Entries in the 'New Publications' Category

“Headed for Exile?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Headed for Exile?

It has been more than two months since the general election in Israel took place. Although the results showed a clear winner, and no one disputes the integrity of the election process, the tensions in Israeli society seem to be growing all the time. There is talk of civil disobedience, apprehension of politicians who incite against the government, and repetitive mentioning of the words “civil war.” A well-known journalist even said that nothing will change until a lot of metaphoric, and even real blood is spilt.

As has happened many times before, the people of Israel’s worst, if not only enemy is internal division, internal hatred. No ruler has ever vanquished us unless we first annihilated one another. We are at a crossroads once again, and once again, we seem to be choosing the path of pain.

The fact that we all know our history and what has been our bane throughout the ages, makes no difference. No argument or reasoning will convince us to make concessions, or even negotiate with our dissenters. Our attitude has always been totalitarian: Either our rivals accept that we are right and relinquish all their claims, or we fight them to the death.

Politicians who expressed one opinion only a few years ago, now express the complete opposite opinion only because their position has changed from being in the government to being in the opposition, or the other way around. Every issue—from Israel’s judicial system through its economy to its security and defense—is subject to political position. Considerations of the best interest of the country simply do not exist anymore. Even if the country falls to pieces, “leaders” will not give up until they are king of the hill, even if the hill is a heap of smoldering ashes.

When the only considerations are what serves my ego, of course it is impossible to let anyone rule but me. If I am not the prime minister, I will interrupt and interfere in any way I can. This is the prevailing mindset.

I remember that years ago, I was slightly involved in the Israeli political system, but for years now I have refrained from any involvement. The only result of political meddling is that it puts the country at risk, and I want no part in it.

Our enemies rejoice at the sight of our internal hatred. Like the Romans did two thousand years ago, they will use our inner fragmentation and drive us out of here. As has happened so many times before, we will, God forbid, be exiled.

Throughout our history, our people have been exiled, slaughtered, burned, and tortured to death. All these torments came to us for our inner hatred. Nevertheless, we have refused to accept that our only road to happiness and peace is the road of loving one another.

Even though our nation conceived the ideas of love of others, charity, and mutual responsibility, we have always shunned these notions. Instead, we agreed to love only those who thought like we did and lived like we did. We have set an example of both mercy and cruelty, but in our annals, the latter has always ultimately won.

King Solomon said, “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12). We are great at carrying out the first part of the verse, but we are awful at following its latter part.

We cannot hope to agree with one another; this will never happen. Our only hope is to learn that despite our disagreements, we are one nation. Unless we understand that just as brothers do not murder one another simply because they disagree, neither must we. Otherwise, we are headed for death and exile.
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“Attendance Is Mandatory” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Attendance Is Mandatory

“Attendance Is Mandatory” may sound like the beginning of a post about school attendance, but it is not; it is a post about compulsory indoctrination at universities in Israel. On Sunday, at an academic convention at Haifa University, Israel, a new book was presented: Islam Is the Solution. The author of the book is none other than Abdullah Nimar Darwish, who founded the Islamic Movement in Israel, was convicted of terrorism, and served jail time in Israeli prison. One of the university professors declared that the status of the lecture is “attendance is mandatory,” and demanded that the students participate actively in this “important discussion.”

The university’s formal explanation was that the lecture is an academic event in every sense of the word. Despite the fact that the book and the lecture present terrorists as victims and Israelis, not Israeli soldiers, but all Israelis, as abusive oppressors, the university declared that it is tantamount to any other reading material.

Could the situation have been the reverse? Could a Zionist activist, convicted of terrorism against Palestinians, be invited to speak at Birzeit University near Ramallah (the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority)? Never in a million years, and rightly so; it makes no sense to invite an avowed enemy to speak to young people in your country and influence their pliable minds.

All over the world, universities determine their agendas according to their donors’ identity. When their prime donors are anti-Israel, such as the case with many universities in the US and the UK, the schools’ curricula reflect this view. But in Israel, where universities are heavily subsidized by the Israeli government, promoting an anti-Israel agenda simply makes no sense. I understand that in this way, these academic institutions are trying to show the world that they are democratic and offer equal opportunities to everyone, but I do not think that endorsing explicitly anti-Israel speakers is appropriate.

