Entries in the 'Prayer and Intention' Category

Spiritual Mantra

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: From your spiritual height can you recommend to us what would be preferable to do for the sake of unity? The years are going by.

Answer: If you are always thinking about unity in order to discover the only force (the Creator) in it and feel pleasure within it that you summon through your actions, then there is nothing more that needs to be done.

If my thoughts are directed towards this, that in all of my actions in connection to others I discover the Creator in order to feel the pleasure that He feels, then with this I build a vessel (Kli) and summon its filling with the characteristic of bestowal and love, meaning the right state of these two objectives. There is nothing else in the world. We only need to be involved in this; there is no importance to anything else. Whatever you do, whatever you receive, you must aspire to this one goal.

In general there is no obligation to tune into this only in a group or a dissemination event. You can do this wherever you want.

As is written, (Deuteronomy 6:4-6:5) Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might. Whether you are sitting or walking, going to sleep or waking up, are at home or outside of it, you must remember this.

The prayer, “Shema Israel” (“Hear, O Israel”) is the same mantra that determines the most essential intention in all a person’s activities. Therefore, it is considered to be the central prayer; even though nobody knows what it was written for.
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From the Conversation at Sochi Convention 6/9/14

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Becoming Grateful Guests

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe study that there is no other work but reaching connection. But we don’t create the connection by ourselves, which is bitter, general misconception that corrupts our way and prolongs the exile.

We should only want to connect and to pin this connection on an external factor, on the upper force. We don’t correct ourselves, but only discover the need for it.

The need for connection stems from our yearning to avoid afflictions and from the desire to delight the source of the Light that manages us. It is quite a long way, a whole ladder of spiritual levels that we have to climb in our understanding and our consciousness in the connection with the source of Light.

Therefore, we must first stop thinking that we are the ones who establish our connection. The call “let’s connect” means “let’s connect to the source of the upper force, the upper force of bestowal that will connect us.” All we have to do is to just raise MAN (female waters), which, on one hand, is a request and a prayer for the revelation and the raising of a deficiency. On the other hand, it is food that we eat during the forty years of wandering in the desert.

This means that we are not required to do anything but raise MAN, the full recognition of our dependence on the upper force. We have to invoke the right deficiency in our hearts and try to connect them into one heart that wants to be connected. We then turn to the host with the request to connect us in order to delight Him and become grateful guests.
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From the preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/03/14

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Working In A Broken Heart

Dr. Michael LaitmanRamhal, “Mighty in Heaven”: The sages said, “The work in the heart is a prayer.” Thus Nukva, because of how it manages all the worlds, is called a heart. And it turns out that all the hearts in all the people are nothing but parts of that heart. This means that all the hearts stem from Nukva and are therefore called its parts. And here this matter of the heart is interpreted in all the souls that stem from it.

And it turns out that there is no whole heart unless it includes all the phases of the heart that stem from it in all the souls. Then when it includes (them all), it will understand in the sense of “the heart understands” all of the general Providence.

We should understand that we are parts of the general Malchut that is called the general heart, and that we should unite our hearts, and thus correct them. None of us needs a private correction; there is nothing to correct in a person, only his attitude towards others.

This is the first discernment that we have to realize: No one is corrupt; it is only the connections between us that are corrupt. By correcting these connections between us, we can merge into one general heart. According to our connection we will understand the One who bestows, His level, and His attribute because we will become like Him.

This is what we should engage in, in our connection above all the egoistic discernments that are revealed, separate us, keep us apart, and make us repelled by one another. All the events in our life are meant to show us the place of our work and where there is no connection between us yet.

Everything that happens to us in this world is the sum of all the individual states that stem from lack of connection. When these states connect, we feel this reality as this world, which means the lack of connection in different discernments. It is revealed to us to the extent that we can survive under the conditions of lack of connection and start our correction from it.

Therefore, all our work is in raising MAN for this connection by using all the means we have. Then the Light that once used to fill the whole vessel of the soul influences all our parts and reconnects them, as we return to being one soul, one heart,

All our work is done in a broken heart in order to connect our hearts in it, and in accordance with this, we  feel and understand what it is to be one whole general heart.

If we feel that we are like a guest before the host and from this state we pull the lines to our current state, we will never be wrong in any of the states that we find ourselves in.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/3/14

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There Are No Words In Spirituality

Dr. Michael LaitmanIf you open a Kabbalistic prayer book, you will see individual letters instead of complete words; they express sensations, inner actions, screens, the repulsion and attraction of Light. There are no words in spirituality.

We usually use the words of this world and relate them to spirituality; it is common. But we can do without words. A person who attained spirituality doesn’t operate with words.

