Entries in the 'New Publications' Category

“How do people influence?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “How do people influence?

We live in one big system. Even merely on a physical level, when we interact and talk to each other, we influence this system. The issue is that most of our connections are often harmful, destructive and selfish. Instead of helping each other be positive and useful parts of the system, we usually bring about problems.

When we share goodness with others, it comes back to us. Many people fail to realize this. When we think badly about others, we attract negativity to ourselves. We become part of a negative element within the system, and that negative influence passes through us to affect others.

Some people might seem successful through enacting themselves in such a way, i.e., by building their individual success at the expense of others, but they actually bring harm and detriment to the world, which eventually returns to them as well. To understand how this works, we need to feel the complete system that we are all parts of, even if only a little bit.

If we consider the idea that we are parts of a big system, and we are each a conduit of information and feelings, we can then learn about the universe and the world we live in. Many scientists have studied this phenomenon at different levels – biological, geological and zoological – from Vernadsky to today. Humanity, however, is ruining what it has been given. We harm the world physically and spiritually, messing up its goodness, health and perfection.

If we understood what we were doing and the immense amount of influence we have on each other, then we would stay quiet and only share thoughts, words, desires and examples that lead to the goal of uniting humanity in a positive way.
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“The Fight for Positive Connections: Approaching Every Moment as a New Battle” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “The Fight for Positive Connections: Approaching Every Moment as a New Battle

A man walks through the market, and a dealer in fighting roosters shouts out at him: “Buy my rooster! It fights to the death!”

“Why do I need a rooster that fights to death? I need one that fights to win,” the man replies.

Our whole life is full of fights, and whether we fight to the death or fight to win, it is more important to understand why we fight to begin with: what is the purpose of our lives and all the conflicts we endure?

We should imagine their winning and losing scenarios, what it would look like to win or lose the myriad conflicts. The fights get worse the more we evolve. In the process, we will destroy many of our enemies, as well as many of our own, and on a global scale, we will leave behind a lot of devastated countries, people killed and many struggling from other outcomes of these situations. Much of our victories in life thus often turn out to also be our defeats.

A true victory is when we realize the need to positively connect with each other, and to organize ourselves through positive human connection, without capturing or threatening anyone in the process. We then each become victorious over ourselves. That is, our egoistic and divisive inclinations that drive us to various battles against each other suffer defeat from the positive human connection that we build above it.

Every moment in our lives is a fight, and we should treat each moment as if it were our last. We should be aware of how long we have to live, whether we will live to the day’s end or not, and then consider what will happen if we die, what calculation we will leave this world with.

We usually do not ask ourselves such questions, but we should. Just as there is a beginning and end to every day, so there is a beginning and end to our lives.

We can and should think about what we will do in our lives because in the end, we do not know what will happen to us. Doing so requires training to look at life in a way where we relate to every moment as our last, and we can then make ourselves very useful in life. More succinctly, we should wish to leave a good impression of ourselves in the world, to enact as much good in the world as possible.

If we calibrate ourselves and act accordingly in our lives, then our contribution to building positive human connections will bring much benefit to the world, and these connections will remain after each and every one of us.
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“What Are Your Thoughts and Needs to Be Happy?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “What Are Your Thoughts and Needs to Be Happy?

There is a parable about three brothers who saw Happiness sitting in a pit. One came and asked Happiness for money, and he received it. Another asked for a beautiful wife and received one too.

The third bent over the pit. “What do you need?”, Happiness asked.

The man asked, “What do you need?”

“Brother, get me out of here,” Happiness requested.

The brother extended his hand, pulled Happiness out of the pit, turned around, and walked away. And Happiness followed him.

The parable shows us that happiness followed the brother who demanded nothing, and who did a good deed, providing a service to happiness. I do not think that this should be interpreted as a condition for happiness to follow us though, nor that we should have no demands.

