The people of Israel are not formed simply by ordinary individuals connecting with one another. They become a people because together they attach themselves to Moses.

Moses is called the “faithful shepherd,” that is, the emissary of the Creator within the people. And the concept “people of Israel” means that they are connected with Moses.

Moses is the quality of Israel (“Yashar El” – straight to the Creator), the one who points the way. The others, like a flock, simply follow him, and he leads them out of Egypt.

But if each one of the three million Jews who were in Egypt at the time had connected individually with Moses, would that not have sufficed? Why did they have to unite among themselves in order to be able to connect to Moses and, through him, to the Creator? Why was their unification a necessary condition?

The necessity to joining oneself to Moses means the annulment of egoism, of self‑love. And the result of this is love of the neighbor. Therefore, first the people unite among themselves, that is, they nullify their egoism, their love of self, and only then are they able to receive the message of love for the Creator from Moses, and through Moses, to connect with the Creator.

Not every person must attain the level of Moses, but everyone must accept the work “to love one’s neighbor” on the level appropriate to the ordinary people of Israel.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/8/26, Rabash, “Come unto Pharaoh – 2”

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The Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust is a special, very sorrowful day in the history of the Jewish people and of all humanity, since we are all connected with one another. On such a day we must speak about the causes of this tragedy and its lessons, so that “the deeds of the fathers may serve as a sign for the sons.”

There is nothing but the upper force, good and doing good, which governs us all the time. There is not a single action that goes beyond this good governance.

Therefore, if in our scrutiny we do not rise above our egoistic nature and begin to judge the Creator, doubting His good guidance, then we will deceive ourselves. Then all our investigation will bring no benefit and will lead us into the same bitter reality we are forced to speak about today.

The Creator feels our sensations. If we are united and rejoice in this, then the Creator rejoices. He has no sensations of His own; He resides within us, much like a mother who lives through her beloved infant. Through our connection with one another, we create a place for the Creator, a place where He can exist.

And if we are not connected, then there is no place for the Creator; consequently, we feel His actions in a distorted, inverted form, as if they do not come from Him. Every action is experienced in us in direct proportion to the degree of our unity or disunity.

The Creator resides within our connection with one another. This connection must be in a constant state of development, beginning from the initial shattering performed by the Creator up to the final correction, complete adhesion. As long as we do not lag behind in our advancement from the stages of correction we are destined to traverse, all is well with us. But if we fall behind, then we find ourselves in a dire state, one that we ourselves have brought about.

If at every moment we do not correct the connection between us, then we feel the difference between the desired state and the actual one. Suppose that today I must be corrected by 20% in my connection with all humanity and I have reached only 15% connection.

Consequently the missing 5% are revealed to me as pressure, problems. In essence, these are the forces that are meant to speed up my advancement, to make up for the delay, to extinguish the gap between the desired and the actual.

These forces do not testify to the goodness or evil of the Creator, but are simply a natural consequence of the work of the system, as it is said: “A law has been given and cannot be transgressed.” That is, one must evaluate not by how painful or pleasant it is for us, but by how much these forces, which are revealed to us as good or evil, help us to advance correctly.

The Creator does not wish us evil, but there is a law of nature, and in fulfilling it we feel our connection, whereas in violating it we feel pain, to such an extent that today we are forced to recall the Holocaust, the most sorrowful event in the history of the Jewish people.

And of course, it was not caused by the Creator, but by people who were obliged to correct the connection between them and did not correct it. The delay in correction was so enormous that it poured out into terrible suffering.

What lessons can we draw from this? Throughout the journey from ancient Babylon until today many tragic events have occurred, and all for a single reason. Since the Creator represents the general law of nature, the system shows us the necessity of connection. But we do not listen to it and do not hasten to rectify the delay, we consequently receive the corresponding consequences. In fact, we ourselves have caused them and cannot blame the Creator.