I am all for freedom of expression, and I think there should be no oppression of any person or opinion. However, academia should be a place where people learn skills and professions, not where they are brainwashed.

I am not saying that it is easy to teach history, civics, philosophy, and other courses in humanities, liberal arts, and social science without exposing one’s political leaning, but this should certainly be the goal. This should be the official policy of the state, the official policy of the university, certainly with state-funded universities, and professors and lecturers should aspire to abide by it, with the help of rigorous monitoring by university staff. The fact that today’s lecturers and today’s curricula are far more politically biased, in some cases even blatantly so, means that politicizing a course is a trend, and trends can be reversed.

There is, however, one subject that should be taught without any restraints or fetters: connection and mutual care among people. The world we see today reflects the tensions and enmities that pervade society. The reason so much of today’s schooling is political is that the aspiration to enforce one’s view on all of society has intensified in everyone, making previously non-political discussions heated and hate-filled disputes over governance and government, where each side believes that the other side is not only wrong, but that its view is an existential threat and should be treated as such.

As a counterweight to this trend, we must teach—and this is the most important lesson all of us should learn if we want to survive—that we have no other choice but to learn to care about each other. Israel is not the United States. If we are not united, we will not survive. If we are united, we will have no enemies. In my opinion, “Unity First” should be a mandatory course in every faculty, discipline, and major in academia.
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“The Heat between Us Melts the Ice” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Heat between Us Melts the Ice

A study published in the journal Science and quoted in Time and elsewhere states that the world’s glaciers are shrinking and disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century at current climate change trends. We can slow down the thaw “if the world can limit future warming to just a few more tenths of a degree and fulfill international goals,” say the authors of the study, but even they admit that it is “technically possible but unlikely.” In other words, humanity, again, is the problem.

Scientists have been warning about melting icebergs for decades, but so far, we have been reluctant to do what it takes to stop it. Everyone knows what to do in order to slow down the melting, but the profit that governments and powerful corporations make from industries that accelerate global warming are too big of a bait to resist.

The rising sea level, by the way, is only one of the dangers lurking in the melting icebergs. A potentially worse problem is the release of viruses and bacteria that are currently kept dormant under the ice, but will awaken once the ice is gone and the temperature rises. This process is already underway, but so far, according to scientists, we have been lucky and no serious pathogens have been discovered in the melting permafrost.

Another problem is the release of methane gas, which is currently locked in the frozen lands of Siberia and Alaska. The methane is already being emitted into the atmosphere as the ice is melting and its impact is accumulative.

Regrettably, as scientists fear, we are unable to make the necessary changes, even though they are recognized and workable. At the current level of antagonism that saturates every faction of human society, there is no chance that companies or governments will do anything for the sake of humanity unless it serves their own interests.

Melting glaciers is far from being the only problem that threatens humanity. War, pollution, inflation, oppression, slavery, hunger, depression, substance abuse, pandemics, extreme climate events, from severe droughts to extreme storms, is there one problem that does not stem from humanity’s concentration only on its own interests? It makes no difference who does the harm, since in the end, everyone is a culprit: Every person on the planet participates in depleting, polluting, and exploiting the soil, water, air, animals, and people. The more powerful the person or the institution, the more exploitative they are, but the trend is the same everywhere and for all people.

Therefore, the solution must be comprehensive and address the root of the problem rather than each symptom separately. Focusing on one crisis at a time, be it climate change or deforestation, or war, or hunger, or water pollution, or any other problem—will only exacerbate the problems rather than alleviate them, since it will distract us from the root cause and its only possible solution: changing our attitude to one another and to our surroundings, in that order.

We must teach ourselves to care for one another. Since this is very difficult to do, since we do not want to care for one another, we must teach ourselves about our mutual dependence—that if we hurt others, it hurts us.

Also, because we are all culprits, we must teach this everywhere and to everyone, without exception.

Once we establish mutual care, it will be easier to facilitate a workable and successful policy and follow it. Our awareness that we are obligated to follow it if we ourselves do not want to be hurt will make us abide by the regulations that will facilitate a difference in human society and in our relation to the planet as a whole.
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“Why is it so hard for people to listen to someone without interrupting them?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Why is it so hard for people to listen to someone without interrupting them?