I think that happiness depends on each person’s fate. We each behave according to what we are served, and we either give away happiness or demand it for ourselves. Most importantly, we should agree with it.

In practice, we cannot change. Maybe the upper force can sometimes enact a change according to our earnest request, but we ourselves cannot personally change anything.

It is not easy, but we can reach a state where we do not like demanding happiness solely for ourselves and not wishing it upon others. Also, if we wish happiness upon others, why? It is usually because we calculate that we also gain happiness as a result. If we were not to gain from our seemingly positive wish upon others, then we would have no such wish. There is no way out of this self-centered loop, since the egoistic desire for self-benefit is human nature.

I do not think that we can find happiness. Rather, we need to create happiness. That is, we need to place ourselves in a state where we know exactly how to make happiness reveal itself, and we will then feel it.

What is happiness? Happiness is the feeling that our life was successful, and I think that this feeling comes to us closer toward the end of our lives.

Life itself is constant work, i.e., when we seek ways to rebuild our lives again and again so that it brings the happiness that we imagine. Gradually, we shift from imagining happiness for ourselves and instead wish it upon others. Moreover, we find the meaning of our lives in such a vector: “from me to others.” Through this vector, we can reach a conclusion of happiness. It is constant and incessant work, and we would be wise to seek the understanding of how to do it.

We likely encounter myriad disturbances on such a path, but the key to enduring it is that we imagine that path, and then, as it is said, “the road surrenders to the one who walks it.” So if happiness is following us, it does not mean that we are happy. We rather need to constantly work to make others happy, which is no easy task. However, it does not matter whether or not it is easy. Nothing is easy in life, but that is the way to a meaningful and happy life.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, we discuss two paths of development: the path of light and the path of darkness. The path of light is when we bring light to other people, and the path of darkness is when we cannot and do not want to. “Cannot” and “do not want” are one and the same in this case.
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“Who is an actual scientist?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Who is an actual scientist?

“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.” – Isaac Newton

This is a normal phenomenon precisely because Newton explored and felt the world, so he considered himself a child. His attitude was that if he found a few mere pebbles, he would consider himself lucky, not letting his pride get the better of him, that it was given to him.

Today, the methods of inner contemplation that Newton used to investigate the world have been replaced with technical and technological methods. That is why there are no more “Newtons.” The last “Newton” was, I would say, Lev Landau. There was no one like that after him.

A scientist is one who wants to understand the meaning of the existence of our world. The field of science one works in does not matter, whether it is biology, technology, physics or whatnot, but one who seeks to understand the nature of the existence of our world is a true scientist.

The time of the “Newton” kinds of scientists has ended. No scientists could rise as much as they were supposed to by nature, because genuine science is in conflict with government interests. Scientists today participate in various seminars and academies that they have organized for them. Other than that, they are kept silent and work to fulfill the demands to make various technologies and weapons.

If we took Newton from his era and brought him here—as he is, without anyone else’s influence—I think that he would not respond positively to instructions to make nuclear and hydrogen bombs, and other weapons. Each scientist, in accordance with the depth of their attainment, simultaneously feels the height of science and cannot connect it with those egoistic, mercantile demands that the government offers.
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“Water Wearing Away Stone: A Metaphor for the Persistent Pursuit of Unity” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Water Wearing Away Stone: A Metaphor for the Persistent Pursuit of Unity

I received a complaint by Amir on social media, who wrote the following:

The more you call for unity and good relations, the worse it gets. And yet, you continue and continue. Don’t you see that nothing is working?

I would like to ask Amir back: What should I do? Does he suppose that I should simply get tired and say that it is enough already?

I cannot get tired because every day I see more and more development of evil—the human ego that wants to enjoy at the expense of others—in our world, and the more the ego grows without applying an intention to love, bestow and positively connect upon it, the more humanity suffers.

You might argue that if the ego just keeps growing, then we should simply let it grow and leave the generation alone, especially considering that the more I call for unity, the worse it gets. But this is no reason to stop everything and walk away.

