Entries in the 'New Life' Category

New Life 718 – The Exodus From Egypt Is True Freedom

New Life 718 – The Exodus From Egypt Is True Freedom
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

What can be learned from the relationships between Moses and Pharaoh in the story of the Exodus from Egypt about the relationship we must develop with the ego, what do the plagues in Egypt affirm, and how do we become free people?

A person who wants to transcend his ego begins to identify how much he is totally controlled by his ego; he sees how the reality of his self-interest encloses him within a “bubble” that doesn’t allow him to feel the complete reality.

“Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1) means the search for how to be freed from the dominance of my own ego. Moses wants to break through the limitations of the narrow perception of the ego and see the illumined world.

The reason for this served to convince the public that his power, that it is up to the good forces under the control of Pharaoh, and show them how weak pharaoh, sod and not really in control.

Moses needed to convince everyone that the power was in his hands to show the good forces under the control of Pharaoh how weak and despicable Pharaoh was and that Pharaoh really had no control in order to elevate the good forces. With every plague Egypt receives, Pharaoh frees additional characteristics that are found under the control of the ego, which awakens more difficult plagues.

The ten plagues correspond to our ten inner characteristics called Ten Sefirot. Each plague represents a blow to the egoistic perception of reality. For example, the plague of blood (Dam) is from the word “Domem” (Still); it symbolizes Malchut, which is the lowest desire to receive and represents stillness.

The goal is to transcend the ego, to stop thinking only about myself and to think about everyone together. That is how we reach the complete perception of reality, unlimited spiritual life, and adhesion with the Creator.

Pharaoh symbolizes the general desire to receive, which includes unique desires called the children of Israel. These desires can leave the control of Pharaoh and the ten plagues help them detach from him. The Creator is the power of bestowal and love that is found outside of the desire to receive. When we depart from the desire to receive, we feel free; this is the future of the human species, this is the correction of the world.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 718 – The Exodus From Egypt Is True Freedom,” 4/19/16

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New Life 546 – The Threat Of Extermination From The Holocaust To Now

New Life 546 – The Threat Of Extermination From The Holocaust To Now
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Jews the world over fear another Holocaust. How can the right understanding and perception of what happened in the Holocaust be implanted in people? What can we do as a people to prevent history from repeating itself?

We are in a process where we need to recognize our egoistic nature as bad and want to correct it. The people of Israel are unique in that they were created on the basis of “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

According to the program of creation, we will be compelled to return to brotherly love and lead the entire world toward this. The inner Torah, the wisdom of Kabbalah, teaches how to stitch together the rifts and splits between the people and the world.

Despite all the pain, we should investigate the reason for this: we are in the system of nature that operates with permanent lawfulness. Abraham discovered it. The Holocaust was part of a continuing destruction that was caused by unfounded hatred, a lack of connection and love among the people. The people in general are not maintaining the general rule of reality, “Love your friend as yourself.”

“There is none else beside Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35). “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). There is no other power that is operating, not even during the time of the Holocaust. Until we want to connect with each other through love, we will absorb more and more difficult blows. This is a predetermined law. We are not required to rise above our egoistic nature, but only to develop a desire for it. In each and every generation they have stood against us to destroy us to bring us closer to this correction so that we would want to connect with each other.

If we want to be connected with each other as brothers, a new reality will be opened before us, heaven. The Jewish people will be compelled to lead the world to connection, even if most will become extinct. We have no choice. It is possible to stop the waves of anti-Semitism only if we establish a system of explanation and education about love for others. In the connection between us we expect a happy life, for us and for the whole world. That is the way we will gain the sympathy of the world.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 546 – The Threat Of Extermination From The Holocaust To Now,” 4/5/15

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New Life 545 – The Holocaust As A Turning Point For The Nation Of Israel

New Life 545 – The Holocaust As A Turning Point For The Nation Of Israel
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

What is the reason for the desire to annihilate the Jewish nation? How can we prevent another Holocaust and how can our connection as a nation change all of reality?

