New Life 733 – The Correction Of The Night Of Shavuot
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

The correction of the night of Shavuot (Tikkun Leil Shavuot) is a spiritual state in which the darkness of the ego is revealed and then we require the Light of Torah. The Light of Torah makes it possible for us to accept every situation as a situation that precedes correction and associates everything with “There is none else beside Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35).

From the darkness, from the discovery of the evil, the ego demands correction. In Judaism, the intent of the concept of night is that the day begins from it, correction begins from it.

Humanity is beginning to understand today that there is a negative force in us that drives us toward war and discord. The wisdom of Kabbalah says that this is a good state. It is the “evening.” If we know how to correct ourselves, the morning arrives.

In the spiritual process, the right decision is accepted in a state called “midnight” because in the greatest darkness there is a great Light that illuminates our mind and feeling and advances us toward love and bestowal. The correction itself arrives from the connection between people in a group, in a Minyan, for the sake of discovering the Light that Reforms. So the force that can transform us from receptive creatures to creatures of bestowal is called “Torah.”

The correction of the night of Shavuot means that I take it upon myself to begin to correct my heart from hatred to love of others, to love of the Creator. Loving the Creator means equalizing our characteristics with His characteristics, becoming good and benevolent like Him. The correction is implemented in relation to others because the essence of the correction is love of others, connection to others.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 733 – The Correction Of The Night Of Shavuot,” 6/9/16

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New Life 732 – The Two Tables Of The Testimony
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

The “Tablets of the Testimony” are the basis for the connection between the created being and the Creator. There are two phases in the development of the created being: the first is instinctive and the second is conscious.

The goal of the conscious phase is for the created being to resemble the Creator. The created being equalizes his form to the Creator’s by a special developing program—the Torah. The essence of this program is written on the “Tablets of the Testimony.” The program operates by the Light, which is the attribute of bestowal that controls all of reality and has developed the desire to receive in 10 levels.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains the Ten Commandments, which have nothing to do with our life in this world. It is about the correction of the ten Sefirot, ten conditions, according to which the desire to receive acquires the Creator’s form of love and bestowal. The expression of love is giving. These ten conditions are also explained by the wisdom of Kabbalah as 125 levels. Beyond that the Tablets of the Testimony became the foundation of human morality, even in communist Russia. Without the Ten Commandments humanity would have remained absolutely barbaric. They have developed the human race.

The real Ten Commandments are revealed in the second phase of the development of the created being, in the conscious part, and are about forms of bestowal that a person has to adopt on the advanced levels of the ego. When a person first begins to correct the desire to receive from egoism to bestowal he doesn’t know what the Ten Commandments are, the ten Sefirot. The word “Sefira” stems from the word “sapphire” as it illuminates when the desire to receive becomes a desire to bestow. Today “thou shalt not steal” doesn’t even exist. There is no other way to correct a person except by drawing the Light that Reforms.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 732 – The Two Tables Of The Testimony,” 6/9/16

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New Life 731 – The Giving Of The Torah On Mount Sinai
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What is the Torah that Moses received on Mount Sinai, why did its reception depend on the connection of the people of Israel, and how do we return to being a “Light unto the nations”?

Making a covenant is the first condition from the upper force, and the lower will feel that its nature is evil and will want to balance it. The second condition is that a person will seek to know what the goal of life is. Many people ask this, but they have no answer. We have developed an entire culture in order to suppress this question.

The evil inclination, the evil desire, is divided into 613 individual desires. Corresponding to them are the 613 Lights of the Torah. We receive the Torah on condition that we are ready to connect. Then there are two forces in us, negative and positive, in order to reach balance. Only one characteristic in us, “Moses,” can rise above the ego, above “Mount Sinai,” above the evil inclination that is revealed.

