In the News (Radio Echo from Moscow): “One of Hollywood’s most famous producers, Harvey Weinstein, called to all of the Jews in the world to gather together to resist the anti-Semites. He said that faced by these terrorist groups like the Islamic State (ISIS) and Hamas, the time has come for the Jews to become as organized as the Mafia.

“To paraphrase him, ‘Good will defeat the evil, if the angels are organized like a Mafia.’ Until now, contrary to all the speculations of the proponents of conspiracy theories, the Jews have not only been unsuccessful in becoming consolidated like the Mafia, but not even like a symphony orchestra. No wonder they say that when there are two Jews, there are three opinions.

“Each one of the old Jewish organizations has its own policies, its own ‘fiddle’ and its own ‘party.’ Not even the blatant acts of anti-Semitism which are regularly happening in Europe today get a unified response. There may be a furious defense and severe imploring, but the attacks on the Jewish synagogues keep on becoming more frequent.

“This Hollywood producer says: I think that the struggle against anti-Semitism is a vital interest not only of our people, who lost millions of its sons and daughters in pogroms and the Holocaust, but it is the spearhead of the struggle of modern man with the barbaric ideologies of human hatred which threaten life itself on the face of the Earth. And so at least for the sake of this we need to be ‘organized like a Mafia.’”

My Comment: I think that his conclusion is correct. We must show an example of connection and unity, because we are the only ones who can do this correctly. Subconsciously,  the world is waiting for such an example from us, because all the suffering in the world is revealed only so we will unite and only then will all the suffering in the world cease. The The heads of countless Jewish organizations need to stop denying anti-Semitism, must stop being divided from each other, and come together in spite of their apparent differences. To the anti-Semites, we all look the same, and more precisely, we all have the same nose. As it is written: “Introduction to The Book of Zohar:”

67) When a person from Israel enhances and dignifies one’s internality, which is the Israel in that person, over the externality, which are the nations of the world in him, that is, when one dedicates the majority of one’s efforts to enhance and exalt one’s internality, to benefit one’s soul, and gives minor efforts, the mere necessity, to sustain the nations of the world in him, meaning the bodily needs, as it is written (Avot, 1), “Make your Torah permanent and your labor temporary,” by so doing, one makes the children of Israel soar upwards in the internality and externality of the world as well, and the nations of the world, which are the externality, to recognize and acknowledge the value of the children of Israel.

We see that redemption from the suffering of Israel and the entire world depends only on the unity of the people of Israel. All of the suffering of Israel and the world is only because of the absence of the requirement, “And you shall love your friend as yourself.”

70) Woe unto them that make the spirit of Messiah leave and depart from the world, and cannot return to the world. They are the ones that make the Torah dry, without any moisture of comprehension and reason. They confine themselves to the practical part of the Torah, and do not wish to try to understand the wisdom of Kabbalah, to know and to understand the secrets of the Torah and the flavors of Mitzva. Woe unto them, for with these actions they bring about the existence of poverty, ruin, and robbery, looting, killing, and destructions in the world.

71) In such a generation, all the destructors among the nations of the world raise their heads and wish primarily to destroy and to kill the children of Israel, as it is written (Yevamot 63), “No calamity comes to the world but for Israel.” This means, as it is written in the above corrections, that they cause poverty, ruin, robbery, killing, and destruction in the whole world.

But if we begin to unite and show an example to the whole world in this way, then all the nations of the world will recognize and acknowledge the merits of Israel. And they will fulfill the text: Isaiah 14:2: And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place. And as it is written: Isaiah 49:22: …and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
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Singapore Experiment: The Right Dictatorship

Question: In March this year, Lee Kuan Yew, one of the founders of the “Singapore economic miracle,” died. On an empty spot on the edge of a swampy Malaysia, with nothing around but an English military base, within a short period of 50 years, the most prosperous nation in the world was established. But in this nation, there is not a speck of democracy in the sense that we understand it in the developed nations. How did this nation succeed in doing what large nations like America and England have done, while maintaining the strictest leadership and dictatorship of law?