Why is it sometimes very hard to listen to others? Due to our egoism and pride, where we primarily consider our self-benefit over everything and everyone else, it is common for us to hold certain disagreements with others’ opinions. It might not even be a different opinion, but the sheer fact that another person is saying what I would want to say and not me is enough for me not to listen.

The opinion itself is not so important. What matters is the ability to express oneself.

Sometimes, a situation arises where one person pushes their views onto another who might have different views, and this gives a feeling that the one pushing their views is suppressing the other person’s sense of self. It is because when we listen, we fall under the influence of the other person. Where are we in those moments? We seemingly become nonexistent, which is why we feel a need to switch on our own mouths here and there.

In other words, we should not enter into conversations in a direct and forceful way, even if what we say is seemingly right and to the point. There needs to be preparation. That is, we need to give the person we are talking with a feeling that they are right. We can then talk our hearts away with them, and afterward, when the other person has discharged themselves, we can then start turning the conversation little by little.

Based on the video “Why Can it Be So Hard to Listen to Other People?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Tal Mandelbaum. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash.

“The Rabbis’ Letter against the new government is a big deal over nothing” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Rabbis’ Letter against the new government is a big deal over nothing

As the new Israeli government was taking shape, an open letter titled A Call to Action began to circulate among American Jewish communities. The signatories, some of whom are prominent figures in American Jewry, pledged “to not invite any members of the RZP [Religious Zionist Party] … to speak at our congregations and organizations. We will speak out against their participation in other fora across our communities. We will encourage the boards of our congregations and organizations to join us in this protest as a demonstration of our commitment to our Jewish and democratic values.”

This letter is worth mentioning only because it is a good reminder for Israelis what American Jewry thinks of Israel. The letter exposes the simple truth that the majority of American Jewry, not all, but certainly a substantial majority among them, oppose Jews being in Israel, and oppose the State of Israel altogether. From their perspective, it would be best if Israel did not exist.

I understand why they need to speak out. First of all, if they keep quiet, it is as if they do not exist, so they need to make some noise. Second, by and large, American Jewry has one goal in mind: to make its stay in the US as safe and serene as possible. Since the world sees Jews as connected all over the world, American Jewry finds itself having to explain the position of the State of Israel, and it makes them feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Because they feel that the existence of Israel risks their own safety in the US, they do not want Israel to exist, certainly not as a Jewish, Zionist entity.

Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?

Lucky for Israel, it is not in any way dependent on American Jewry. The money they donate will not be missed if it stops flowing; Israel is strong enough without it. The lobbying they do for Israel has also not been there for us for many years, and Israel’s strength lies elsewhere today. Therefore, I do not think that Israel should mind at all what Jewish congregations in America think about Israel.

The interests that shape Israel’s position in the world are far more comprehensive than our relationship with this or that denomination in American Jewry. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Iran all take part in the map of interests, and Israel is much more powerful than it used to be, both on the military end and on the economic end.

In fact, even if the US would, for some reason, stop providing military and economic aid to Israel, it would not hurt Israel’s position or harm it economically or otherwise. I do not see such a scenario unfolding, but just to give some perspective as to how independent Israel has become, it is good to remember that we are standing on our own two feet today.

The new government that has just been sworn in is rife with experienced people, who know what they want and how to achieve it, and despite some newspapers’ attempts to portray the new government as a disaster in the making, the majority of the people in Israel feel more confident now than under the previous government.

Yet, above and beyond all the political arguments, the main problem that severs American Jewry from Israel and from Israelis is the simple truth that there is hatred between us. It is fine not to agree. There are arguments in every nation, and some people even choose to leave their country because they disagree with the policy of their government. However, no Chinese in exile and no Iraqi who has fled his country’s regime would want their country to stop existing altogether. This aspiration is uniquely Jewish, and stems from our total hatred for each other, what we Jews know as sinaat hinam (hatred without cause).

If we could overcome that hatred, we would be able to overcome every disagreement. Since we do not want to even admit that our hatred for each other is so deep, we have no chance of curing it. Specifically for the people of Israel, sinaat hinam is an unforgivable sin, the root cause of all the torments that the nations of the world have inflicted on us throughout the generations.

