Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “What Is the Difference between Eastern and Western Civilizations?”

There are currently no clearly defined civilizations. Broadly speaking, Eastern civilizations are more committed to religion while Western civilizations deal more with issues of their material existence. There is thus a big difference between them.

There are people in Eastern civilizations who care deeply about preserving their spiritual values, and who are ready to fight for them. On the contrary, Western civilization generally wishes to preserve its modern materialistic form that it has developed. It is very difficult for these two inclinations to establish a common ground.

Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), in his article “The Solution,” discusses two opposing forces in nature that developed the material universe:

“There is a positive force, meaning constructive, and a negative force, meaning negative and destructive. They create and complement the entire reality in general and particular through their harsh and perpetual war with one another.”

The spiritual and material inclinations play out in humanity through the Eastern and Western civilizations. It is in the structure of their souls, that there is a certain interplay of positive and negative forces leading to the revelation of higher states of unity and the emergence of new creations.

We do not know how long this confrontation will last, but we see no end to it in the near future. However, Kabbalists describe that humanity, in its future final state, will emerge as a single unified entity in perfect alignment with nature’s laws: a new harmonious and peaceful world with the sublime force of love, bestowal and connection in full revelation to all. Achieving such a state depends on constructing positive connections throughout society above our self-centered divisive drives.

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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Unity Beyond Borders: 1,000s Join a New Global Kabbalah Course”

It was heartwarming to see thousands of new students participating online in the live-streamed, simultaneously-translated first lesson of the Global Kabbalah Course last Wednesday.

Seeing people from all over the globe—140 nations and 30 languages—coming together to study the wisdom of Kabbalah was like witnessing the rollout of what the Prophets and the Kabbalists had discussed over the ages, that “only through the expansion of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the masses will we obtain complete redemption” (Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag).

Indeed, when more than 7,000 people from different backgrounds, religions and traditions join to open the laws and the secrets of nature’s depths, we realize that humanity has started hearing the Messiah’s horn (Shofar).

It also marks the first time that we offer simultaneous translation of an introductory Kabbalah course into Indonesian, Tagalog and Arabic, in addition to several other languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish, Croatian, Serbian, and many more. It is truly wondrous.[321351]

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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Why Do People Dislike Israel? What Is It That Israel Has Done Wrong?”

We, the people of Israel, have to correct ourselves by uniting “as one man with one heart,” and by doing so, become a conduit for such unification to spread worldwide.

Until we do so, then the lack of unity in the world surfaces as myriad problems and crises, and more and more people feel subconsciously that the people of Israel are to blame for their shortcomings.

Therefore, the shift to a harmonious and peaceful world depends on our unity. When we unite, we form a critical mass that then enables humanity as a whole to also come together. Then, when there is a spirit of unity among human society, it alleviates the many forms of suffering that emerge on personal, social and global scales.

This unifying spirit beyond divisions is what originally made us known as “the people of Israel” (“Israel” from two Hebrew words, “Yashar Kel” [“straight to God”], which means a people aimed directly at the source quality of love). We were people who first came together around 4,000 years ago not based on biological ties, but according to the method of attaining “love your neighbor as yourself” that Abraham established, specifically in an era that was marked by rampant social division.

We should thus see the many forms of hatred and dislike of the people of Israel as reminders that we need to come together with relations of love, care and kindness dwelling in our connections above any kind of divisiveness that we might feel toward each other.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “The Need to Create a Society With an Ever-Strengthening Spirit of Unity”

I received the following message from a man named Ilya, who lives in Israel, on Facebook:

“Trouble has brought us together again. We are again confident that the people are united, we will defeat any enemies, we can, we are strong, and we defend our home. I agree with all this, but where is the Creator now, the one you keep talking about? Or is it implied that He is inside this unity of ours?”

The current conflict has forced us to set aside internal divisions and recognize the urgent need to fix a grave error. This error is the mutual animosity that the Creator—the upper force of love, bestowal and connection that creates and sustains our reality—deliberately awakens within us, compelling us to seek love, peace and unity among each other.

How can we unite with the positive qualities of love and bestowal dwelling in our connections? We first need to acknowledge our mutual rejection of each other, and then unify above it.

It is an ongoing task. It is a hatred that will not fade away on its own in a few weeks. To overcome it, we need to increase our love for each other, with mutual concern, support and encouragement, above the hatred. Then, the more hatred surfaces, we will continually build love above it.

Moreover, the strength of love should not only match the intensity of the hatred; love should surpass hatred completely. Unlike hatred, however, love does not come ready-made. We need to build it, and it is born from regular efforts to elevate relations of kindness, care, support and encouragement over our divisive drives.