I make no evaluation as to whether the world gets better or worse. I simply know that I must continue spreading the teaching of nature’s laws and the need for positive human connection, which we come to understand from learning those laws. I see no option of becoming disappointed and leaving this work. I simply must continue.

Amir’s complaint, however, is that people’s ears and hearts are shut to the message of unity, so any effort to spread such a message dissolves like water in sand. Everything, however, has its history, its beginning and end, and I thus hope that there will be an end to this period of accumulating suffering that humanity is currently in.

There is a saying that water can wear away stone, drop by drop. That is how it works. I simply must continue, and to do so against human reason, which complains and argues that such efforts are fruitless.
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“How Will the Messiah Be Known?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “How Will the Messiah Be Known?

Messiah, “Moshiach” in Hebrew, comes from the same linguistic root as the word for “pulling” (“Moshech”), as it is a force that can pull us out of our inborn self-aimed desires, elevating us to a level where we can understand and feel the supreme laws of nature that operate our universe and our lives.

This force called “Messiah” illuminates and expands through special people or a special generation, unraveling the laws of nature to us people here in our world.

There are two types of these forces: Messiah ben Joseph (Messiah son of Joseph) and Messiah ben David (Messiah son of David). Messiah ben Joseph is a force that prepares the public for the discovery of Messiah ben David. Today, we live in the latter’s generation.

On a physical level, we see a return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel after a long exile, and what remains is for this nation to unite according to the laws of the Messiah, i.e., the laws of positive human connection, the key one being “love your neighbor as yourself.” Then, Messiah ben David will come, i.e., the global expansion of the awareness of how to exist harmoniously according to nature’s interconnected and interdependent laws. Everyone will then know, feel and connect to the fulfillment of the Messiah’s laws in their entirety.

The coming of the Messiah means that we will feel the emergence of a new desire within ourselves, in which we will invite and attract the force of the Messiah to reveal itself in the field of our connections to each other.

Great Kabbalists throughout the generations looked forward to these times. The wisdom of Kabbalah itself is the wisdom of the Messiah. It teaches the method of revealing the laws of nature to all people in a clear manner that is close to the heart. Therefore, in the Kabbalistic texts, the disclosure of the method of Kabbalah is linked with the revelation of the Messiah. As Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) wrote in his article, “The Shofar of the Messiah”:

The generation is worthy of it, as it is the last generation, which stands at the threshold of complete redemption. For this reason, it is worthy of beginning to hear the voice of the Shofar of the Messiah, which is the revealing of the secrets, as has been explained.

This “worthy generation” that Baal HaSulam speaks of is our generation.

“And when it is near the days of the Messiah, even infants in the world are destined to find the secrets of the wisdom, and know in them the ends and the calculations of redemption, and at that time it will be revealed to all.” – Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Sulam [Ladder] Commentary on The Book of Zohar, Portion Vayera, item 460.
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“How Can One Justify Being Happy When There Is So Much Suffering in the World?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “How Can One Justify Being Happy When There Is So Much Suffering in the World?

We should strive to discover and understand the meaning of life, to see that life’s meaning is for life itself to reveal to us: what it is for, and to which destination it leads and pulls us.

Our lives, as we currently know them, from the time of our birth until our death, is actually a period that does not count as life. Why? It is because in such a state, we follow various instinctive instructions of nature. We try to survive, suffer less, and find comfort and pleasure.

In order to feel the meaning of life, we need to exit this animal-like state. Then, as the question stipulates, by doing so, where is our happiness? Happiness comes from understanding the universe and its significance.

We can thus be happy among all the suffering presenting itself to us when we understand life’s meaning, which includes the purpose of all the suffering we experience, and the extent to which every movement on the inanimate, vegetative, animate and human nature eventually leads to the revelation of life’s mysteries.