If we tried to love one another, we would not have to hate each other in politics; we would not feel we must appease the nations, and the world would not hate us. When humanity looks at us, it sees our hatred for each other, and seeing it makes them hate us to the core, to the point where they do not want our existence in this world.
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“Why the Russia-China Axis Is Unlikely to Pose a Threat to the West” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Why the Russia-China Axis Is Unlikely to Pose a Threat to the West

The evident warming relationship between Russia and China has been causing some concern in the West. Also, some media outlets relate to the alliance between the two powers as an asset to China in its struggle against the US for world domination.

Additionally, Iran’s surprise status as a major arms provider to the exhausted Russia has added another partner to the alliance, a partner whose animosity toward humanism, and indeed toward anyone who is not a Shiite Muslim, is unsettling for many. Considering also that there is North Korea with its warm relations with China, and warming relations with Russia, the picture becomes even bleaker.

I am not saying that we should not be worried over what might materialize from such a quadrilateral alliance. I think we need to take whatever measures necessary to prevent the axis from taking shape. At the same time, I think that such an axis is unlikely. Even if it does materialize, at the moment, Russia is too exhausted to pose a threat, and its forces have been thinned down by local wars it has been conducting over the past several years. For this reason, I do not believe it is in a position to face the West.

Besides, over the past year, and especially since the start of the war in Ukraine, the United States and Europe have become much stronger. They realized that they had no choice but to boost their military capabilities, and they acted accordingly. In a sense, the war in Ukraine has benefited the Western bloc compared to the Eastern bloc.

There is another tactic that the West is using against Russia: its own pride. Russia could have gained a great deal, economically and otherwise, if it chose to make concessions in Ukraine in return for favors and support from the West. However, its pride will not let it do this, so it will continue to fight until there is nothing left of its military. The only ones who will gain from this extended slaughter is the West.

As for China, it is unlikely to sever its ties with the West. It has too much to lose, and it is too dependent on the West’s purchasing power to risk its ties with Europe and (mainly) with the US. Although it appears robust, China is currently in a precarious situation having suffered economic setbacks following the zero Covid policy, and now the out-of-control outbreak of the virus. China will continue to maintain good connections with Russia, which provides it with cheap gas, but it will not stretch the rope with its Western business partners too tight. In short, it will continue sitting on the fence.

In my view, the most likely scenario is that the tug-of-war between Russia and the US will continue until either the US or Israel move to unseat the Iranian regime. Without Iran, Russia has nothing more to offer in Ukraine; it has exhausted its military options, its manpower, and its firepower. As a result, without Iran, it would have very few options for continuing its assaults in Ukraine.

In such a state, if the Iranian fanatic Shiite regime comes down, Russia’s supply of suicide drones will dry out, and its main assault weapon against Ukrainian infrastructure facilities will no longer be available. Surprisingly, therefore, a move in Iran could signal the end of the war in Ukraine.
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“Israel Needs a Government of Tough but Equal Love” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Israel Needs a Government of Tough but Equal Love

Today, December 29, 2022, is the first day of a new government in Israel. The past year has been horrific for Israel: Thirty Israelis were murdered by terrorists, far more than in previous years, inflation has risen, Israel’s international status has plummeted, teachers are quitting the education system in droves and no one is replacing them, division is spreading—between religious and secular, progressives and conservatives—and this is a very partial list. Clearly, the new government will have a lot of fixing up to do.

The worst problem is that the outgoing government has given the feeling that no one is at the helm, and anyone can do whatever he or she wants. Not only has crime risen, but the audacity of criminals is beyond belief, committing crimes in broad daylight without even trying to hide their identity. The main problem, therefore, is one of governability, or rather, the lack thereof.

Accordingly, before anything else, the new government must make people realize that there is a new government in place, and it will not tolerate what the previous government tolerated. Deterrence must be elevated to much higher levels than the current one because at the moment, there isn’t any. When there is high deterrence, there are fewer crimes, less pressure on police, and as a result, better policing. If I had to sum up the new government’s task in two words, they would be law and order, and to that I might add, with a firm hand.

Yet, for all its significance, there is something that is just as important, yet totally ignored, but which the incoming government must develop: the one value that everyone avoids—national unity. In today’s Israel, everyone is busy proving that they are right and everyone else is wrong. The result is that no one is convinced, and everyone becomes more entrenched in their positions and adds hatred to their conviction. In such a state, any attempt to remedy the situation in Israel is hopeless from the get go.

