question.

My Response: I understand you, and am very touched by your words. I think that we will still celebrate Israel Independence Day in such a way that it will be a holiday for the whole world. For the whole world!

We will achieve the point where the idea outlined in the Torah becomes the fundamental idea of the existence of humanity “love your neighbor as yourself” first and foremost.

Question: So are you saying that if the country lives by this law we will celebrate these holidays all the time?

Answer: Absolutely.

Comment: But tell me, is it possible that we could be expelled from here by force?

My Response: I do not think that we can be expelled from here. I do not think that difficult times lie ahead. Now we need to think not only about ourselves but also about the world: what we say to the world, what we need to show it, what we need to lead it to. This is how we will defend our independence.

Question: Should we also defend it militarily today?

Answer: Of course! Of course, we must.

Question: Have you no doubts about that?

Answer: No. For Israel, peace is a means to spread the idea of “love your neighbor as yourself” to humanity. We must not forget this and always behave in accordance with this principle.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 5/6/24

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Memorial Day and Independence Day follow right after each other because Memorial Day speaks about who we are and where these special people came from. It is said that the people of Israel do not belong to all other nations that arose naturally, but were created from a group that was gathered by one person, Abraham, the forefather.

These are people who have no other connection between them except their willingness to unite together for the sake of a common spiritual idea.

This idea is abstract, not material, and does not belong to this world, but we see that it holds the people of Israel together and does not allow them to dissolve among other nations. On the other hand, it opposes all the nations of the world and holds it more strongly than any other nation.

This idea is so strong that it gives the whole of humanity the foundations of culture, enlightenment, spirituality, and morality; it is such a strong influence that none of the most numerous nations could exert.

The influence of the nation of Israel continues to this day, and who knows how much more important it will become in the future. This phenomenon seems very strange and unique. And in fact, the people of Israel themselves and even more so the nations of the world do not know what they are really dealing with.

Memorial Day is not only in the memory of the people who gave their lives for the establishment of the State of Israel in our days. It is also dedicated to where these people and the state originated from, what the basis of its independence is, and why it is called a nation although it does not have the usual biological basis like all other nations.

We need to explore our roots based on their knowledge, realize our entire history, and honor the memory of the entire path we have gone through. We may understand what is happening to us today and where we are going.

Rambam writes in the book Yad Khazaka: “At the age of forty, Abraham knew the Creator and began to proclaim publicly to all the people that there is one Creator for the whole world, and in His name it is worth working. And he went and gathered people from city to city, from state to state, until he came to Eretz Canaan…

“And he informed each of them until they returned to the path of truth, and tens of thousands gathered around him. And these are the people of the house of Abraham. And he put this great principle into their hearts, and wrote books about it… And a people was formed in the world who knew the Creator.”

We see that a very special event happened: one man, forty years old, revealed the spiritual message and continued to spread it, and urged everyone who wanted to join him regardless of gender, race, nationality. Everyone who heard and accepted this idea joined Abraham’s group, and so “a nation was formed in the world who knew the Creator.”

This is the whole point of this idea: to bring together people who have a desire to know the Creator of the world. From this, we should understand our roots, our purpose, and the force that holds us together. It is on this basis that we unite as a nation.

Without attaining the Creator as the purpose of our existence, there is no need for the nation of Israel. In this case, we will not receive any opportunity from below in the material world nor permission and strength from above for existence, and we will not find any reason to be together.

Initially, the nation of Israel was formed on a spiritual basis, not on a biological commonality like all other nations who came from the same ancestral clan, one village, one territory. The nation of Israel unites completely different, opposite people. This has always been the case, and it will be so at the end of generations when everyone joins in this one goal of revealing the Creator.

These strange, unusual conditions relating to the nation of Israel are not like those under which any other nation exists. It is obvious that our history, laws, fate, and the forces acting on us must be completely different from all other nations. From this, we can understand what the reason for the emergence of the nation of Israel is, what its mission is, its basis, what forces are acting on us, and what our fate is.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/18, “Memorial Day & Independence Day”

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Why is Memorial Day observed right before Independence Day? Everything emanates from the upper roots, and in the spiritual work, it is impossible to come to unity, to good spiritual force without rising above the force of evil, overcoming difficulties, problems, and the burdening of the heart.

The advantage of light is only attained from darkness. If we want to advance toward truth, then we must be prepared for the revelation of darkness. Then “there will be evening,” there will be night, and after “there will be morning—one day.”

Evening, night, darkness with all its inherent attributes are inseparable parts of the day. Therefore, Memorial Day is traditionally observed right before Israel Independence Day.

Independence Day symbolizes the coming of the light and the great correction. But before that, we have to uncover in what darkness we exist amidst evil and war, and we are obligated to fight and win this battle in order to come to Independence Day.

“Love covers all crimes.” Since we as created beings attain everything only from the opposite, there must be Memorial Day before Independence Day. Everything we have been through was intentionally sent from above, and all sufferings have a purpose and explanation; therefore, we must perceive them as necessary.

But if through our unity we reveal this necessity in a positive way, then we do not even need to suffer from darkness, misfortunes, and woes. If we are ready for darkness, we accelerate it and can pass through the darkness as a necessary part of our development so that evening and morning become one day, meaning night and darkness are included in the day, in the light.

Kabbalists understand that everything that happens is a part of the development process and therefore justify it as sent by the one upper force that brings us good in every state.

If we try, we will discover that there is only good and no evil. The Angel of Death will turn into a holy angel. With correct preparation, we can go through all difficulties with understanding and agree with them because in both darkness and light we will reveal the Creator’s good attitude toward us.

There are no days of mourning or states of sorrow because everything comes together at the end of correction: all the darkness, misfortunes, and woes, along with the emerging light above them in common unity and love.