The revelation while standing at Mount Sinai is an internal revelation, within a person. It is the discovery of great “Gevurot” (heroism). After receiving the Torah, the people advance toward love of others. They feel that they belong to a single system. Three forces are included in the chosen people: negative, positive, and we in the middle between these two forces build the third force. The chosen people are people who draw upon the good force, the Upper Light, and transmit it to all the nations of the world. With the correction of all the evil, Mount Sinai, the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) is built on the “holy mountain.” Everything comes to correct the connection between us, but human development does not end with this because everyone from Babylon must reach this.

In the past, the connection among the people of Israel was destroyed, so they were dispersed among the nations. In our generation, it is up to us to correct this fracture, meaning ourselves and the world. We are the spiritual descendants of those people who felt divinity and it is up to us to receive the Torah again.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 731 – The Giving Of The Torah On Mount Sinai,” 6/2/16

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New Life 730 – The Children Of Israel At The Gathering At Mt. Sinai
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What are the internal forces in a person that are expressed at the gathering at Mt. Sinai? What does the connection of the people before the mountain symbolize and what can we learn from this story about our life today?

The gathering at Mt. Sinai is not a spectacle in the middle of the desert like in a Hollywood movie but the fulfillment of the laws of nature of the eternal Torah. This is a special force hidden in nature, God, the good force that is revealed when a person wants it to be. The good force has created us the opposite from it so that each of us always thinks only about himself.

5,776 years ago one man discovered that there is another force in nature, a positive force that we can draw. Then Abraham came and taught the people of Babylon how to connect so that they could draw the good force. Later the evil force, Pharaoh, grew among his students and reached the phase of slavery in Egypt. Eventually they escaped from the domination of Pharaoh and reached Mt. Sinai, a mountain of hate.

They discovered that they could cope with it only if they revealed the good force. The children of Israel received the Torah at the gathering at Mt. Sinai, which is a whole system that explains how to advance with the positive force. A force called Moses was revealed to them, the common force by which they managed to rise above the hatred and eventually inherit the land of Israel. This whole process of inheriting the land of Israel was described to Abraham during the covenant between the pieces.

Today we have to rediscover this positive force so that we can balance the negative force through it and discover the Creator, because everyday there is the giving of the Torah.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 730 – The Children Of Israel At The Gathering At Mt. Sinai,” 6/2/16

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New Life #576 – Shaming on the Internet
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

A person who has been shamed on the Internet feels that he is in “hell” because our basic force is the ego and so we aspire to feel pride and fear being shamed. A person who has been shamed, feels that he has been erased, buried, and that he has nothing to live for.

Our self, the human being in us is everything for us, everything. If it is erased, we have nothing to live for. What is more, there is an internal spiritual point in us that doesn’t die, a spark of our soul that develops from one generation to the next.

Some people don’t care about anything, while others are very sensitive to the issue of shame and pride, and others’ negative opinions can lead to great emotional stress.

We are like gears in a single system, dependent on each other. Sometimes embarrassing pictures of people are publicized on the net and it hurts the person’s pride to such an extent that the only resort he feels he has is to commit suicide. It doesn’t help to hide in order to protect oneself from shame. Instead a person should ascend to a higher level.

If a person goes into a chicken coop, for example, and all the chickens yell at him, he is not ashamed because he is higher than them. A person who raises himself morally understands that the others are still behaving like small children. The ascent is in spiritual values, in the values of love of others through which one reaches connection to the upper force.

Sometimes a great person is humiliated from above, as has happened to great Kabbalists throughout history, but they realize where this stems from and why the upper force has such an account with them.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #576 – Shaming On the Network,” 5/28/15

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New Life 524 – The Wisdom of Kabbalah: What Is Correction Of The Soul?
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

From the start, human beings were created with a desire to receive pleasure and enjoyment only for oneself, and this is called the ego. The ego motivates all of our actions.

For example, when we give to our children it fulfills our ego. Even people who help others, volunteer in hospitals and the like, get egoistic satisfaction. None of this is connected to the correction of the soul. The correction of the soul is building love above the egoism that is inherent in us.

