New Life 627 – Yom Kippur: Spiritual Ascent
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

What influence does society have on a person complying with the customs of Yom Kippur; what is the essence of the covenant that we must make with the upper force, and about which transgressions must we atone for on this holiday? Yom Kippur has a special power In Israel and it influences everyone. Yom Kippur is an opportunity for introspection, thinking about why am I alive and what the essence of my life is.

Transgressions between a person and other people are basically about a change in human nature, the ego. Your attitude toward your entire environment must be like your attitude toward yourself. A transgression is using your ego to take advantage of others. Transgressions between man and God mean that you don’t relate to all of reality as if it is you.

“Yom Kippur” means you need to correct yourself until you connect with all of creation with a single heart.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 627 – Yom Kippur: Spiritual Ascent,” 9/17/15

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New Life 626 – Yom Kippur:  Self And Social Realization
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

What is the source of that special feeling in Israel during the Tishrei holidays? How can we go back and again be a cohesive nation in its land and what is the role of Yom HaKippurim for the people of Israel?

Yom Kippur is a special day because people in Israel make it like this here. It is felt differently abroad, for example. On Yom Kippur one should take stock personally, but this cannot be done alone; it can only be done together.

Rosh HaShanah is a day to recognize that there is a king, an upper force, the total power of nature that takes care of everything. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to expand the boundaries of our world and discover this force. To do this, a person must transcend his narrow egoism, abolishing the boundaries between himself and others.

Abraham spoke about this principle, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), which was the basis for making us the people of Israel. When we nullify the boundaries between us, we are truly the people of Israel and are worthy of the land of Israel. After 2,000 years of exile we have returned here to rebuild. This is only an opportunity.

We must do some introspection. This is represented for us on Yom Kippur in the story of the prophet Jonah. Jonah represents the nation of Israel and its role in the world: teaching people to connect with each other better. It is known that people pay a lot for the right to read the “Maftir Yonah.” This is a remedy for success. Indeed, if we understand what our mission is and realize it both within Israel and in the world, everything will be good.

After all, Europe is collapsing, the Middle East is burning, and the entire world is shocked and blames us, as always. And this year within Israel, we are beinning to understand that there is no link between us except when there are external troubles. It is up to us to find a way to connect, and there is a clear and precise method for this that comes from the wisdom of Kabbalah.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 626 – Yom Kippur: Self And Social Realization,” 9/17/15

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In the News (Sputnik News): “France has opposed the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the European Union and the United States. French officials insist that the deal will be beneficial for the US economy while ruining businesses across Europe.

“The TTIP deal establishing a free-trade zone between Europe and the US will not be signed in 2016, Harlem Desir, Secretary of State for European Affairs in the French government, said in an interview with France-Info.

“‘The conditions for this deal have not been agreed yet. And taking into account the current situation, I can say, they will not be agreed until the end of the year. In particular, France sees as insignificant Washington’s proposals on the access to the US market for European products. The proposals would offer no benefits for the European economy,’ Desir said. …

“Initially, the TTIP deal was seen as Europe’s response to its inability to overcome economic depression. Its strategic goals were to increase trade between the US and the EU and to give fresh impetus to economic growth in the ‘Trans-Atlantic civilization.’

“In theory, such an agreement would presume elimination of mutual tariff and non-tariff barriers to ease access to the markets. Currently, average customs tariffs between the US and the EU are three to four percent and the removal of customs barriers would not increase trade. …

“The document has been criticized as being designed to open the doors to other markets for US transnational corporations.

“If the EU signs the deal nearly 600,000 Europeans will lose their jobs, European goods will not be able to enter the US market, exports will decrease and EU countries will lose income, Jeronim Capaldo, a research fellow at the Tufts University, wrote.

“As a result, he warned, the EU will suffer a drop in GDP. Germany, Europe’s strongest economy, may lose up to 1.4 percent of its GDP. …

“The deal will have negative impact on the entire European farming industry and may also affect the European engineering industry, Anna Kokoreva, senior analyst at Alpari, said.