We can then link the suffering and horrors in life to the chain of this revelation. Then, we discover that the purpose of suffering is to wake us up to question its purpose, to prod us to ultimately seek the meaning of life. Even if we feel the pain on our own flesh, then it is all the more necessary to understand that such states lead us eventually to a sense of inner meaning.

This path leads us to happiness. When we achieve happiness through understanding life’s meaning and the purpose of suffering, the pain then disappears. That is, if we know exactly what suffering is for, and why we become included in it, then there is no suffering and everything becomes meaningful.

The path to discovering life’s meaning is also full of breakdowns. We lose and find the meaning of life, losing and finding it again and again throughout our progress to its final, complete revelation. No matter how we feel while doing so, we become stronger and more advanced the entire time.

We eventually add in our discernments, understanding and feeling of life up to a point where we acquire the full attainment of nature’s laws—how and why nature operates on us and its still, vegetative and animate levels the way that it does. We learn the workings of nature as a single, supreme attitude of love and bestowal that acts to elevate us to our highest level of happiness, wholeness and connection among each other and with itself, in full identification and agreement with its laws.
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“Building Bridges of Peace: A Call for Unity in Israel” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Building Bridges of Peace: A Call for Unity in Israel

It is a great rule in the Torah that “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (“Veahavta Lereacha Kamocha”). It is significant that this command is written in the singular, “Veahavta” and not plural “Veahavtem” as it emphasizes the need for every member of the nation of Israel to become an exemplar of love for the entire nation, until they all reach a unanimous agreement on a collective love for one another.

In the current war, Israel is focused on eliminating its enemies from its immediate surroundings, due to the constant threat to its existence and its people’s safety otherwise. But the true outcome of this war should transcend the physical removal of adversaries. It should compel each member of the Israeli nation to internalize the conditions for fruitful living—overcoming the inner distance between the people of Israel at the level of attitudes to one another. This boils down to embracing the timeless principle, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Such an outcome would mean comprehensive success. Physical distance from enemies who wish for the nation’s eradication is a temporary win until the people of Israel establish a society rooted in unity. The prevailing spirit within our society, a yearning for unity, is what will ultimately eliminate the existence of all enemies. That is, when we cultivate a unifying spirit, we affect unifying rippling effects throughout human consciousness. Then, from within, no one would feel the wish to disturb the people of Israel, because they would feel the people of Israel as a source of goodness in their lives.

Within our society, everyone should recognize the importance of developing positive human connections and understanding the purpose and plan for our shared existence. Discovering, feeling, accepting and realizing our life’s plan involves achieving a connection where mutual love, support and concern for one another come out ahead.

Our neighbors also need to comprehend that survival hinges on friendship and love. While these words may seem out of touch with the current reality that presents itself, they are states we must strive to achieve. While one of the results of the current war should be a message that breaching borders with an intent to harm will result in consequences, the longer-term aim is a world where war fails to appear even as an option.

Humanity should recognize that the people of Israel possess the ability to bring about peace for all. The relationships we cultivate can send waves of harmony worldwide, but it depends on our dedication to the unity of hearts. The nations of the world should realize that we cannot be broken, convinced or forced into a corner so that we agree to conditions that would serve to separate us, because we have a historical mission that we are committed to achieving. Instead, they should support us in attaining our purpose.

Therefore, our engagement in the current war should be accompanied by a widespread acknowledgment of our mission and role. Now is an opportune moment to reaffirm the Jewish principle of loving others, and create everlasting connections of love that expand onward to every person in every place.
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“Knowledge vs. Wisdom: Unraveling the Secrets of the Book of Life” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Knowledge vs. Wisdom: Unraveling the Secrets of the Book of Life

A sage once said, “A person must acquire both knowledge and wisdom.” When he was asked about the difference, he replied: “Knowledge is achieved by reading books, and wisdom is achieved by reading the book that you yourself are.”

What kinds of books are we? We are the book of life with all of the experiences we have in life.