Answer: I don’t perceive democracy in the same way as it exists everywhere, or that that deserves to be called a democracy. This is not the rule of the people, but its imitation: A handful of people take control over all the economic, political, social, and military resources; they say there is a democracy, and that they operate in the name of the people.

As long as we are under the influence of internal egoism without the altruistic force of nature to balance it, there cannot be a democracy. A democracy is built on contrast, a counterweight and a balance between two forces, which are positive and negative: our ego and the force of bestowal and love. There is a force of hatred and rejection and a power of attraction and connection, which must be balanced with each other. If the ego is balanced by a positive force, then it cannot be evil. And conversely, love and bestowal without the ego can lead to even worse extremism than the ego.

In other words, we were created in a system that is in a balance of plus and minus, between which what remains is only to ignite some kind of tension that gives the right orientation for all the work of the system. And if the positive force doesn’t exist or it is minimal and exists only in fear of annihilation, then we don’t have the conditions for a democracy. We “fall out” of the system in which the two forces are revealed. And therefore when we exist only in an egoistic system, what is most suitable for us is the correct dictatorship.

If a king rules a nation, then he takes care of his nation, his subjects, he doesn’t annihilate them, and they consider him to be great! He is the master! But in a democratic nation, there is no master. We let an election decide who operates the steering wheel for two, three, or four years, and then what? What do the elite care about what will be after that?! They will not be elected again, so they need to grab everything they can while they are in control.

So the dictatorship in Singapore is a wonderful system of government. Democracy in the form of a Sanhedrin.

Question: I have heard that the correct head of the state should be Kabbalists, who knowing the laws of nature,  will manage it in the interests of the entire society. What will be the basis of the moral drive of their behavior? Wouldn’t they be infected with greed; won’t they want to get rich after they attain control?

Answer: There is a concept such as the Sanhedrin (great assembly), where 120 Kabbalist sages gather, connect in a circle, and discuss all the issues on the agenda. The discussion is not based on differences of opinion, which is typical of our world, where it is believed that truth is born through debate. There is no truth in debate, because from the start it keeps us on a beastly level and we cannot rise above that. And we must rise above ourselves, because our stage can only lead to a higher level. We seem to rise to our next level, from which it is possible to see how to reach it.

This happens when people unite into a single, complete unit in spite of all the differences of opinion, and by annihilating their ego, they reach a common heart and mind together. This is a unique inner tension and practical work. From a state of unity, and only with this, they complement each other; they begin to come to a common opinion. But it is not connected to personal opinions; rather, is felt through a common unity. It is in this form that the system of governance for the nation and the people should be manifested.

How can strife and discord be avoided?

Question: Today many nations are trying to recreate this model to one degree or another. Take for example Turkey, in which the government has gradually become concentrated in the hands of one person, or Russia, that doesn’t even hide that it lives and thrives thanks to one person. There are also a multitude of other examples in less developed nations. Does it follow that the formation of governmental pyramids like this is the only way it is possible for humanity to go? So, where is it possible to take people like these who are satisfied with such a method of management?  And eventually in Singapore, which was not originally corrupt, all the key places became occupied by relatives of Lee Kuan Yew. Ultimately, some kind of caste was created.

Answer: Certainly this model cannot exist forever in an ideal state once bribery, power struggles, and the like begin. For some time it can hold its position on some ideal, but after that, everything deteriorates along the usual egoistic tracks.

Question: How would the Kabbalists avoid reaching this situation in the management of the nation?

Answer: The fact that they are united among themselves, the 120 greatest sages of the people would avoiding conflict and differences of opinion. Specifically in this situation, they would begin to discuss some issue and from their unity, they would receive an answer. After all, the unity between them is their next goal, which they must reach and include all people with them.

Question: Do discussions in circles, which your students organize, constitute a small version of this form of unity?

Answer: Yes. Discussions in the form of roundtables are organized all over the world, not just in Israel. We actively create a gathering, a discussion circle of men and women, who implement the unity by detaching and rising above themselves. Each one invests himself in the others and everyone yearns to be absolutely equal, with none greater or smaller in any way. We aspire to find a precise system of inner balance between us and pursue it so that all will be equal and integrated with each other, will lose himself in our unity, and from “I” will come to a state of “we.” Then, from the state of “we,” come to a state of “one,” as one person with one heart.
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From KabTV’s “Conversations with Michael Laitman” 4/1/15

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Question: How is it possible that a person does not feel himself individually but perceives himself as an inseparable part of the whole?