My Comment: This is meaningless because the EU is declining and disintegrating, being swallowed by masses of Muslims. But they will come to an agreement with them and together wage war against the Jews as the wisdom of Kabbalah says. Yet there is another option, the unity of all of humanity not against anyone but uniting in order to reveal the next level of humanity.

The fulfillment of this option depends on the Jews and on the example of unity they will give the world. Why? Because the Jews are the part of humanity which 3,500 years ago decided to unite in ancient Babylon in the state of crisis.

The method of unity is the wisdom of Kabblah and they have it. The Jews have to first implement it themselves and show the way to unity to the whole world. This is the way the world can be saved from annihilation. This is the mission of the Jews and the reason that the other nations hate them.
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In the News (cursorinfo): “‘The Middle East has plunged into chaos, Europe is falling apart, the political situation in the US is poor. The only stable place in the world – the State of Israel’ – so wrote to me last week, one of the most experienced and well-known employees of the State Department in Washington, a renowned expert on the Middle East. …

“Stability, of course, is a quite relative concept. However, an American observer, came to a similar conclusion; see the following picture: despite all the problems of the coalition government in Jerusalem, despite the lamentations of the parliamentary opposition, Israel has successfully overcome challenges in his way. At least it has a flourishing foreign policy. …

“Strengthening relations with India, China, Japan and other Central Asian countries is a major foreign policy achievement of Israeli diplomacy. In addition, Israel is developing its relations with the countries with which it does not have formal diplomatic relations – in areas such as the fight against terror, modern technology, science and economics. An important aspect of the present government’s foreign policy doctrine is a correlation between the interests of Israel and the events occurring in the world around us. For example, the Iranian threat and the threat posed by the Islamic State of Israel brings together a number of Arab states. Unlike past years, when various processes in the Middle East took place as a result of the intervention of the United States, now we are talking about the coordination of interests between the regional players.

“The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is no longer the main theme that occupies the leaders of Sunni Arab states. But they can not completely ignore the problem.Therefore, one should not expect that formal diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia will be concluded soon. However, Israel may use informal relations with these countries in order to promote a solution to the Palestinian problem.

“As for Europe, it is hoped that the aggravation of the internal problems of the continent, at least to some degree make more moderate insistence of the EU to promote the use of meaningless initiatives, such as the one that the French government pushed. Unfortunately, Europe does not understand the real problems of the Middle East, which are a threat not only to the region but also to itself.”

My Comment: Unfortunately this situation will soon be over and no one will buy any products made in Israel anymore. If the Jews do not begin to engage in their own unity, demonstrating an example of an integral society for the whole world, the world will bare its teeth to them!
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In the News (Project Syndicate): “Nowhere is freshwater scarcer than in the Arab world. The region is home to most of the world’s poorest states or territories in terms of water resources, including Bahrain, Djibouti, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This shortage – exacerbated by exploding populations, depletion and degradation of natural ecosystems, and popular discontent – is casting a shadow over these countries’ future.

“There is no shortage of challenges facing the Arab world. Given that many Arab states are modern constructs invented by departing colonial powers, and therefore lack cohesive historical identities, their state structures often lack strong foundations. Add to that external and internal pressures – including from surging Islamism, civil wars, and mass migration from conflict zones – and the future of several Arab countries appears uncertain.

“What few seem to recognize is how water scarcity contributes to this cycle of violence. One key trigger of the Arab Spring uprisings – rising food prices – was directly connected to the region’s worsening water crisis. Water also fuels tensions between countries. Saudi Arabia and Jordan, for example, are engaged in a silent race to pump the al-Disi aquifer, which they share.

“Water can even be wielded as a weapon. In Syria, the Islamic State has seized control of the upstream basins of the two main rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. The fact that nearly half of all Arabs depend on freshwater inflows from non-Arab countries, including Turkey and the upstream states on the Nile River, may serve to exacerbate water insecurity further.