Victory in this inner conflict to raise love over hatred and unity over division is when each person succeeds in rising above themselves, their own divisive egoistic nature. It is because, other than the person and his egoistic makeup, only the Creator—the force of love and bestowal—exists.

We need to understand that we were mistaken in the way we let our divisive drives determine our past animosity to each other. By letting our divisions get the better of us, we pushed both ourselves and our nation to a vulnerable state. It is imperative that we provide a clear response to this and embark on what is needed to ensure the viability of our Jewish nation: to no longer let our divisions defeat us, and make moves in creating a society that blossoms with an ever-strengthening spirit of unity.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Why Do Religions Stir Up so Many Wars in the World?”

Religions stir up so many wars in the world because they each aim to assert their superiority, strength and eternal truths. Many believed these clashes were a thing of the past, but they persist, and I see no end to such wars in the near future.

I fear potential religious wars loom on the horizon, which indicate no positive shifts in humanity. However, there is hope to prevent catastrophic religious conflicts.

How? The Jewish people have the potential to demonstrate an example of unification and peace to the world. This means embracing the idea that formed the Jewish people to begin with: treating each other with genuine love above everyone’s differences. It is not about any specific religion, but rather the need to evoke emotions of kindness and love toward each other.

A universal love of everyone toward everyone, which transcends religious boundaries, is the vital message that the Jewish people ought to convey. Universal love would then become the superior ideology that resides beyond national and religious identities, and which would bring about the needed positive shift in the world. If this idea dwells strongly in the world, then people would wake up every morning asking themselves, “How can I add more love in the world today?” and we would see a whole new harmonious and peaceful world taking shape.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “From Division to Unity: The Book of Zohar’s Vision for Society”

It is written that as the days of the Messiah approach, The Book of Zohar will be revealed to all. This does not mean that the physical text will be found on every bookshelf, dusted off every week. Rather, it means that a clear understanding of its teachings will spread throughout humanity. As Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) wrote in his “Speech for the Conclusion of The Zohar,” its wisdom will illuminate the path of the people of Israel becoming a united people in the Land of Israel—a people shaped by the supreme law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

However, there currently exists a vast disparity between how the people of Israel relate to each other and their ideal relations that the scriptures depict. It seems as if we head in an opposite direction to unification. Even at times of war, we see ourselves drifting apart, distancing ourselves from our role of uniting above our differences in order to become a conduit for such unity to spread worldwide. While this contradiction is disheartening, we need to acknowledge that a turnaround can happen in an instant. The stages of transforming ourselves from a divided to a united people, with threads of mutual love and care in our connections, defy human logic.

Yet our increasing distance from each other signifies our forthcoming closeness. How can that be? The people of Israel’s current state aligns with the Kabbalistic texts’ depiction of the initial pre-Messianic era stage, one that precedes humanity’s transformation from division to unity. It does not mean that we will acquire an immediate revelation of higher wisdom or that we will instantly unite as described in The Zohar. However, we are indeed headed to a critical juncture where we will find that we need to either comply with nature’s laws of mutual love, bestowal and connection, and seek to match our connections with nature’s, or we will face destruction. We thus need to prepare our synchronization with the very natural laws that guide our development to higher states of unity.

Our journey thus far highlights our shortcomings—how poorly we relate to each other and how we resist applying the required inner changes in our attitudes to each other. From this state of resistance to unity above division, we need to recognize that salvation lies solely in our unity.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is our guiding principle and our failure to uphold it will result in self-destruction. Once we grasp the need to aspire for drawing closer together and correcting our attitudes to each other—from flowing with our divisive drives until they drown us, to rising united above the floods of our division—then we will uncover inner strengths and abilities, as well as a source of constant support, encouragement and confidence.

The Book of Zohar has yet to become revealed in its full glory. We have yet to acquire a complete understanding of what is written in The Zohar, and use it for its intended purpose. But we have to be ready for the revelation of the states it describes, and to long for them to happen.

We have undergone a period of preparation for The Zohar’s revelation, we just lack clarity on why and how we should approach it, and to awaken our hearts to the sublime states of spiritual unity that it leads us to.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Why Is There So Much Evil in the World?”
We learn in the wisdom of Kabbalah that there is a single, eternal and perfect force that created and sustains reality, and that this force acts toward us out of love and mercy, in order to develop us to its degree. It created us in an opposite quality to its own—its quality is giving; ours is receiving—where we each wish to serve ourselves alone, and in such a quality, we innately disagree with the existence of a single force since we perceive several different and opposing forces in a constant struggle.
We see a world full of conflicting, opposing and resisting forces. We do not see the true world because our perception is based on our fundamental disagreement to the idea that there is a single force that acts solely to benefit us. In the language of Kabbalah, such a disagreement is called “the quality of judgment.” If we perceived the true world, then we would see that only one force of love and bestowal dwells in reality, which Kabbalah calls “the quality of mercy,” and then we would see this force acting mercifully toward everyone.