We are aware of the requisite conditions, but we do not fulfill them; in doing so, we summon forces that push us toward our ultimate goal with greater severity and resolve.  Throughout history tension and troubles have pursued us: exiles, enslavement in Egypt, wandering in the desert, and the destruction of the Temple. But the Holocaust is a state of an entirely unique nature.

In the course of its historical development, the people of Israel had already reached the point where the fourth degree of connection within the soul of Adam HaRishon became a necessity, but failed to realize it. Even today we are not fulfilling this goal, so what can we expect? Only states even worse than those that we have already endured. We must learn from history in order not to repeat the same states.

After Babylon and Egypt, blows pursue us one after another at every moment when we do not create the connection between us in the required measure. The punishment will be collective for the entire people of Israel. And today we are responsible not only for ourselves, but for the whole world.

At one time it was possible to carry out the correction in a limited group, within the European Jewry. The Nazis themselves wanted to help the Jews revive the State of Israel. At first, they acted as forces helping the correction. But if we do not use the chance given to us, these forces turn into negative ones.

And today, if we do not use the forces serving to awaken us, forces that are already manifesting as negative, they will turn into something far more terrible ones than anything we witnessed before. Today’s Holocaust would be on a different scale entirely, not confined to Europe, but would encompass the whole world. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand this reality and hasten to undertake the necessary corrections before it is too late.

If we unite, then the upper force flows through us to all the nations of the world, to all of reality, and gradually the whole world attains a state of unity. At that point, all turmoil subsides, the Creator begins to reveal Himself to the created beings, and the world attains its destined correction.

If, however, we, the people of Israel, do not unite among ourselves, at least within Israel, where there are the best conditions for connection, if we do not become as one man with one heart, do not love our neighbor as ourselves, do not become a light for the nations of the world by demonstrating an example of unity to the world, then we will pass through such terrible states that the horrors of the Holocaust will pale in comparison.

Merits can turn into faults and faults into merits. Therefore, we must believe that we currently have the opportunity, the time, the place, and all the necessary means to avoid repeating the mistake made by the Jewish people almost a hundred years ago.

We must not squander the opportunity to unite among ourselves in order to connect with the upper force that is inherently good and the source of all goodness. Through us this force, which wants to be revealed to all the inhabitants of this world, will be able to manifest. We must help it in this and become a conduit between it and humanity.

Let us not repeat past mistakes. The wisdom of Kabbalah describes the laws of nature, laws that operate independently of whether we find them pleasant or unpleasant, laws that do not take into account anyone’s partisan or economic interests. There is no doubt that had the Jewish people behaved differently back then, the world today would look completely different.

Everything lies in our hands; we determine our fate and the fate of the whole world. The law of nature is an immutable law that must be fulfilled. The Creator does not pity us and does not punish us, He simply carries out this universal law. The Creator is nature, and according to nature’s program we are obliged to unite in one desire, in one intention, according to a single formula of mutual bestowal. We must bring this unity to the world—this is our mission.

Let us not repeat the bitter mistakes of the past; instead, on this solemn day, let us resolve to take upon ourselves the sacred duty of leading the world toward true unity.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/9/19 on the topic “Holocaust Remembrance Day”

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Question: What is “leaven” (Chametz) that we so carefully remove before the holiday of Passover?

Answer: The leaven before Passover is the evil inclination that we had in Egypt that we used in order to fight with one another.

But the leaven we return to after Passover is used differently. We use it in order to bestow upon one another. After all, without the bad relationships we had before, we would not know how to establish good ones. That is, we use the opposite—where there was hatred, there will now be love.

Yet this new leaven is not the same as the previous leaven because I use it for the sake of bestowal, for the sake of love.

For example, before I would constantly take your toys when playing with you, and I would enjoy the fact that you cried, screamed, and ran to complain to your mother. Now I decide that I will no longer do this. So what do I live on? “The bread of affliction,” Matzah. What do I gain from this? What pleasures are there in life? None! For seven days I remain in such a state.