There have been pogroms throughout our history, but the holocaust is notable for the desire to totally destroy the whole nation.

My family are Holocaust survivors and most of my family perished in the Holocaust.

If we want to prevent further disasters, we have to carefully study the laws that operate here.

The wisdom of Kabbalah has discovered that the world is supposed to advance toward perfect connection between people. The nation of Israel descend from Abraham who discovered the method of how to connect different people.

We connected in the days of Abraham and reached a peak of connection during the time of the Temple, and then fell into unfounded hatred.

The exile could have ended in the 16th century when the Ari revealed the wisdom of Kabbalah, but it didn’t happen.

At the beginning of the 20th century Rav Kook and Baal HaSulam called people to come to the land of Israel and build a model society. Baal HaSulam wanted to organize the Aliyah from Poland, but he was excommunicated. Finally he came to Israel on his own and everyone else was killed in the Holocaust. Baal HaSulam wanted everyone to come to Israel in order to build a society based on the principle of love thy friend as thyself and thus be spared from the afflictions.

Today we are at a very critical point in history once again. The world is desperate for the connecting force that the Jews have.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 545 – The Holocaust As A Turning Point For The Nation Of Israel,” 4/5/15

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New Life 708 – Sexual Domination

New Life 708 – Sexual Domination
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

In the past rulers used to demonstrate their power by the number of women they had, and thus showed their domination and ownership. There is a “big ape” in every man wanting to show that there are many females by his side and that he is virile enough for all of them.

A woman naturally devotes herself to the male who has intercourse with her, but a man doesn’t. This is the reason that a woman has a sign of virginity. A dominant male aspires to own the woman by sexual relations he has with her, leaving an impression in her, and the child that she has will bear the impression of every man with which she has sexual intercourse.

Only the right education can build new relations between men and women and make them equal without having one dominate the other. A man naturally feels that all the women in the world are potentially for him and a man and a woman can only be equal if they both aspire for the same sublime goal of revealing the upper force. Such an aspiration will make them enjoy the spiritual coupling, the perfect internal connection that will create a state called the Garden of Eden (paradise) between them.

A woman should show the man that she expects him to function correctly spiritually and then he will advance exactly to that goal.

The third factor that joins the spiritual relationship is the upper force, the force of the attribute of love and bestowal that dwells above them. We think that the pleasure is in the sexual relations between the bodies, but in fact it is in the connection between the souls. The feeling of the force of true love that every person aspires for is called the feeling of the Garden of Eden.

Inside every man there is an “ape” looking at a woman through a desire to dominate her. At the peak of his evolutions this “ape” will want to be a human being, to resemble the upper force, and then he will use all the female and male power in the universe and will spiritually couple them.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 708 – Sexual Domination,” 3/31/16

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New Life 706 – Jewish Culture: The Light In The Torah

New Life 706 – Jewish Culture: The Light In The Torah
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Rav Laitman tells his life’s story, about his grandfather, a synagogue in Russia, and his search when he arrived in Israel. The desire to know what is behind the Jewish rituals brought him to the wisdom of Kabbalah. Kabbalah teaches us that there is a special force in nature called the Torah.

The Torah is not a book but the force for the correction of a person’s ego. When we connect, together we can draw the force of the Torah, which will build the love between us and reveal the Creator to us.

In the material world we have different symbols indicating the upper spiritual roots. The Light in the Torah is a force that is in nature like other forces, and we can reveal it in the connection between us. This force is not in a book in the Holy Ark written on parchment. The book is only a symbol of that force. This is the reason that it says: “I would rather they left Me and kept my Torah, since the Light in it reforms.” We have to pay attention to others, which means to want to reach the state of good relations between us, so that we will be as one man with one heart.

The Light gives us the answers to existential questions such as: What are we living for? And why can’t we receive everything?