The deepening division in Israeli society is not just another problem that the new government needs to tackle; it is the root cause of all the problems. Every single crisis that is currently affecting the lives of Israelis will vanish if there is a strong sense of social cohesion in Israel.

When there is mutual concern, there is no poverty. When there is cohesion, there is no division, and certainly no crime. When there are solidarity and unity, Israel’s military deterrence increases manyfold. Education will become better and more evenly dispersed when people care not only about their children’s schools but also about the Israeli education system as a whole.

When a government works to improve social cohesion and the well-being of the entire nation, rather than the current state where parties are concerned only with the sector that elected them, it is much easier to unite the people behind it. However, for this to happen, unity must be openly on the table as a top priority agenda item in the most important meetings: the ones where budgets are decided and laws are formulated.

Every nation has something called “national identity.” Israel’s must be “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the motto we had given to the world in antiquity, and we were commanded to live it out, to set an example. Love of others is the basis of our nation precisely because we emerged from alienation and hostility, and merited the status of a nation only once we triumphed over them. These days, when we are divided and hateful once again, we do not deserve the title, “nation.”

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the incoming government, and stress that it must show a firm hand and establish law and order, but not in order to oppress political rivals, but in order to be able to instill education toward unity, mutual responsibility, and concern for one another.
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“2022 Was Bad, 2023 Will Be No Better” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “2022 Was Bad, 2023 Will Be No Better

Next week begins the year 2023. When we look at 2022, there is very little to be pleased with. Above all, the war in Ukraine has disrupted the world on many levels. It has devastated one country, exhausted another, sent energy prices skyrocketing around the world, and disrupted the economy of the entire planet. Even without the war, the economy was in poor shape, and industry has not recovered from the impact of Covid, but the two blows combined were a hard hit on all of us. Additionally, abysmal international relations, extreme weather events, spreading substance abuse, and social degeneration have all contributed to a well-founded sensation that things are going downhill fast, and on a global level.

When a person is sick, the most important task, and often the biggest challenge, is to achieve a quick and clear diagnosis. Usually, once you diagnose the problem, the prognosis is clear and the possible treatment plans are easier to put together.

But for some reason, as a society, despite all the symptoms pointing to the pathogen being animosity among all parts of humanity, we keep ignoring it. Instead of looking for the cause, we insist on trying to alleviate the symptoms. Not surprisingly, the symptoms are getting worse, and the disease of animosity is spreading and intensifying. When it reaches the level where people cannot tolerate each other’s existence, World War III will break out.

When you think about it, it could have been funny if the joke were not on us. Educated grownups, in charge of the fate of humanity, are bickering like kindergarten children in a sandbox. Their teacher is trying to make them behave, to be kind and considerate, explaining that they will all benefit from being kinder to each other, but the kids are obtuse, obstinate, and mainly coldhearted.

In such a state, the teacher will have no choice but to punish the children, namely the nations, even harder in the next class, the class of 2023. China, for example, where Covid originated, has had to abandon its draconian “zero Covid” policy, and reports from there indicate that tens of millions are catching the virus each day, and hospitals are collapsing. Millions are expected to die in the next few months.

The war in Ukraine does not seem like it is going to end soon, Ukrainian energy infrastructure has been all but demolished, while Russia, the demolisher, is depleting its already worn-thin reserves through mandatory drafting. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled the country in an effort to dodge being sent as cannon fodder to Ukraine.

The economy, too, does not seem to be recovering, and we can expect 2023 to be a tough year on that end, too.

And perhaps as a prelude, North America spent Christmas fighting a combination of freezing temperatures, gale force winds, and heavy snow, causing millions to spend the holiday without power, heat, or a way to escape. The death toll of this “bomb cyclone,” as meteorologists refer to it, is as yet unknown, but it is already known that dozens of people simply froze to death in stranded cars, while national guards are going door to door in many cities looking for casualties who died of hypothermia in their own homes.

Since we are not learning, I think that just as teachers do with obnoxious and rebellious children, the first thing we need to do in order to begin to remedy the situation is silence everyone, and tie everyone’s hands so they cannot keep fighting. I am not saying this is easy, and I am not sure who should or can do this, but if we want to be able to reason with each other, then any country that behaves like a bully should be disconnected from the family of nations, clear and simple. Only fear will force countries to think twice before they initiate aggression.