Then I pass as though through a tiny opening, from exile to redemption. This is called the crossing of the final sea (Red Sea). That is, I exit the state in which I used my ego and enjoyed my own power, like Pharaoh.

And afterward when I have made the decision to become different, that same leaven, that is, those same toys that I took from you and enjoyed your crying about it, I return to you, and now I enjoy the fact that you receive pleasure.

This is bread after the exodus from Egypt, not the “bread of affliction,” not even ordinary bread, but a luxurious cake that is 620 times richer, that we call “bread of love.”

We take all the evil that we had in Egypt and turn it into good. This is what the people of Israel wept about during the forty years of wandering in the desert. They cry, “Where is our Egypt?!” because they include it within themselves, and then they correct it, again and again.
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From KabTV’s conversation “New Life 539 – Jewish Culture: Between Chametz (Leavened Food) And Matzah,” 3/24/15

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Question: I grew up in Israel, and for me Hanukkah is a very childlike holiday with doughnuts and the dreidel. And suddenly I hear from you that Hanukkah has a spiritual meaning. How should I relate to the lighting of the candles so that this action is not merely external?

Answer: This is a spiritual action. There is nothing in the Israeli holidays that is not connected to the spiritual. After all, we exist only in order to attain our soul,  what is called the future world, the upper world, the higher dimension, that we must reach.

At present we see the picture of this world: houses, sky, sea, people, everything around me. Behind this picture we need to find a crack into the upper world, widen it, open up the horizons, and see that we are located only in a very small sphere, in a tiny part of a much greater, more spacious, infinite world.

Our entire universe is also within our current world. But we must reveal the world beyond it as well. This is what we human beings are meant for. For we do not belong to the still, vegetative, and animate levels that are bound to nature, but to the human level.

A “human being” in Hebrew is “Adam,” from the word “domeh,” similar to the Creator. We are not only capable of reaching such a state, but are simply obliged to attain it, to reveal the entire true reality that lies beyond what now appears to us as this world.

Then we will reveal not only infinite spaces, but also ourselves as existing in an infinite, perfect form, within this vast, expansive, light-filled reality that is revealed to us.

The wisdom of Kabbalah is intended for this. All the holidays speak to us about this, including Hanukkah, about how we begin to open the upper world for ourselves, expand our organs of perception and reality, and then emerge from all these narrow, bitter limitations.

All this lies before us. But everything depends on the unity between us, because unity is precisely the action that begins to open the boundaries of the present reality. And the pressures we feel today are meant to push us to accelerate and reveal the true world.

Therefore when lighting the Hanukkah candles—together with Hanukkah songs, games with children using the dreidel, and tasty doughnuts—let us think that the true Hanukkah is like a housewarming, for we are opening a new world for ourselves through uniting with one another.
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From Radio Station 103FM 12/6/15

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Comment: Kabbalah says that one should not be afraid of external factors and that what is happening around us does not really influence us, but merely creates a kind of picture of pressure or tension around us.

My Response: What does “does not influence” mean? We see how much influence Hitler had, or Bohdan Khmelnytsky, or the persecutions in western Europe when Jews were gathered from cities or small towns into synagogues and burned alive.

We see what serious reasons there were that affected the people’s attitude toward life, toward the world, and toward themselves.

Question: And why did everyone have the desire to take it out on the Jews?

Answer: Who else could they take it out on? And all those pogroms? That was the only way they “vented” it. The population was deliberately educated and directed so that they would take it out on them.

Question: But why weren’t there some other nation toward which the hatred of the others would have been directed?

Answer: In general, there is only one reason for hatred: the Jews’ failure to fulfill their mission.
Within the Jewish people there exists an inner point of light, and it cannot be explained. It is of a mystical nature and cannot be correctly understood or perceived by anyone else.

A person feels that there is something in them that is different from me. Moreover, something that I subconsciously feel is not just about oppressed people; no, they are special. They have something.