Everyone understands the Torah according to his own capabilities. Thus Kabbalists don’t see stories in the Torah but the phases of correction. The Light is a natural force that can be identified with the suitable device, and that device is the special connection between us.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 706 – Jewish Culture: The Light In The Torah,” 3/17/16

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New Life 704 – Spiritual Sexuality

New Life 704 – Spiritual Sexuality
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Question: Why does sex play such a central role in our life?

Answer: It is because life is created by the connection between opposites, and the desire for sex is actually a desire for life. Our sexual desires grow during our evolution as human beings. In nature we also see that the male wants to have offspring and the female wants to belong only to him. It is rooted in us. Our attitude to sex is actually the basis for everything in our life even when we are not aware of it. Freud also spoke about it.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us that it stems from the upper root in which we are intended to be in coupling, in a perfect connection, in a perfect mutual connection between people, in a connection in which every individual acts both as a male and female, as the one who gives and the one who receives.

At the peak of our evolution we will reach a state in which we are connected as one, since we all stem from one soul. The greatest insight we need to acquire is that no one can fill himself and that each individual has both a male and female part in order to connect, which means the readiness to give and to receive.

The wisdom of Kabbalah deals with spiritual sexuality and tells us that it is the basis of nature. Our whole perception of life stems from the spiritual root and includes accounts of giving and receiving, and when I connect correctly to more and more people, a corrected system of interconnection is built between us. As created beings, we all exist as a female facing the male who wants to fill us, the Creator, the upper force, the good and the benevolent. This is the ultimate joy and all our desires and passions stem from it.

Question: Why is the human sexual desire not limited to certain times in the year like in the animal world?

Answer: The more developed a species is the more unlimited it is. This is also from where the human sexual distortions stem. The wisdom of Kabbalah tells us how to reach a spiritual coupling, the ultimate connection between us regardless of sex.

The more an individual fills another in a perfect mutual manner, the more we ascend to a spiritual level of existence.

Women want to look beautiful and to attract men by nature, while men pay less attention to their looks. The sexual desire that is rooted in us since the thought of creation is to “to do good unto His created beings.” We are yet to discover the spiritual coupling!
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From KabTV’s “New Life 704 – Spiritual Sexuality,” 3/17/16

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New Life 719 – Moses And The Power Of Faith

New Life 719 – Moses And The Power Of Faith
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

How does the struggle between Moses and Pharaoh in the story of the exodus from Egypt illustrate the opposite desires inside us? What is the force that empowers Moses when he encounters Pharaoh, and what is faith according to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

The Torah describes what happens in a person who wants to resemble the Creator. Faith is the force of love and bestowal that a person acquires in this process. It is the ability to act for the good of others and the Creator.

Every person’s nature is self love; one feels that he or she is the center of the world. In some people questions arise about the point of living? Why am I the way I am and what the purpose of it all? What is the benefit that we live and die? What should I do all this life?

Man doesn’t know the answer to these questions because he doesn’t see the whole system. In order to know it he has to get to know the general management software.

These big questions are called Moses, stemming from the Hebrew root “pull – moshech,” as they pull a person beyond himself to the goal of creation. The inner voice of Moses in a person seems to tell him to stop thinking only about his private circle and to relate to the whole general system.

Other egoistic desires rise in a person and confront Moses, pulling a person back to the desire to receive for himself. Then Moses feels that he is enslaved, totally subordinate to the huge egoism inside him. Moses discovers his connection with the upper force that controls the whole general system through “Come to Pharaoh,” and frees the desires called the children of Israel, who learn the way of love of others, from the domination of Pharaoh. The rule of love thy friend as thyself enables a person to get to know the general system, the upper force.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 719 – Moses And The Power Of Faith,” 4/21/16

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New Life 717 – The Exodus From Egypt Within Me

New Life 717 – The Exodus From Egypt Within Me
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Reality is a whole; therefore, it is difficult to talk about part of it without knowing the entire picture. The burning bush in the wilderness represents the internal revelation of Moses after burning his ego and matching his characteristics to Divinity, like to a similar absorption frequency; he and the Creator broadcast on the same wavelength.

