Question: Let’s say you are explaining The Study of the Ten Sefirot, how is it that you constantly remember what to talk about?

Answer: It lives in me! It is my nature. I am not inventing anything or remembering something artificial. It is me! It is like you are asking me about myself or my family.

I just have to wake up, cheer up, and have some coffee. Then my systems wake up, like when you turn on the computer, for example. First of all the lamps warm up, etc. After that it does not matter what question you ask, I have an answer.

Why am I not preparing for lessons? Because I do not care what the topic is. You are asking me about the way I am arranged inside. You say: “What is Aba ve Ima, how does ZON rise or fall, or something happens to these worlds or those worlds?” But this is all the inner feelings of a person. After all, this does not exist outside of a person, but rather within him. This is why you are actually asking me how I feel, it is that kind of a question.

Comment: This is so incomprehensible! Let’s say when people study to be teachers, they first study the system and how it all works.

My Response: It is because they just learn it mechanically—there is such a system and such worlds. Ask them where these worlds exist—somewhere out there, in another dimension, in another area.

But they exist in me! These worlds do not exist anywhere at all, only inside a person. In the “Introduction to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Baal HaSulam writes that all the worlds are inside a person.

Question: So many books have been written about this! How do you manage to give different comments for different states?

Answer: I have all this stored inside. When you ask me something, I dig inside myself and spread out the information to you, as if from some warehouse.

Kabbalah is not just a science that I have studied. All these definitions, sensations, levels, states, and phenomena exist in me, and I am just telling you about them. Therefore it is not difficult for me at all.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. How Do You Know Kabbalah?” 11/12/13

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Question: Do I understand correctly that one of the basic principles of Kabbalah is to make commitments to others, fail, and because of lack of strength to turn to the Creator for help?

Answer: If you advance correctly, it will always be like that for you. You will try to do something good for others, and then it will begin to be revealed that you do not really want it.

You will try to do even better and more, but you will never succeed; and then, from disappointment, you will understand that you must turn to the Creator. It is on this that your synapses and all sorts of connections in your brain will be shorted. You will already have a predisposition for it, and such a state will start being created.

Question: What connections are important to build at this moment? Is that supposed to be a prayer?

Answer: Yes. It is a prayer, weeping, and the gate of tears; only they help a person. When he sees that everything is closed before him (and it should be so), and only the gates of tears are open, that is, only the Creator can help him, then it happens.

Question: Why does it take such a long time to build connections?

Answer: Our egoism does not allow us to do it faster. It keeps saying, “Dear, wait, you do not need others. Try it yourself.” It does not direct you to the Creator. The appeal to the Creator is the last thing; just as there are ten Sefirot, and only the last one works.

Question: In principle, it is the eternal question of students: “When will it happen already?” How long do they have to wait? Or does everyone come to this not at the same time?

Answer: It will happen when you want it to happen.

Comment: But it takes longer to get there for some and it is faster for others.

My Response: Of course. Some come to that point quicker, some slower, and not all together. A single person can be the one in the group to reach this. But a certain number come to this almost simultaneously.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Basic Principle of Kabbalah” 11/9/13

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do Jews feel different from other people?“

First of all, we feel ourselves in relation to something, because we cannot discuss a feeling in and of itself. Were there only me, I would not feel myself. I feel myself in relation to the environment, the air, the soil, the sun, the flowers—it does not matter what the object is, but feeling oneself means feeling oneself in relation to one’s surroundings. This is how we find ourselves in the world. We grow up from babies into grown adults through a process of discovering ourselves in relation to what surrounds us—the still, vegetative, animate and people.

Finding ourselves in relation to other people is of utmost significance in this process. From the moment we are born, we are surrounded by a family, whether big or small, i.e. people with whom we feel comfortable and safe, and who treat us favorably regardless of how we behave. In relation to our families, we do not have to examine, shrink and restrict ourselves, but we can be as we are, behaving like a baby in its mother’s arms, feeling like the world loves us. Everything is comfortable and positive in such a state.

However, when we grow up, we exit the framework of our families, and enter into other kinds of relations. We then need to discern why other people, whether they are closer or more distant from us, treat us one way or another. We learn from such relations that not all people are equal in their attitude toward us, and so we also have to treat them differently. We then have to restrict ourselves, to not be as open with them as to our families, and to not fully trust them.

Among the people who relate to us in various ways, there are those who are simply strangers, like anyone in the world, but there are also people who treat us in a specific special way, not because of our behavior, but because we belong to a special nation, the Jewish people. That attitude toward us can be positive, but it is mostly negative, i.e. if we are discussing humanity’s attitude to the Jewish people. I have discussed the reasons for the generally-negative attitude toward Jews at length in other places.

Based on the video “Do Jews Feel Different from Other People?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What makes a Jew a Jew?“

Jews came about by detaching from the ego, i.e. the egoistic desire to enjoy for self-benefit alone, and discovering the upper world of bestowal and love above the ego. Accordingly, in essence, Jews are supposed to detach from the ego and think in terms of the upper world, which in practice means constantly thinking about how to benefit others.