Reading this book of life requires remembering and understanding how we live. Our lives write this book but only we can be imbued with it and understand it if we leaf through it. Writing, in this case, means that we write this book. At every moment of our lives, we solve various problems that are set for us, and move them into action. We thus need to understand how it all unfolds.

We write the book of life with doubts and blood, i.e., suffering. We have been living in such a way for thousands of years, and everything that has taken place is written in this book. There is no other way, and there is nothing for us to regret. Rather, all the suffering that we have been though was necessary to write this book of life.

The last lines in the book of life, which it leads to, are those that encourage us to open our eyes wider and observe the world with clarity. We would then see that only we paint a picture of this world and ourselves inside it, and there is no reality other than what we determine.

We determine the existence of this world and make it exactly the way it is. In reality, there is no world. We define it. For instance, do we exist? It is whatever we define. In other words, we determine that we live in such and such a world, and we determine that it is us inside this world. There is nothing but our impression of what and how we write. If we reach such a level of awareness, then we can say that it is where the book has led us. In other words, the last lines in the book of life are that we get to know the world we find ourselves in. That is how we are guided by various blows of suffering—to acquire knowledge of the world where we live.

The result of reading the book of life is that we accept and agree with everything that happens and has happened to us. People are generally afraid and hope that they will receive something good at the end of their hard lives. The good that we can receive is that we accept everything. That is the result of our lives and this book of life. In other words, the result of our lives is to understand the real nature in which there is a clear law, that of “each according to their work on themselves.” We accept and agree with this law to the extent in which we realize it.
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“From the Blind Leading the Blind to the Sighted Leading the Blind” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “From the Blind Leading the Blind to the Sighted Leading the Blind

Two students looked at a waving flag. One said: “The flag is moving.” The other replied: “No, the wind is moving, which makes the flag move.” Their teacher came and said: “You are both wrong. It is a thought that moves in your head.”

This allegory illustrates how everyone has a different perception of reality. We each have different perceptions because we are brought up on different foundations and ideals. One sees the flag moving, the other sees the wind moving the flag, and the other sees thought moving in our heads, and we cannot agree on whether the flag is moving.

The question thus arises as to whether it is possible to reach mutual decisions. The Sanhedrin, for instance, was a spiritual governing body that existed in Judea around 2,000 years ago. How did they manage to make decisions with so many people, as they engaged in a lot of discussions and held several differing opinions? Those people understood that there were those among them who were closer to the sensation of nature’s altruistic and connective forces, who understood and knew more about nature’s laws than the others, and they more or less yielded to them.

A person who is higher in attainment of reality would indeed hold a more accurate opinion than one who is lower in their attainment and consciousness. We would thus be wise to annul our opinions to such people. Of course, this raises the question: How could anyone determine who is higher in their attainment of reality? We again become faced with the problems of how each one perceives reality differently, and indeed, in our current level of perception, it is impossible to make such a determination.

We thus find ourselves in the state that our world is currently in—the blind leading the blind. If we give the world a chance, we need to realize that it is not up to us, as we are limited in our understanding and feelings. Giving the world a chance is up to nature’s laws that operate beyond our understanding.

If we reach the understanding that the laws of nature control everything and everyone, and we wish to accept these laws upon ourselves, then we will become ready to seek the wisest among us and follow them. We would then shift to the sighted leading the blind.

Humanity is in a developmental process toward such a state. Our particular era is characterized by humanity becoming an orphan. We are transitioning to a new era characterized by tightening interconnections on a global scale, and the ideas that held us together on various local, regional and national levels in the past no longer serve us in today’s globally-interconnected reality.

When my teacher, Kabbalist Baruch Ashlag (the Rabash) died, I clearly realized that we have yet to mature, that we still need to advance to such a state. The more we mature, the more we will reject false navigators of our lives, and seek out ones who possess a true attainment of higher levels of reality.
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