The reason we view the world behaving according to the quality of judgment, i.e., regularly hearing about terrible and evil events, is due to what Kabbalah calls our “lack of correction.” It means that we view reality through a shattered lens of our opposition to the quality of love and bestowal. Moreover, while opposite by nature to the quality of love and bestowal, we need to undergo a process of development in order to shift our perception: from transience, separation and incompleteness to the view of one force acting in an eternal, perfect and whole manner. Then, when we complete this correction process, we come to see that only one force—the quality of love and bestowal—dwells in the world, and that this force is good and does only good.

What should our response be, then, to hearing about negative phenomena, i.e., to all the wars, suffering and crises on personal, social and global scales? It should be, as it is written, that “they have eyes and see not; they have ears and hear not.” When we see disasters taking place, we should acknowledge that we fail to perceive the positive force of love, bestowal and connection behind it all, and also that we would like to perceive it and see that it acts ultimately for our benefit.
We need to remember that there is a good source that acts on the world, which created everything opposite to its quality of goodness in order for us to develop ourselves to reach a perception of its oneness, eternity and perfection above our opposition to that quality.
Therefore, the conflicts, evil and hatred we see in the world are part and parcel of a grand theatrical production playing out before us. Through this theater, we can attain the ability to accept the providence behind such a show as absolutely good and benevolent toward us. It is a game that we have been given to play. This is the meaning of “playing with the whale,” which is what we do when rise above the opposition in our perception to reveal the single benevolent force guiding reality.

However, on one hand, we should be careful to not treat this matter lightly, i.e., relating to our lives as fake and “just a game.” On the other hand, we should also be careful not to fall into states of intense sadness and/or anger with what we see unfolding in the world. Instead, we need to constantly navigate ourselves in between these two poles, in what Kabbalah calls “the middle line.”

Therefore, we should acknowledge that the role of evil in the world is to show us that everything is good. We would be unable to feel goodness, love, bestowal, harmony, peace, happiness and confidence without their negative counterparts. Also, we need to learn about how we develop to a final destination in our lives where we will perceive a single, good and benevolent force.

It thus turns out that if we see evil in the world, we should exercise the opposite good qualities of love and bestowal by positively connecting to each other. By doing so, we gradually come to neutralize any appearance of evil in the world while increasingly discovering the single positive force of love and bestowal dwelling in reality.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Why Does Israel, a Small Nation, Get So Much News Focus?”
In today’s complex global landscape, there exists a stark contrast between those who support and oppose Israel. It is a tension that stretches across borders, reflecting a force compelling the people of Israel to establish their unity amid the discord.

Israel, one way or another, bothers the world at large. It stands vividly in the spotlight, revealing itself in all its potency like an open wound on the world’s collective body. It is a major disturbance that draws attention and demands a close examination of the more concealed dynamics at play.

Considering Israel’s tiny size compared to the global superpowers, the surface picture based on our immediate narrow, corporeal and materialistic worldview falls short of grasping this nation’s full impact. Despite its minuscule geographical footprint, the unity of the nation reverberates globally, perplexing anyone who tries to gauge its real impact. It is a puzzle that requires a shift in focus from the physical realm to the deeper connections that bind people and nations.

How, then, does such a small nation, almost inconspicuous on the world map, elicit such widespread attention and reaction? The answer is in understanding the intricate interplay between corporeal existence and spirituality. We, the people of Israel, stand at that very juncture. Whether or not we are aware of it, we actually hold the key to resolving the complexities surrounding us.

Despite our relative smallness in size and quantity, it becomes imperative for us, the people of Israel, to assert our significance on the world stage. Our existence indeed holds a great level of importance in the grand tapestry of global affairs. How? It is that when we unite as a single nation above our internal divisions, then we impact the world with an unprecedentedly harmonious and healthy influence. Doing so brings us into contact with the deeper positive forces dwelling in nature, and such a unifying influence within humanity’s subconscious awakens the ability in everyone to unite above the harmful, exploitative and divisive egoistic desires that lurk in human nature. By contrast, if we let our egoistic desires and our internal divisions get the better of us, then our own wound infects and inflames the rest of the world, leading to increasing animosity against us.