To truly love means to develop love above the hatred that you discover in yourself for everyone who is not you. The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method for truly connecting to others, a method for building the soul with the help of a unique force. We learn how to awaken the “Light that Reforms,” a unique force inherent in nature that transforms hatred into love.

The work is carried out in a group, in a circle, in a workshop. Ten people together learn to reveal the force of love between them. Kabbalists explain the method and direct our development to the discovery of a new life, the soul. Then we discover that basically all of us are a single soul called Adam HaRishon (the first man).

That is how we become similar to the Creator. The Creator is nature. When Abraham discovered the general force of nature, the force of bestowal and love, he invited everyone to discover this along with him. The isolation that is mounting in our time testifies to the great need for discovering the soul. Isolation is derived from our ego.

Eternal life, the life of the soul, can exist only with love and bestowal, because it is unlimited.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 524 – The Wisdom of Kabbalah: What Is Correction Of The Soul?” 2/17/15

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New Life 523 – What Is A Soul?
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

The soul is a “portion of God from above” (Job 31:2); that is, the soul is part of the Divine. The higher power is good and benevolent; it is the infinite power of bestowal, love, and giving. A part of it is also called the soul.

There is no connection between the soul and our body. Our body is a body like the body of an animal. It is even possible to print it with a three-dimensional printer. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, Adam (Man) is defined as similar to the force of bestowal and love.

The characteristic of love and bestowal that we build are the Adam in us or the body of the soul, and the Light of the soul enters into it. In our physical body there is no mind, no soul, or anything, but just the life force like in the bodies of animals.

To attain a soul, what is required is work on ourselves that is not simple, the building of the characteristics of love and bestowal. Our ego is self-love and the soul is the opposite characteristic, the characteristic of altruism.

Every person can attain a soul and reveal the Divinity, eternal life called “paradise.” And one can do this only during the course of his or her life in a body, when there is egoism. Only at this time is it possible to transform the egoism into altruism and attain the soul.

In attaining the soul, there are different levels, which are called: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida. In sum, this is 125 levels.

The soul, the desire to love, is called the body of the soul, the Kli, and the fulfillment that is felt in it is called the Light of the soul. The Light of the soul is enormous pleasure, greater than everything that all people together have ever experienced. Until we have prepared a Kli that is accommodated to absorbing this pleasure, we cannot attain it, otherwise we would explode…The Kli for receiving this enormous pleasure is the building of the supernatural characteristic of love and bestowal to others.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 523 – What Is A Soul?” 2/17/15

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New Life 561 – The Holiday Of Shavuot In Israeli Society
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

What does the Wisdom of Kabbalah say about the consumption of dairy products and fruit that is typical of the holiday of Shavuot? How is it possible to realize the occasion of the giving of the Torah and what is assured to humanity through receiving the Torah?

The consumption of dairy products symbolizes love, like the love of a mother for her children. The color white symbolizes Light, clean giving. If we relate to each other with love, we attain very special fruits, we discover a perfect world.

The problem is that we naturally feel everything only through the desire to receive, stealing for myself, exploitation, and so forth. There is a special force that can transform the bad attitude toward others to a good attitude. We call this force “Torah.”

The wisdom of Kabbalah makes it possible for a person to receive the force of the Torah, the force that corrects our attitude toward others. We receive the Torah with the Exodus from Egypt, which symbolizes the summit of distance, hatred, and separation.

If we don’t bring the good force into Israeli society, we cannot continue to exist. The good force is inherent in nature, it is hidden. Therefore, the method for discovering it is called the “wisdom of the hidden.” Kabbalah teaches us that if we don’t connect with the help of the good force, our enemies will compel us to connect.

Today, neither the religious nor the secular define “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) as the goal of the existence of Israel. Only Kabbalah is engaged with the general rule, “And you shall love your friend as yourself,” and so it succeeds in connecting between all parts of the people.

Making a correction means correcting your attitude toward others from hatred to love with the help of the force of the Light. A corrected person feels responsible for the whole world; his role is to connect the positive force with everyone. In conclusion, the Torah of truth, the hidden Torah, the “Torah of Light, is a method for building love for others, a perfect and eternal life.