“Sky-high fertility rates are another source of stress. According to a United Nations report, average annual water availability in the Arab world could fall to 460 cubic meters per capita – less than half the water-poverty threshold of 1,000 cubic meters. In this scenario, water extraction will become even more unsustainable than it already is, with already-limited stores depleted faster than ever – a situation that could fuel further turmoil. …

“In short, the Arab world is increasingly trapped in a vicious cycle. Environmental, demographic, and economic pressures aggravate water scarcity, and the resulting unemployment and insecurity fuels social unrest, political turmoil, and extremism. Governments respond with increased subsidies on water and other resources, deepening the environmental challenges that exacerbate scarcity and lead to unrest. …

“But, in order to break the cycle of violence and insecurity, all countries will ultimately have to step up to improve water management and protect ecosystems. Otherwise, their water woes – along with internal unrest – will only worsen.”

My Comment: The overall degradation of the region can only be stopped by the spread of the good forces of the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) as a result of the Israeli’s efforts to unite above egoism. Then in the countries around Israel, a new level of thinking and a new approach to a solution to all problems will be revealed.
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Comment: The Islamic State is full of anger and resentment toward the Jews. As we all know Iran is planning to destroy the state of Israel in 20 years. According to surveys 83%-53% of the Muslim population living in the Middle East is hostile toward the Jews, but surprisingly even 65%-75% of Christians in the Middle East don’t like the Jews.

Scientists have begun to explore this phenomenon and have reached the conclusion that the myths about ritual killing were basically foreign to Islam. The Islamic world did not treat the Jews as sorcerers or blood drinkers.

But there was a shift in their views at a certain point, and the researchers say anti-Semitism as experts say, when anti-Semitism came from a completely different world—from Europe, and enveloped the whole world. Therefore the percentage of Christians who hate the Jews was quite shocking for all those who believed that only the Muslims basically hate the Jews.

Answer: If any person examines himself, deep down he will discover that he hates the Jews. It doesn’t depend on him. Hating Jews and feeling they are opposite from you is a law of nature. The fact is that Jews in their root are opposite from the nature of this world, as though they are completely different like aliens from another planet.

And this is indeed the case. I understand this perspective because the nature of the nations of the world in their basis is opposite from the nature of the Jews. After all, the nature of the Jews is based on the attribute of bestowal and love of others, while the nature of the nations of the world is based on egoism. These are two polar states.

This went on until about 2,000 years ago when the Jews fell from the state of love of others to hatred and began to mix with the other nations. But the nations of the world still have that sense. It exists in them and they feel that there is something different about the Jews, a different world view, a different perspective, a different approach, a different attitude, a different way of seeing life.

Question: Is this true even though the Jews mixed with the other nations?

Answer: It makes no difference! It has not disappeared. Everything that the anti-Semites say comes from their soul. They actually feel it! There is nothing we can do about it! But the Jews don’t understand that since they have lost their spiritual root and today seem like everyone else. But in fact it isn’t so, the point of unity is alive inside them and the nations of the world feel that there is something in the Jews that they don’t have. This is where in addition to the hatred they feel, they also feel envy, competition, etc.

There is only one solution. The Jews have to reunite to fulfill what is called the point in their heart, which means the yearning for unity, and to show the nations of the world the method of unity. Then all the nations will understand what the Jews exist for, will begin to justify their existence, and will be ready to accept this method from them. Then the whole world will also unite as the prophets said.

Thus our world will complete this level of its existence, since it will ascend to total unity from which we will begin to feel the next level of creation called the upper world. Everything we see here on this planet, everything on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate nature doesn’t exist! There is only one force in which we exist, the force of unity, the force of eternal infinite love. Thus we all ascend to the level of heaven.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 9/5/16

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In the News (NewsWe): “Sociologists have a known limit of the duration of a usual life expectancy of a nation. It is a thousand to a maximum of one and a half thousand years. By the end of its existence, the nation grows old, loses energy and dissolves into other nations. The Jews – are an exception. And our life, if you do not go into the mystical reasons, must have a natural mechanism. This mechanism may have a mystical reason.