It is thus my hope that we evoke our unity “as one man with one heart” above our divisive drives, and realize our full potential to unite and spread unity worldwide.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “On MIT Predicting Society’s Collapse in 2040”
The civilization we should aim for is one that could prevent the predicted collapse, and it is built on universal love, interconnection and mutual assistance. However, achieving such a state in human society requires acknowledging the flaws in our current civilization, that we relate to each other with an egoistic and divisive mindset instead of upgrading our relations to positively connect above our egos. Our challenge lies in exposing these flaws in our present way of life.

We must recognize the flaws of our egoistic attitudes in an increasingly interdependent world in either a positive or negative manner: either through blows of suffering that will eventually lead us to a positive state, or by revealing a path that will let us progress to a better world without having to experience the blows.

Given the current state of humanity’s competitive, materialistic and individualistic way of life, it appears that we will have to develop through suffering. It now seems unlikely that humanity can recognize or understand this. Each person must first acknowledge the flaws in their inherent egoistic nature, and we can then begin a correction process where we each focus on self-transformation rather than trying to correct others.

Ideally, we hope to avoid significant blows, but the overall trend suggests otherwise. Our current path prioritizes individual success at the expense of others, leading to exploitation, manipulation and abuse of all kinds. This trajectory should make us realize that we are enemies of each other, and likewise, we are also enemies of ourselves. The true enemy is not external but resides within. It is crucial to bring humanity to this realization as soon as possible.

Self-transformation and self-correction are necessary for a future where love and goodness triumph over evil. In a world filled with relations of love and mutual care, people will abandon unnecessary work, enjoy leisure activities and care for their families. They will find joy in simple pleasures like walks in the park, listening to birds singing and relating positively to each other, being able to stop, greet and talk pleasantly at length with anyone. This vision, while some might find it ideal, can also be considered naive. In reality, we understand our lives as involving struggles over resources, territory and the like. But if we accept the direction to a civilization guided by principles of love and mutual consideration, then we will find plenty of struggles in the fact that we try to create and achieve a harmonious outcome together.

In a civilization with love and positive connection as its leading principles, the struggle will shift toward how to demonstrate more and more love for others. This will indeed be challenging. We can expect myriad dramas alongside joy and love. Dramas are an integral part of life, but ultimately, we will strive for mutual love and positive connection as our primary goal. We will then feel ourselves moving closer and closer to such a goal the more we value others over ourselves, and despite the challenges, we will experience a life of harmony, peace and happiness increasingly widen ahead of us.
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Michael Laitman on the Times of Israel: “Antisemitism’s Global Surge: Lessons from History and a Path to Unity”

He runs through the forest, escaping a pack of predators, stumbling, getting up, continuing, accumulating scratches and bruises. He looks back to check how close those after him are, and suddenly halts as soon as he flips his head forward.

There they are, encircling him. With no escape on the horizon, he instinctively looks to the sky…

The Jewish people have run across the face of the planet fleeing groups upon groups that wanted them gone, from Nimrod and the Babylonians in ancient Mesopotamia, to Pharaoh and his soldiers in ancient Egypt, to the Greeks, the Romans, the Spaniards and the Germans.

Today, as we look back on history, we observe ebbs and flows of antisemitism that, like a haunting specter, has erupted globally since Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers on October 7, 2023. We once again find ourselves amid converging circumstances that urge us to think hard about what we are doing here and where we are headed.

Today’s crisis is like a global version of what we experienced nearly 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. Human culture, rooted in self-serving material pursuits, clashed with the vision of Abraham, the patriarch of the people of Israel. He called on us to rise above and embrace a desire to love, bestow upon and positively connect to each other, overcoming our innate self-centeredness.

Our tumultuous journey across continents, spanning thousands of years, served to prepare us for this monumental occasion. Yet, the transition from self-serving intentions to altruistic ones that lead us to positively connect is no easy feat. Surrounded by animosity today, we face the challenge of trying to bring about the best possible future amid crisis, and through much prayer and inner effort, seek unity beyond our self-aimed desires.

This pursuit of unity marks a pivotal moment in our collective history. By lifting our eyes up to see the need to unite with each other, we can rise above the predators surrounding us. The current wave of hatred against us can then serve as a catalyst for our escape from this horde, precisely by uniting and praying for our unity to strengthen above the powers that awaken to tear us apart.

When we unite in such a way, our surroundings will transform. We will no longer see a landscape fraught with enemies. Instead, we will see people around us who wish to learn and apply the art of unity above division. If we treat this kind of unity as our shared pursuit, we can then find the remedy to our common affliction and pave the way for a harmonious and peaceful future.
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