Answer: He will not be able to think differently if he feels connected to everyone else, like a mother, depending on her children.

Could a mother think of herself as if she has no children? Whatever opportunities—a new job that she is offered—she immediately thinks about what would happen to her home in her absence.

Question: Will people no longer feel their loneliness, depression, or inner emptiness, which are now so common?

Answer: Depression will disappear immediately, as soon as we begin to awaken the positive force of nature, which will counterbalance the negative effect of our egoism.

Indeed, depression and emptiness are caused by the fact that we are at the mercy of a single, negative egoistic force with which we cannot make our lives better. We have reached a point after which we must bring a positive force to the world.

Question: Today, a person feels lonely even living in a golden palace, but will people be lonely in a corrected, perfect Israel?

Answer: There will be no lonely people because everyone will feel like a mother with many children. People will feel enveloped in love and warmth. This responsibility for everyone as for his children, will be his joy, not a burden.

Two forces will be inside the human being, and outside everything will be balanced. We do not understand what balance is. It is a touch of eternity, a sense of paradise. After all, everything comes into balance and harmony.

On the one hand, this state is composed of two opposing forces, and, on the other hand, these forces complement each other, and thus, it turns out that I am not affected by any force outside. My connection with others is so reciprocal that it is not hard for me to act for the common good, as do all the others.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 4/12/15

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Question: An independent state of Israel has existed for several decades. What does Israeli society lack in order to achieve security and full independence?

Answer: Universal education is needed to explain to the people of Israel that it is impossible to achieve any success until we learn to awaken the positive force of nature and, through it, to counterbalance the negative force of our egoism. We must show the world how to use these two forces and thereby constantly maintain our independence.

By doing this for ourselves, we also must think about how to teach this to the entire world. After all, humanity must accomplish the same thing, to be all together at the point of equilibrium between the two opposing forces, in other words, to build the third temple.

The third temple is not a building, but the concept of all of humanity achieving complete balance and harmony.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 4/12/15

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The weekly section of the Torah, “BeHukotai,” is very relevant to our times. It says that, if we follow the Creator’s laws, we will be happy, and, if we don’t, we will be punished. But these words refer to a nation or person who is on a certain level of development and from whom something already can be demanded.

Therefore, the Torah says that it is only from a certain point in a person’s development that a bilateral relationship with the Creator begins. It is as if the Creator turns to him and says, “You are already big enough to hear Me. Until now, I always cared for you, showed you, told you, and took upon Myself everything that you did wrong, corrected things a little, and led you to positive outcomes. But now we gradually must become partners. Therefore, you must keep My laws, and accordingly, I will make room for you in the leadership system.”

Question: You keep calling the nation of Israel to wake up now, but they are still babies. So, why do you turn to them?

Answer: The point is that they must wake up since they contain Reshimot (reminiscences) that must bring them to the recognition and realization that they have a special place in the world. They, at least, must hear this!

All the other nations are on the level of babies and don’t owe anyone anything. They will go wherever they are led. They want everything to be good. If we lead them to goodness, they feel that internally and follow us. If not, they cry and blame us for all their troubles, and it is indeed so.

But we must understand that, at the moment, we are opposite and in contrast to the upper law of love, that we prefer to draw away from it and evade our participation in the process that will bring all the nations of the world to the best possible state.

Imagine how it looks from the side? Complete disrespect of the Creator and of all of humanity! We only respect ourselves. I feel good at the moment, so I can sit and do nothing.

Baal HaSulam says in the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” that all the negativity comes to the world only for the sake of the Jews and because of the Jews. And we do not know that at the moment the nations of the world suffer and so does the Creator, metaphorically. This great Kabbalist speaks about that like the biggest anti-Semite because we are not fulfilling our role and don’t ascend to a level called the nation of Israel. This is the meaning of all the laws in the Torah.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 10/12/14

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The great Kabbalist, Baal HaSulam, considered the Independence Day of Israel to be a sacred holiday because he saw in it the beginning of the complete redemption of humanity and its ascent to the level of the Creator.