Baal HaSulam prayed to descend from his level to a state where he could find adequate words, by dressing those attainments into “material” words so that they could be understood, to convey to those below him what he attained

In spirituality, there are only sensations. I don’t have to dress them into words, since I have Reshimot and tastes (Ta’amim). I don’t have to explain them to myself unless I am willing to share my impression with others. But sharing is always limited. Not a single word can include the whole meaning that it actually embraces.

Therefore, a prayer is the work in the heart, a cry from the depths of the heart, without any language or a prayer book. Prayer books were written for us by Kabbalists (members of the Great Assembly) before the exile when we all fell from the spiritual level. If you fall from the awareness of the spiritual worlds into this world, you have nothing to say about spirituality. And so they wrote prayers for us so that we could at least talk about spirituality in the form of prayers. Nonetheless, the connection with spirituality still remains, and when during the exile numerous people pronounce the words that are written in the prayer book they cause a certain “agitation” in the Surrounding Light that in turn protects the nation. But they work only at the time of exile and not for long. It is not a real prayer.

Currently we are arriving at the state when we have to start working on the point in the heart that draws us back into Bina.
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From the lesson 10/18/10, The Zohar

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For The Sake Of My Friends, I Will Seek The Good

Dr. Michael LaitmanPsalms, 122:8-122:9: “For the sake of my brethren and my companions, I shall now speak of peace within you. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I shall beg for goodness for you.”

A person must constantly justify the Creator regarding all events that happen to him and his friends, the people who are spiritually close to him.

In our spiritual relationship, we must pray that our friends will feel the good relationship of the Creator. And for ourselves, we must ask to feel the relationship of the Creator as good all the time.
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From the Sochi Convention 6/10/14, Lesson 2

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What I Lack

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam (Rungs of the Ladder) (1987/88), Article 27, “What is, The Creator will not Tolerate the Proud, in the Work”: … Hence, when one prays, he acts as a “representative of the collective” because he is praying for the entire assembly of Israel, of which he is a part, and for this reason one offers a special prayer, namely requesting the Creator to give him help from above, in order to know his true deficiency, and precisely according to this, one prays for help.

Often, we stand on the path of the correction of the soul, not knowing what to do. Something happens to us, but what it is, is unclear. For example, we do not understand how to address the wide audience, how to take care of it.

From time from time, it will appear more distinct. We do not know what exactly to ask, what exactly we lack. This problem occurs constantly and we must get used to it.

In general, our Reshimot aimed at the purpose of creation, albeit broken, are directed toward correction. And it would seem once this Reshimo has been manifested in me, what more is there? It remains only to awaken, ask for the desire, and receive the Light that Reforms.

However, it is difficult to discern exactly what I am missing. Therefore, a person raises the “prayer before the prayer,” and this request is not verified yet, as much as our work with the masses is not verified. In this case, it is important to establish the primary connection, like an annoying child who in principle does not need anything but wants attention. Something similar happens between adults; it is a matter of communication or its renewal.

It is customary to behave with the Creator in the same way. Honestly, it is not important what question I ask Him. The very address helps me take the right direction. I want connection. I want His attention, I ask Him to look at me, and only then do I raise the true request.

The initial prayer does not even have to come from the heart. Let’s say that I open a prayer book, and reading the text, I tune in a bit to the desired wave. Then, the true desire is revealed to me from Above.

Why is this desire considered true if I have not experienced it before? It is because the Reshimot that remained after the breaking of the soul are revealed to me.

Thus, writes Rabash, the prayer that a man raises for what seems missing to him is just a wonderful means, due to which the Creator sends him from Above the answer for the knowledge of what he really lacks. This is what a person really asks the Creator about.

This happens because it is very difficult for us to find and extract the true Reshimot remaining from the breaking of the soul. They appear as a sequence on the path from here to the end of correction, and the main thing is to ask, to demand, so that the correct desire is revealed to me.

It is said about this, “Let them understand what they say; answer what they ask.” In other words, put the right prayer into their mouths.

Thus, the true prayer is revealed from Above. When a person comes to this in his mind and heart, when he merges with this desire, then he reaches this miraculous means, the prayer that precedes the prayer. He prays from the bottom of his heart, not yet knowing what he will ask later.

This state is called a “messenger of society.” A person prays for the whole community of Israel, in which he is included.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/20/14

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Connecting The Two Sides Of The Coin

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How is it possible not to depart from an intention for a single moment and do everything for the sake of the Creator?

Answer: For this, you must be in full and absolute adherence with the friends so that, among you, the feeling called the Creator is revealed.

The Creator is your inner feeling, Bore (Bo Re), meaning come and see with your inner vision. Reach such a state, feel it, and remain within it. This is called adherence with the Creator.

However, this is attained only with a shared, collective Kli, in other words, in your right connection with the friends, with mutual wholeness, building a mosaic such that all of its borders merge into the creation of only a single desire.