At the same time, we should continue to propagate the message that only if we work together will we improve our situation. We should show, however we can, that aggression does not pay.

Lastly, we should try to show, as much as we can, the benefits of cooperation. At the very least, people need to have an alternative to aggression in mind. Perhaps if people suffer long enough, their minds will open to other modes of action besides brute force, and to other paradigms besides “survival of the fittest.”

I am not optimistic; I do not feel that humanity is ready to listen, but as long as we are able, it is our duty to insist that there are alternatives to war and hatred, alternatives that benefit everyone rather than inflict anguish and destruction on humanity.
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“Did Noah’s Ark Ever Exist?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Did Noah’s Ark Ever Exist?

Turkey inaugurated a new visitor center named Noah’s Ark. The center on Mount Ararat was built by donations from Jews, Christians and Muslims from all over the world. The center displays finds and fossils discovered at the site. The search for the ark is very exciting for many, and it indeed raises the question: did Noah’s Ark ever exist?

Even if we discovered a few of its boards and could seemingly prove that it existed, what would that give us?

The main takeaway from the story of Noah’s Ark for us today is to understand that we are also on the verge of a great flood, and we have the ability to prevent it from happening.

We prevent a great deluge from coming our way by listening to what the Creator says, or to put it differently, by obeying nature’s laws, which ultimately means that we need to positively connect.

Negative human connections bring about every blow that we receive from nature. And on the contrary, if we relate favorably to one another, we manage to prevent natural disasters and other blows.

How does this work? There are laws of nature that stop us from knocking the system of nature out of balance, which we do mainly through our negative human relations. Nature has four levels—the still, vegetative, animate and human—and the human level is nature’s highest qualitative level. What we determine at the human level, in our connections to each other, unequivocally determines what will happen throughout nature in relation to us.

We should thus learn how to become more attentive to what really matters in our world today—to develop positive human connections as a means of reaching balance with nature’s laws—and by doing so, we will find that we not only protect ourselves from natural disasters and several other blows, but moreover, we will open the gates to a new peaceful and harmonious world the likes of which we have yet to experience.

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“Is Road Rage Happening More Often?” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Is Road Rage Happening More Often?

Road rage has recently escalated in a display of violent incidents in Israel. One person was murdered at a pedestrian crossing for making a remark at a motorcycle driver, and in another incident, a driver threatened to kill another driver and then sprayed him with pepper spray. In a recent survey, 50 percent of the public stated that they witnessed violence on Israel’s streets, a number that was 20 percent just a few years ago.

Where are such escalations of violence leading us? We can reach states where we head into the streets as if we head into a jungle, with no idea whether we will return home because we might get eaten alive. We see how everyone sits in their vehicles with no consideration for others, wanting to treat others as if they were their slaves.

It is a matter of attitude. An attitude of mutual understanding, responsibility and closeness would obviously dramatically decrease road rage and its outbursts.

Take a common scenario for many people: You’re driving. You’re late to work. The traffic jam seems to get worse each day, making it take you longer and longer to get to work. You’re aggravated, and someone suddenly cuts you off.

What should you do? Very simply: you should give way to them out of love for them.

“What!?” you ask. “What could they possibly have that I should love!?”

They are your fellow human beings. And if you’re angry that the other driver should also act lovingly toward you and not cut you off, then you should think about how they depend on your example—and give them a proper example of how to behave.

We live in an era that demands our self-transformation. Today’s tightening interdependence in human society makes us responsible for one another. Therefore, our shift to a better world depends on the extent to which we feel, think and act out of our mutual responsibility.

In practice, we need to realize our mutual responsibility first by taking care not to harm others, that we first and foremost consider the safety and well-being of others. We can become accustomed to a state of mutual responsibility the more we absorb this idea and examples of its behavior from our surrounding environment.

If we saw that our own child sat behind the wheel of every car we encountered on the roads, then we would indeed behave differently. We would no longer worry about being late for work. We would instead care for the people around us, and the more such mutual care would spread, the more harmonious and peaceful our world would become.

We should thus try to see our loved one or our close friend in every driver on the street, and more generally, in every person.
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Based on the video “Is Road Rage Happening More Often?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.