On the one hand, they gave me religion. All of their ancestors are my gods. I worship all of their ancestors. For example, in the center of St. Petersburg there stands St. Isaac’s Cathedral. I call all my priests by their ancient names. I took their entire religion from them.

And yet they still cling to it and do not want to accept what I made from it. By their very existence, they prove that they are the ones who are right, not me.

And I cannot destroy it if they do not accept me as their successor. They must accept it, not just agree out of hopelessness or simply stay away.

If they do not accept this, then my religion is worth nothing, my world is worth nothing, and the future world that I have drawn for myself is also worth nothing. That is, their mere existence confirms that everything that I have invented for myself about the future world is incorrect.

Question: The nations of the world say: “We hate the Jews.” But Jesus Christ, was he not a Jew?

Answer: It does not matter. All of this has to be justified somehow. I do not think that anyone really understands it at all. In all religions it is so convoluted. What can you do? We are already at the end of all this; there will still be surges. All of this will lead to another huge war, perhaps not only a spiritual one, but also a physical one. There is nothing that can be done about it.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. External Factors, or Why Does Everyone Hate Jews?” 9/14/10

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Question: Do you believe that the Jews of Israel will eventually bring about the correction of all of humanity?

Answer: It is precisely the circumstances in which they find themselves that will compel them to do so. Why does the world around them bristle against them?

This is eternal antisemitism; the perpetual feeling that you are hated and that you must defend yourself and justify your existence in the world. When all this passes over a person from generation to generation, it is transmitted through the genes; it leaves behavioral layers in one’s character, in one’s perception of the world, in one’s attitude toward everything. There is nothing like this in any other nation.

The Jews are not like the Gypsies, who are simply despised, nor like people who impose their culture, manners, way of life, or religion on other nations. In those cases, it all stems from a sense of superiority. But here, on the contrary, it comes from a sense of inferiority, smallness, and worthlessness.

This complex has developed very strongly over the last 2,000 years. It has already produced secondary and tertiary consequences, which gradually evolve and merge with all other philosophies of life.

All this has left a deep imprint on their attitude toward everything and has generated enormous internal stress within the people, especially among the European branch of the Jews who were forced to develop in order to elevate themselves above the surrounding nations in some way, to protect themselves.

We see, in the Middle Ages, how they suddenly experienced a leap in special character traits and intellectual abilities; it is not even clear why. Previously, nothing like this existed anywhere, not even among other branches of Jews in other countries where they lived more or less peacefully.

There is a great deal of research on this topic. And indeed, we see how many scientists, artists, and thinkers they produce. All this is the result of their defensive reaction.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call, The Jews of Israel,” 9/13/10

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Comment: I have noticed that the Jews in Israel seem to be the most indifferent. They do not care about anything, and walk around arrogantly, as if nothing interests them.

My Response: I do not think they are like that on the inside. It is more of a protective reaction of the organism.

Why are they called “Sabras”? Sabra is the fruit of the cactus—prickly on the outside but soft and tender within. It is edible.

The Jews of Israel are the same: outwardly prickly, as if they do not care about anything, but inside, they are very sensitive and gentle.

The thing is, our country is still young, and people must learn to adjust to one another. Moreover, for decades, practically until the 1950s, people were founding settlements and were constantly forced to fight, much like the first American settlers once did. All of this leaves a mark that is not easy to erase.

The problems of David and Goliath and the besieged fortress of Masada still exist today. The country is surrounded on all sides by enemies who are constantly arming themselves and preparing for new wars. People live through one war after another, and that is why they are the way we see them.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Jews of Israel” 9/13/10

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Question: How can the revelation of evil on the 9^th of Av be corrected on the 15^th of Av, on the holiday of love? After all, the holiday of love refers to a couple in love, while the 9^th of Av is the day of the destruction of the Temples, meaning it relates to the entire people of Israel.

Answer: Both of these days relate to a couple in love, only we do not see it. The couple in love is the people of Israel and the Creator. All creations, all the desire to enjoy created by the Creator, is like a woman, Malchut, Shechina, in relation to which the Creator acts as a man, a bestower.