If we ourselves seek deficiencies, broken desires, as necessary tools for revealing the Creator in order to bring Him contentment even before problems and woes are revealed, then we rejoice in the revealed sinners.

After all, concealed sinners certainly exist as a result of complete shattering, and we therefore rejoice in all identified shortcomings and regret that we have not yet revealed them all.

If we uncover evil in the light of day, then “darkness shines as light.” Therefore, there is no darkness; everything depends on my attitude.

If I uncover discrepancies between myself and my friend in order to eliminate this discrepancy by uniting above it and covering it with love, then I rejoice in the manifestation of shortcomings no less than in their correction. All work depends on the correct preparation in the group.

Memorial Day is a mournful day. But from the bitter experiences of the past, we need to understand that we can prepare ourselves for the revelation of evil in such a way that we will not see evil! Evil will only be revealed internally as a deficiency in our connection, and not as evil in this world, war, and the hatred of enemies. As it is said: “Cast your eye on them, they become a pile of bones.”

We need to understand that our enemies have power, and they can cause us a lot of trouble. After all, through them, the Creator acts and pushes us toward correction. We will have to seek the path of correction, and it lies only in our unity within the people of Israel through whom the light will flow into the world.

Let’s try, even if just for a month, let’s declare a “truce” within the state of Israel: let’s not quarrel with each other, let’s not hate one another, let’s try to become closer to each other. The love of Israel will protect us from enemies.

Let’s try to establish this love among us, let’s remember what our mothers told us: “Be good children, stop quarreling, be friends with each other!”

Let’s see what happens after a month of such an experiment. Then it will be easier for us to continue because habit will become second nature. Let’s try and see how the world’s attitude toward Israel changes, how our stocks rise on the stock exchange, how our army strengthens, how our children become better, how the number of accidents on the roads decreases and the number of divorces decreases—everything will start to improve.

Let’s declare a month of unity and then check the statistics: what happens to the people of Israel when they are not in internal discord.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/7/19, “Memorial Day & Independence Day”

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Question: What is the function of the nations of the world when the people of Israel fulfill their correction?

Answer: In relation to the nations of the world, the people of Israel are like the first nine Sefirot in relation to Malchut.
That is, they work with each other, connect, and internally correct themselves, but their main task is to prepare everything for working with the last Sefira Malchut. The nations of the world at this time are practically not correcting anything.

I am not talking about our movement, about those who join it. There were people who came from the Greeks, from the Macedonians, from nations very distant from Judaism and Kabbalah. They made a huge contribution to the dissemination and study of Kabbalah.

There are even people who lived two or three thousand years ago mentioned in our sources as great Kabbalists.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: Today, people are suffering and experiencing a lack of light.
Is there any hope of receiving this light and correcting what is happening?

Answer: Undoubtedly, eventually everyone will get the light. There will not be a single soul, not a single person, even with the most disgusting desires, with the most disgusting inclinations, who would not receive correction and fulfillment.

Question: How can people without any connection with the light get it in case of despair, war, and hopelessness?

Answer: They do not feel hopelessness the way you do. The time will come and they will receive the light of correction.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: Should we learn to differentiate between the people of Israel and all other peoples in the world?

Answer: There is a much easier path to correcting their souls for the peoples of the world than for the people of Israel. Therefore we do not need to separate these categories. To the extent that we feel the need for correction in our movement toward the Creator, in drawing closer to Him, that is how we will act.

Comment: But we still must awaken this need for adhesion with the Creator.

My Response: If you have a predisposition to this, then you can join and help in the general correction of the nations of the world. Gradually you will begin to feel their souls and will be able to elevate them.

That is a great responsibility that falls on the people of Israel or on those who join in the correction so that they can spread the methodology of correcting souls and unite.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Israel were made by the Creator, the heart of the whole world. And so are Israel among the nations, like a heart among the organs. And as the organs of the body cannot exist in the world even a minute without the heart, all the other nations cannot exist in the world without Israel (Zohar for All, Vol. 7, “Pinchas”).

Some nations live so far away from the people of Israel that they have no connection with them, yet they exist. It is not just about mere existence, but about a deeper meaning, about connection with the center of the world, with the Creator, which for other nations can only be through Israel.

And since people subconsciously seek this connection through Israel and do not find it, this leads them to hatred toward the people of Israel. Thus antisemitism arises. People do not understand where their hatred comes from. But in reality, the internal reason lies in the feeling that they cannot find the center of the world through Israel, from which they could fill themselves and their souls.

Therefore, they blame the people of Israel and think that if they could eliminate them, they could somehow arrange their own existence. But it will not work out that way.

Israel must be the heart of the entire world, the center of unity through which all the world’s nations unite with each other and the Creator. The connection of the world with the Creator goes through Israel. It turns out that Israel must raise a prayer for all the nations of the world and feel their desire as its own.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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Question: You said that we are connected to the nations of the world through Malchut. How do we work with this? What should we do with this common desire?

Answer: The nations of the world mostly stem from Malchut de Malchut, while the souls of Israel come from the first nine Sefirot within Malchut. Therefore, the souls of Israel can begin to attract light upon themselves and then channel it through themselves to all the nations of the world.

Although Israel goes first, when the nations of the world come to master the correction of nature, they will do much more than Israel as they comprise the main part of Malchut.

Question: How can I associate myself more with the first nine Sefirot than with Malchut de Malchut?

Answer: The first nine Sefirot represent the quality of bestowal. If you align yourself with the qualities of bestowal as much as possible in every movement you make, you will join them. No one will be able to take this from you; you will be in charge of your own destiny.
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From the 2^nd part of  the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/6/24, “The Holocaust Remembrance Day“

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