“It seems to me that the history of the Jews is the history of different peoples consistently flowing into one another. Some properties of the previous ‘new’ Jews remain, but most are different. Constant – are the common ancestors and the foundations of faith. …

“In the Land of Israel were joined other people. The language was Hebrew. … The following 15 centuries of our history – is a history of powerful people and the great kings David and Solomon, the prophets who wrote the holy books, the people who created the Bible – the basis of spirituality of mankind. During the 15 centuries Jews sprouted all over the world. After the conquest of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians, with the expulsion of the Jews, the ten tribes of Israel left. After the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, there was a large Jewish community. At various times there were Yemeni, Ethiopian, Georgia, Bukhara communities. …

“In ancient Rome, according to Josephus, 100 thousand Jews prayed in 150 synagogues. And a community emerged on the Iberian Peninsula. All of these had a lot of common genetic roots, one religion and Hebrew as the language of worship. But everything else – the lifestyle, traditions, everyday language – were different. …

“We, the Jews, have a unique story of national dynamics.18-28 centuries ago, the powerful Hebrew speaking people with an ancient religion, which had two states in the Land of Israel, was divided into many peoples living in different continents – with different languages, different traditions, but with one faith. Thousands of years later, all these people, as predicted in the Bible, re-merged in the Land of Israel into one, whether they had existed in that same place two thousand years ago or whether new, but with the same characteristics, the same ancestors, restoring the same Hebrew language that hadn’t been used for ages .

“Every part of the Jewish people, having broken away from the common trunk of old or arising out of those ancient peoples later, reappeared bringing with them something of value that it acquired over the centuries of scattering.

“One of the youngest peoples of the world, the Russian Jews, made in reviving the people first in the early twentieth century, inserted their spiritual quests from Russia – Tolstoyism, Marxism in its Menshevik version, the activism and militancy of Trumpeldor and Jabotinsky, and then, with a wave of the seventies and eighties and nineties – the spiritual achievements of the Soviet era – the pursuit of education and high culture. Russian Jewry, after brief, violent, tragic periods of history, died to come back and be an important component of Israel’s resurgent Jewish people.”

My Comment: The Jews’ most prominent characteristic throughout history has been their persistent aspiration for knowledge, whether religious or nonreligious, and then the acquisition of different professions.

After all, acquired knowledge and professions always remain with a person, and are passed by inheritance, accumulate with each generation in the people’s gene pool. This aspiration for knowledge is especially pronounced among the Russian Jews, the most persecuted throughout history.
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New Life 622 – A New Year
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Why are we excited about renewal? Because we are people, not inanimate, vegetative, or animate. We are always in a state of development.

The expression, “new year” immediately arouses hope, but on the surface the situation is not very good this year. My personal expectation is that this year people will want to change their lives for the better and will be inclined to listen to the wisdom of Kabbalah.

What can bring renewal today is the discovery of the essence of life, a state which opens a door to a wonderful world. In this good world everything works differently, always advancing toward what is good and even better. It is like it was when we were children, when each and every day was full of pleasure and joy, games, and fun things.

Life today is very exhausting. Sometimes we take a breather, but from day to day we run an insane and tiring race. So many people no longer want to have children. Into what kind of a world would we be bringing them?

Changes are stressful for us because they require adaptation from us, accommodating ourselves to a new situation. In the future world that we described above, the innovations would be pleasant because they wouldn’t require effort. The possibility of opening a door to a new world depends upon our agreement to live a new life. The main condition for this new life is to live in connection with others, to become a single family.

This is against our egoistic nature, so we require a method that will develop a desire in us for connection. What will help to overcome the fear of change is a social agreement that it is impossible for things to continue like this.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 622 – A New Year,” 9/8/15

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New Life 621 – The Secret For A Good Year
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

What should we expect in the coming year? How can we make sure that the new year will be a good one and why is it actually by the revelation of evil between us that we can turn the coming year into a good one?