This happens under the influence of the Light. From our side, only effort is required, half of the coin (the Shekel), and the second half, which is the realization of this effort, comes from Above.

Speaking about the Creator (about the love of friends) and being with the Creator (realizing the characteristic of bestowal and love) are two different things.
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From the Sochi Convention 6/10/14, Lesson 2

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The Right Action

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In order to leave the ego, is it necessary to want this?

Answer: The person does not want to leave the ego! I can play all the time, deceiving myself that I want to leave the ego. But in fact, I don’t want that, and every time in the next stage, this will become clearer and clearer, until the Upper Light will change me.

Question: Through involvement with integral education, we see how we advance and grow together with the external public, and here the sharpness of the goal, the intention, becomes blurred. It follows that we still are continuing to develop egoistically.

Answer: Every moment you must check yourself: “What is happening with me? What am I doing?” You need to watch all of your physical actions, every word!

This is constant internal work, “What motivates me? What for? What kind of conclusions must I draw from this? What kind of result will this bring me, spiritual or material?” In the end, it could be that we are slowing down our actions, but they will be more correct.

Question: What could the criteria for this truth be? Indeed, each one of us is found in his own truth, in scrutiny.

Answer: It is necessary to scrutinize the truth all the time. It is necessary to advance! In the end nothing just disappears, for all of the efforts will be gathered together.

So, it is not necessary to be clever. In other words, it is not necessary to draw conclusions on the basis of what you feel now, how you think. There could only be risk in this.

The main thing is to invest effort. If you cannot do this internally, then invest external effort. In the end, it will create a new level of consciousness.
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From the Sochi Convention 6/10/14, Lesson 2

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Slaves Of Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe dependence of the upper Partzuf within the lower Partzuf is worse than slavery. There is dependence through the force of evil, alien power. But there can also be slavery through the good life force, when the upper loves the lower.

And then it transmits to the lower because of its love, and does everything that the lower requests, of course, only if it is for the good of the lower. It will always be waiting in order to know how it can help the lower. This is slavery, as if, in an inverted form.

The upper cannot cause any damage to the lower. But until we begin to request, to raise MAN (Mayin Nukvin – female waters), to raise the upper AHP (Awzen Hotem, Peh),  the upper will not raise its AHP. It will only wait.

This is called, the Shechina’s sorrow, Malchut of Atzilut greatly longs to raise its AHP and waits for our prayer. But by itself it is not able to raise it, but only according to a request, according to the awakening by the lower ones, the sparks GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim) that are in the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, Assiya awaken the AHP of Atzilut that fell into the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, Assiya.

The upper is with us in slavery, like a parent with his beloved children. Love captivates us as slaves, just like hatred. However, love makes a slave of the upper, one who loves, and hatred turns the lower into a slave, one who hates.

If the upper hates, then the lower becomes its slave, and if the upper loves, then it is in slavery.

Question: In which situations does the upper answer the prayer of the lower?

Answer: The upper answers the prayers of the lower on the condition that they are ready to annul themselves for the sake of connection and ask the upper for the strength to connect between themselves into one Partzuf. The upper realizes their connection and creates a common Partzuf within which the Light is revealed.

This means that in order to receive help from the upper you need to want to connect with others in the common Partzuf, not your individual one but the one that belongs to everyone, which is called Malchut. This is called the prayer of many.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah lesson 6/8/14

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The Challenging Work Of The Priest

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What determines our ability to absorb the deficiencies and the pain of the public and raise this prayer to the upper?

Answer: Through this work you have to identify the pain of the concealment of the Creator behind the pain of the lower, of the people. The only thing missing in this world is the power of love and bestowal, which means the revelation of the Creator.

All of the public’s corporeal deficiencies have to be processed and turned into a desire for the revelation of the Creator to the created beings, to the revelation of the force of bestowal. Thus you raise your fallen AHP (vessels of reception) from the lower level, which means from the public, when you are I impressed by their suffering. But when you raise it to your level, you process their MAN (their prayer and demand) by your vessels of bestowal into the demand for the Upper Light, which is the only force that can works on  everything.

Then you turn to the AHP of the upper with a different request. People want cheaper food, cheaper housing, etc, while you demand the Light that Reforms, the Light of love and bestowal. This is your work, the work of the priests. You receive their corporeal demands when they all cry out like babies: “Give me, give me!” but you process their deficiency into the right deficiency of the upper level, which is why you are in the middle.

The role of the one in the middle is challenging. You are like a mother who hears her baby crying and who needs to understand exactly what he needs. She processes his cries into the right need. This is the challenging work of the middle level. On the one hand, you are made of the Creator, and on the other hand, you are made of the public by being between them. This is the role of the priests, the ministers of the Creator.
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From the preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/08/14

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