If there is no unification between us, then we cannot be a vessel, a place, for the revelation of the
Creator so that He may reign in us and we can merge in an embrace, a kiss, in spiritual unity. There are three levels of spiritual merging with the Creator: “embrace,” as it is said: “His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me,” then “kiss,” and then “union.”

Therefore, the actions of the same name in the material world also symbolize the connection between those who love each other. And in the spiritual world, these concepts signify a very sublime connection between man and the Creator.

That is why the 9^th of Av symbolizes the terrible breakage, which is the cause of all troubles and misfortunes. After all, good and evil are determined only by how much we draw closer or distance from the upper light, from the upper force, the Creator.

The 9^th Av is the source of all destruction, and the 15^th Av is the source of all goodness. But since we have not yet reached this goodness, we do not feel the true power of this day and we perceive it as a holiday of ordinary lovers.

In the same way we underestimate Purim and perceive it as a children’s holiday. Unfortunately we are still in exile and do not see obvious symptoms of redemption. Redemption is already near, but we have not yet reached it, and therefore we do not know what spiritual “embrace,” “kiss,” and “union” are.

The whole Torah speaks only about the relationship of this couple: humanity and the Creator, and not about earthly young women dressing up in white garments and going to dance in the vineyards on the day of love, the 15^th of Av.
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From the conversation 7/30/15, “New Life 600 – The 15th Of Av – The Holiday Of Love”

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Question: One of Jerusalem’s unique features is a psychological disorder found only in this city. It is called “The Jerusalem Syndrome.” About 50 foreign tourists suffer from it each year, regardless of their religion. Could it be that Jerusalem has some kind of mysterious influence on people?

Answer: Of course, it is a special city that leaves an indelible impression on most of us. It breathes antiquity, and the history of humanity flows through it.

Nevertheless, the Jerusalem syndrome is a purely psychological phenomenon, completely understandable and explainable. Similar effects, after all, occur at other world-famous landmarks as well.

The inner vibrations of the capital of three religions, its unique aura of being chosen by God, all of that is created by people and not sent from above. There is no holiness in stones. Spiritual qualities do not clothe in our corporeal physical world.

The true spirit is created only by people themselves when they unite in a common aspiration toward bestowal and love.

The real Jerusalem is the one in the heart, a spiritual capital of the whole world. It is not merely a city, but a special degree of human connection. A level where the trembling of creation seeking connection with the Creator and His response, merge into one whole.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 12/5/24

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Question: If we address the wider public, will we need to raise the topic of the group and show that it is a much more general concept?

Answer: I think the topic of the group is actually a very easy one to explain to the public. After all, the people of Israel are not a nation in the usual sense of the word.

At its foundation, it is a group of Kabbalists established by Abraham. The nation exists as a group, in collective responsibility, in relationships of equality by birth, always with a dismissive attitude toward money and honors.

Throughout all generations, the values of the nation were spiritual. If we add to this the antisemitism and general hatred from the world, it becomes clear that from both the side of good—the spiritual side, and the side of evil—the corporeal side, the entire nation is driven from two directions to exist as a group.

Therefore, this approach, when we speak about ourselves and include the entire nation in this process as a group, is very positive and truly resonates.

In the heart of each person, there is something that is rarely found in other nations, a sense of mutual dependence on one another. At the same time, the nation is split into factions that treat one another in extreme ways with hatred, with envy, which is something not seen in other nations.

A nation may be divided into several religions or parts that do not even interact, yet they allow each other to live. But here, that is not the case. There is no tolerance for division within the nation into factions.

We need to explain that, in fact, this is what brings all the evil that exists, that we are all responsible for one another “as one man with one heart.” The people already have a certain readiness for this: they understand that this is harmful, even on a corporeal level, and can also come to realize that, spiritually, this is damaging.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/12/2025, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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