The new year can be a good one if we understand that the past year was a bad one. It is a time for introspection. Society is beginning to realize that this isn’t the state we have dreamed of. Evil is being revealed, and thanks to it people realize that the situation we live in is false. This is a very important step toward the truth.

We have to discover where the remedy is. It is concealed in the Torah, in its internality, in the wisdom of Kabbalah. It isn’t about becoming religious, but about the revelation of the upper force that connects us, the Light.

The goal that Israel should set for itself in the coming year is connection. Connection means being able to connect to others and to fulfill their desires. We are all parts of one system.

The world hates us because we don’t function properly. We don’t set an example of being connected. When we begin to feel that we depend on each other we will realize that there is no other choice but to learn to connect.

We are called Israel stemming from the words “Yashar-El – straight to the upper force of nature,” the force of love and giving. Once we understand that hatred destroys us and we try to connect, we will discover that we need the upper force.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to use the upper force in order to correct the corruptions in our lives. Our egoism depicts all the problems, and the wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to draw the upper force that corrects it.

A good year is a year in which we will feel the upper force among us, the force of love and giving. This change is natural, like a child grows; we feel the force of nature that develops life.

We have to develop a desire for God to dwell among us, the force of love and giving, the connecting force. Once we recognize our evil state, we will reach the desire to anoint this force as our king, and this is Rosh Hashanah (the head of the new year).
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From KabTV’s “New Life 621 – The Secret For A Good Year,” 9/1/15

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Question: What means do you propose for Europe to come to unity?

Answer: This means is not within us, but is hidden inside nature. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to extract this good force and to use it to change ourselves. We don’t need to change anything except ourselves.

I can’t change others. But each one who participates in this work changes himself, and nothing else. He can teach others only how to do the same actions and to change.

Question: What is hidden in nature’s force?

Answer: This is a force of connection and unity, the force of love.

Question: So why couldn’t the Europeans discover this force before; after all, they were also talking about unity and love?

Answer: This force hasn’t been revealed yet in any place in the world because the world only now begins to discover how much it needs it. Until now this force wasn’t needed and everybody thought that we would succeed through developing culture, education, science, and philosophy.

But today we see that everything that exists within a person becomes detrimental to him if he begins to use it. If we want to achieve a good, peaceful life, without wars, problems, and troubles, we should adopt the method of Kabbalah that explains how humanity can continue its development in a good way.

Kabbalah teaches us how to extract this force from nature and reveal this force that will unite us. To do this we need to examine ourselves, our nature, the nature of the world, and the force hidden in nature. Previously, we were developing only by the evil egoistic force, but today we can add the good force to it.

Question: Will this force perform a miracle and turn a person from an egoist to an altruist?

Answer: Actually, this force will lead a person to a balance. There will be the old force and the new force present in him, a minus and a plus. Thus, a person will be under control of two forces. Then he will really know how to realize the goals assigned to him.

Question: Does it mean that there is a hidden force in nature that you are advising us to extract?

Answer: This force isn’t so hidden; it operates in nature. We know that in nature there are positive and negative forces in each atom. Only within a person there is the negative force alone, and the positive force isn’t revealed. However, in fact, we know that it exists. We just need to reveal it.

Question: Why haven’t we revealed it so far?

Answer: Because nobody required it. But today we are ready to reveal this force; therefore, the method that allows us to awaken the positive force of nature and to balance the negative force is revealed. This method of Kabbalah was always lived within the people of Israel.

Question: Does the wisdom of Kabbalah have some unknown patent for revealing the positive force within a person?

Answer: Of course! Kabbalah explains how to connect, how to study, and where and how to search for this good force. It is because the people of Israel who have this method don’t reveal it that the nations of the world subconsciously hate them. After all, we have the method to unite that everybody badly needs, but we don’t pass it through ourselves to others.

The era of European civilization in its present, egoistic form is coming to an end, and a new era is beginning where we will have to implement the method of Kabbalah and to bring the Light to the world. The new stage begins with a person’s awareness of the need to change himself. People will open their eyes and will begin to understand from where it is really possible to get a force for changing their life for the better.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 8/18/16

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