Question: For most people, this holiday embodies the independence of the Jewish nation.

Answer: There is no such thing as a nation that can be absolutely independent. We see that everyone in the entire world depends upon each other and a person depends upon other people because he cannot live by himself. So it is impossible to call our physical existence independent.

Independence can be attained only when you are in complete contact with those forces that determine your existence and you know how to manage them. Then, it is still possible to speak about some kind of independence, even though this concept is too facile. No one can be independent! Even a stone depends upon the environmental conditions that surround it.

A person’s independence can be discovered only when he feels full dependence and finds within it the possibility of being independent. Basically, this is a psychological intention. If a person is in the right, good, and eternal connection with all the parameters that influence and act upon him, then he is considered independent. He depends upon them completely, but because he begins to determine their relationship to him by himself, he is independent.

It is said that the Creator is good and benevolent, and in His system there is nothing that can cause us harm. But a person, himself, invites actions and negative influences within himself because he is not compatible with the system of the Creator. This means that in order to become independent from himself, he needs to correct himself and adapt himself to the level of the Creator; in other words, he must change to become good and benevolent, and then nothing will frighten him. He would be in a field of positive forces. Only in this  form are we independent! We need to reach this state.

It follows that, on the one hand, this is a state of full resemblance to the Creator, full dependence upon Him, but on the other hand, we also utilize His full dependence in us. This means that we are equal with Him, resemble Him and are absolutely connected with Him, and this is a state of full independence.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About the Independence Day” 4/2/15

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Question: On Memorial Day we honor the fallen and say in the memorial prayer, “May they be imprinted in the heart of Israel from generation to generation.” What exactly do we need to remember? What lessons should be learned from these losses?

Answer: Remember—and then make a calculation for the future. And regardless of kinship, because everyone, either close or distant, belongs to the same people.

We need to be aware of why they fell. What caused these troubles? What does the world want from us? Why are we unable to arrange our lives so that peace and tranquility reigns in our relationships between us and other nations?

We come to realize that we lack only one thing: to balance and compensate for the evil inclination that burns between us, constantly causing friction and conflict. If we normalize to appease relations within the country, we will open this umbrella of peace above all the others.

What happens to the people of Israel is definitely going to happen to the world. This is stated in the Torah.

Since everyone hates us, that in itself is proof of our particular role. After all, the world does not harbor such a strong collective hatred toward anyone else. Is it difficult to see this as a sign of a special force, a special attitude?

It is time to think about what happens to these people. Throughout history we run from misery, trying to be like everyone else, and in return, we are told, “No, you are not like us. Stay back and check yourself. We blame you for being special and bringing us all evil and suffering.”

From where would it seem that this slander comes? After all, we want to give the world only good things. They say, “No, we do not need all that seems to be good to you. We want from you what will really make peace in the world.”

The nations demand unity from us, which will be a good example for everyone.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 4/16/15

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The Torah, “Leviticus” 26:32 – 26:33: I will make the Land desolate, so that it will become desolate [also] of your enemies who live in it. And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you. Your land will be desolate, and your cities will be laid waste.

There is a simple law regarding the operation of the surveillance system: If you invoke negative phenomena in the general mass by your actions, you must receive negative feedback from the connection system in order to correct yourself and your actions properly so that you can get back on the right track. Then, the feedback operates on you and guides you in the right direction.

This is exactly what we receive from the nations of the world. Unfortunately, we now see again to what extent this connection is getting increasingly more intense, and it begins to pressure us.

No one can escape it and hide from it since it is in nature, in the forces that govern us. It says that the Creator will find you at the ends of the earth and bring you back to the land of Israel. In any case, you will find yourself here and fulfill your role! This is what the Torah says.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/10/14

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Question: On [Israeli] Independence Day, we conduct military parades and talk about the military “might” that makes it possible for us to be an independent nation. Would you say that this is not the main thing?

Answer: Certainly, we don’t determine anything through military might. These are all children’s games. However, as long as we don’t become stronger on a spiritual level, then we need to be strong on the earthly level.