Fundamentally good is not inherent in us; the evil inclination is, so we can not consider anyone but ourselves. After the forty years Moses lived with Pharaoh, he came to Jethro for forty years and learned about the quality of bestowal, Hesed (Mercy), and how to attain it above the egoism that is exposed. Then, he can return to Egypt to work on the ego.

The goal of humanity is for all of human nature, including all egoism, to resemble the wholeness of the upper force whose nature is love.

The return to Egypt symbolizes the return to the ego of Moses that still needs correction. None of us recognize the Pharaoh within ourselves. Pharaoh symbolizes the absolute dominance of the general ego in us. Moses symbolizes the small desire for the characteristic of bestowal, the discovery of truth.

The people of Israel represent the desires that can be corrected to the attribute of bestowal and love within the general ego. The ego is the entire field of reality, and Moses needs signs and wonders to show the ego that he has power. So, Moses takes the rod, whose function is to aim him in the spiritual way, to put the ego below, and go above it.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 717 – The Exodus From Egypt Within Me,” 4/19/16

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New Life 716 – The Children Of Israel In Egypt, Part 2

New Life 716 – The Children Of Israel In Egypt, Part 2
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

After being raised in the house of Pharaoh, Moses, who represents the force of love, goes out and sees terrible things. The children of Israel and the Egyptians represent different approaches to life, pure egoism in contrast to connection and love.

Today people find like distasteful, and if we don’t advance on our own, the force of nature that manages the world might embitter our lives. Today, just as in the past, we must break away from the current method of life and move on to a new method. This is the reason that Moses married Tzipora, Jethro’s daughter, since she represents an additional desire, a desire that is made of receiving and giving. Moses receives an additional desire in order to advance because Moses is a weak force that is not enough to face the big ego, but the Creator is with him.

This is the preparation Moses needs in order to deal with the Egyptians, with Pharaoh, with the children of Israel, and with the Creator. This is how the Creator prepares the children of Israel for redemption.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 716 – The Children Of Israel In Egypt, Part 2,” 4/14/16

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New Life 715 – The Children Of Israel In Egypt, Part 1

New Life 715 – The Children Of Israel In Egypt, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

How does Egypt represent a person’s ego? How do the figures in the story about the exodus from Egypt illustrate forces that operate in a person, and what is the analogy between the slavery in Egypt and the crisis the world is undergoing today?

The story of the exodus from Egypt in its literary sense is well known all over the world, why is unclear. However, if we wish to penetrate the inner meaning of this story and understand the forces that build the figures in it, we must get away from the simple description of the characters in the story. Our world is managed in the same way that different forces create the display on a computer screen. Reality is made of two forces: the force of bestowal and the force of receiving, the Creator and the created being.

The Creator’s hand turns the images from inside, and it also motivates Batya to pull Moses out of the Nile. Moses symbolizes a special force that should correct all of the other desires that are in the attribute of receiving and take them out of Egypt, which symbolizes the ego. Moses was raised as a prince in Pharaoh’s home, egoistic system of healthy capitalism where everyone cares only about himself and everything revolves around money.

Money (Kesef) represents the ability to cover (Kisuf) (same root in Hebrew), the ability to pay for the fulfillment of my desire, while Egypt symbolizes the same dream that we have in our world today. Today, we can no longer manage our world in this way because it is against the Creator, the quality of love and bestowal, and so we must advance to a system in which everyone examines what he can give to others and not receive.

When the children of Israel fled from Egypt, it was because they did not want to live according to their lust for money, according to the desire to receive, and felt that it meant death for them. The alternative is to live in love, not in pride, and this is what Moses represents.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 715 – The Children Of Israel In Egypt, Part 1,” 4/14/16

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