Happy Holiday!
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From KabTV’s “New Life 561 –  The Holiday Of Shavuot In Israeli Society,” 5/3/15

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New Life #587 – Freedom Of Expression
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

What responsibility is placed on a person who publicizes his personal opinions, what kind of responsibility is involved in the use of freedom of speech, and why should we understand where humanity is heading before using this freedom?

Summary

To the degree that a person expresses his opinions, he feels his existence. This is a natural impulse that is derived from the ego. As we develop and the ego grows, we demand more freedom of expression.

Looking deeper, it is worthwhile clarifying what freedom of expression is. Is it the freedom to say anything that comes to me? Freedom of expression also requires a person to be responsible because his words can have much influence in the world.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, it is explained that even the thoughts of a person influence the world, so this requires even more responsibility.

Freedom of expression, as it is today, leads to social disorder and contempt of people toward each other. Even the media are controlled by particular interest groups and others, and everything is bought and sold with money.

To reach true freedom of expression, we must learn what the world is developing toward according to the law of nature. The summit of development will be when all parts of reality will be in absolute balance, connected as one.

On the way to this, we must go through all kinds of forms of opposition between each other, as it is said, “…as light excelleth darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:13).

The opinions that people express today are not really independent opinions. What is heard impresses one, and so on.

A child’s self-expression are to grab, take, and hit others. Then he or she expresses verbally. Yet it is not enough to allow a person to shout his opinions; he must be taught what the good state toward which we aspire is.

Nature determines where we are advancing to, not us. But like little children, it seems to us that we are free. Keeping our mouths shut is also not good. But in the meantime, when everyone shouts, we aren’t advancing toward the good. Without a general social educational process, we won’t advance toward the good.

We must know what the law of nature is demanding from us. The final state nature is moving us toward is for us to be as a single unit, “As one person with one heart.” When this general picture becomes clear, everyone will be able to express themselves optimally.

In summary, freedom of expression obligates us first to learn what kind of world we are in.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #587 – Freedom Of Expression,“ 6/21/15

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New Life 560 – The Holiday Of The Giving Of The Torah
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What is the difference between giving the Torah and receiving the Torah, how can one discover the good force inherent in the Torah and why is the general rule of “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), the entire Torah on one leg?

Giving the Torah and receiving the Torah are two different matters. The Torah is not a book, but a correcting force.

The Torah is the Upper Light, the Light that Reforms, the force that corrects our egoistic nature to love. In the past we used the force of the Torah and there was love among us, but then we were destroyed through unfounded hatred. Today we are not approaching the great general rule in the Torah, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), at all.

The “Torah of Light” is the upper force that influences us under special conditions and can change our nature. The evil inclination in us is composed of 613 parts; it is up to us to correct them into love. This is what is called Mitzvot (commandments). The more we develop, the more the evil inclination, our egoism, grows. And according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, now is the time for correction.

The evil inclination means that I want to harm others for my own benefit. It is written, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:13) and there is a means provided for correction of the human ego, the Torah, which is connection to the concealed force. The Torah is eternal; at every moment it is possible to connect to the good hidden force; we only need to learn how to do this.

The “circle of connection” is a practical tool for summoning the good force into our lives. The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method that teaches us how to use the Torah, the force of Light, the power that is hidden in nature. The effort to maintain the general rule, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” brings this force to dwell among us.

When we were standing at Mount Sinai, there was mutual hatred between us. We wanted to ascend to love, and we received the Torah. In the divisive situation in Israel today, the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed as the “Torah of Light,” as a means for correction. Specifically, in Egypt, after we discovered the 49 gates of Tuma’a (impurity), which is the summit of separation, the need for the Torah was created. The Torah is given every day; it is possible to connect to the positive force that will build love for others in us.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 560 – The Holiday Of The Giving Of The Torah,” 5/3/15

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