If we had a strong inner connection between us, no one could ever harm us. Everything depends on the degree of unity between us. Baal HaSulam writes in “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” that only unity between us determines the degree of our security. Our independence depends on that.

Question: Does the nation need to be strong to protect its borders?

Answer: Power of this type indicates the weakness of the nation. If we were strong in our inner unity, then we would have no need for an army at all because we would have no enemies.

So, independence can be through freedom from my “self.” To the degree that I can rise above it through connection with others according to the principle, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” to this degree, I am freed from all kinds of troubles, wars, terror, and everything else.

We need to act through the greatest and strongest weapon in the world, unity, which is what everyone expects from us, and, as long as it doesn’t exist, the entire world is against us, and this will only get worse because everyone is required for unity, and they see their enemy in us.

Subconsciously or consciously, everyone in the world will want the annihilation of our nation and people because our people are not carrying out their task, their mission, and in everyone’s eyes we seem as the bearer of evil, instead of good.

So, Independence Day must be a day of re-examination of the entire concept of our existence. It must be a day for exploration of our task, our mission, our destiny, our purpose, and then we can talk about having found a way to become independent.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About the Independence Day” 4/2/15

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I am a son of Holocaust survivors who were among the few of the Laitman family who survived the Holocaust. Two thirds of my relatives were slaughtered in the death camps. I was born in 1946 and was raised under the dark shadow that the war left on my family and on the Jewish population in all of Eastern Europe.

For me the Holocaust isn’t some distant memory, but a painful reminder of what might happen to us. It is this thought that brings up the constant troubling question in me: How can we prevent another Holocaust?

I feel an ocean of hatred closing in on us. The external signs have never been clearer and international reports indicate an upsurge in anti-Semitism. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a question was brought up on the BBC as to whether the time has come to cease talking about the Holocaust, and about a month ago, there was supposed to be a scientific convention in England about the legitimacy of the State of Israel. If this is not enough, an agreement regarding the use of nuclear weapon has recently been signed with Iran, which is more evidence as to why we must not rely on our allies.

It is hard to ignore the clear warning signals as to what is expected. So how can we prevent another Holocaust? In addition to lamenting about the past, we must make room for close scrutiny, examination, and the correction of our current state. We live in a closed system of forces that operate according to the law of connection. When we are compatible with that law, we feel good, and when we are divided and separated, this system, like any other system in nature, forces us to balance ourselves. Sometimes correcting this direction can involve great suffering.

I am aware of how difficult it may be for Holocaust survivors and their families to read what I say, but still the truth must be said. The Holocaust took place because the Israeli nation didn’t keep the law of connection. Why us? Because we have a special responsibility to keep this law. We have a role that was given to us back in the days of Abraham. When egoism tore the people of ancient Babylon apart, our forefather discovered the law that governs our reality, which is the law of connection. The few that learned the method of connection from him became the nation of Israel.

Keeping the law of connection is our life’s goal, and passing on the method of connection and unity is the only justification for our existence as a nation. At the beginning of the 20^th century we received an opportunity to return to the land of Israel, not in order to build a home for the Jewish people, but in order to connect within it. The Jews didn’t take this opportunity and preferred to isolate themselves in their communities in Europe or to integrate within general society. The reaction of the upper system to these actions was the Holocaust. A moment before the world drowned in blood, Kabbalists still cried out that we had to return to our land and unite, but the Jews didn’t listen. Instead of willingly moving closer, the terrible afflictions of the Holocaust brought us closer to one another, and it was as a result of the Holocaust that we received a country.

With all due respect to the United Nations, the real mandate for the existence of this country is our role. The county we received, as Kabbalists say, is only an opportunity to keep the law of connection, which is exactly what the world demands of us. Subconsciously, the world wants us to unite and to also pass Abraham’s method on to them. But we refuse to connect, and this is the source of the hatred they feel towards us.

Holocaust Remembrance Day and Independence Day have to become days in which we all engage in our role as a nation, and they must also be days of reexamining the essence of our existence. During these days, we have to gather in tens of thousands of roundtables throughout the country and talk about the only way of being truly independent—independent of our ego and connected to one another through love of others. This is the only way we can secure our future and our children’s future.
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