Today’s Jews, however, do not think in such a way. Nevertheless, the Jews originated from attaining the upper world back in Abraham’s time, when he guided a group of ancient Babylonians through a process of uniting above the growing egoistic divisiveness of that time. This group became known as “the people of Israel” and later as “the Jews.” Essentially, the attainment of the upper world gives a more global perspective to a person, since it stems from the connection of different forms and opposite poles of reality.

However, after their origin, the entire Jewish nation fell from their spiritual degree, where they related to reality out of a pure intention to love, bestow and positively connect, to our egoistic world and seemingly exist like everyone else. Jews thus have an inner split: On one hand, their ego is like anyone else’s in the world and even much bigger, but on the other hand, according to their internality, they are organized more toward the upper world’s qualities. Records from that initial connection to the upper world is the reason for Jews’ disproportionate success in the world, even though their success is nothing compared to what it could be. That is, they could be millions of times more successful than they are today because their preparations from nature are boundless, since they became Jews from initially breaking out of the boundaries of the egoistic desire and entering the boundless world of bestowal and love. They thus have the preparations to attain the upper integral world, because inside Jews is a feeling of an ability to arrange the world in a way that is boundless.

Based on the video “What Is the Origin of a Jew?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Comment: Your student writes: “Good afternoon, dear teacher! I appeal to you with a request: teach me to talk to the Creator. I have been studying Kabbalah for more than 12 years. My husband died two months ago. We lived together for 28 years. He wasn’t involved in our study, but he was such an angel behind me. He helped me study, work, and disseminate. He passed away and it’s very hard for me. My heart is torn! Your articles and videos help. I talk to my husband very often in my heart. I ask for his help in business and for advice. But this is not normal; he doesn’t exist. There is only the Creator. How can I learn to turn from the image of a person directly to the Creator? Please help me! Thank you very much for your reply, although I know that you don’t have time for private messages. Sincerely, Elena.”

My Response: First of all, my condolences of course. Second, the fact that your husband has physically died and is not next to you does not mean anything! Absolutely nothing! On the contrary, his connection with you is even stronger, only you don’t feel it to the extent that it exists.

Therefore please do not imagine him as missing, lost, or gone, but as if he is with you internally, mentally, and spiritually. And that is how you should treat him. Talk to him and talk to the Creator. Talk! Don’t do anything else! In precisely the way you want to talk, that is how you should talk. Both he and the Creator will understand you. And the best thing is that you speak in your simplest language.

Question: And what about the fact that Lena has doubts? “I’m talking to him, to my husband, but I should be talking to the Creator,” she says.

Answer: It doesn’t matter. You are simply talking to an upper force about your problems. Your husband, the Creator, and all of us are included in this upper force.

Question: Is it a correct conclusion that when I talk to someone from the heart, I always talk to the Creator?

Answer: With the Creator. “There is none else but Him.” This is the most terrible problem! When you look at other people, both bad and good, it’s just a representation of the Creator to you.

Question: So if we make an effort and manage to come to the conclusion that it is the law that “I talk to the Creator all the time,” then will the world change?

Answer: Yes, but people don’t want to understand it. It is hard to imagine; you have to force yourself.

Question: So is Lena doing everything right? She talks this way to her husband, whom she does not see but clearly feels. And is this the right way? Is this what prayer is called?

Answer: Yes, of course. What is prayer? The fact that the members of the great assembly (Knesset HaGdola) composed prayers is because people moved a little away from the Creator and could not address Him simply in a human way.

So they composed all sorts of prayers for them and replaced this simple heartfelt appeal to the Creator with words. The words are very correct. The people who composed these prayers were in attainment of the Creator. But this is not something that a person can say himself from the heart.

Question: But it is practically a revolution for a person that he can not read written prayers. There are a lot of written prayers, but how would one read from the heart and speak? And do you say that it will be almost the same with the same effect?

Answer: It will have an even greater effect. If a person speaks from the heart, then the effect is greater.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman 8/25/22

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Comment: You said that it makes no sense to suppress external factors, for example, enemies, but it is important to change them within yourself.

My Response: We have many axes of misperception of reality. First, everything that exists, exists in us. Everything that is perceived by us is perceived in our desire. It is either egoistic or altruistic.

What does it mean that I perceive something outside of me? It is how I am shown that I am made up of these elements, of these desires. Desires are projected outward in the form of inanimate, vegetative, animate nature, man, and then the Creator. All this exists in me and manifests itself to the extent that I can respond to it in the right way and correct it.

If, for example, harmful phenomena appear outside of me and I see them, it means that they exist in me, and I cannot correct them externally. Of course, I can destroy them, hit them, alienate them, and so on, but that is not correction. In principle, it is a sign of my weakness or lack of understanding of what is happening.

If I have a correct attitude toward the universe and what happens in it, then I must act differently. I must understand that all these phenomena exist in me, and I see them in front of me. Therefore, I need to correct them in me, and then they will disappear in such an unpleasant form.

Therefore, if all kinds of enemies rise up against me, I must look for these qualities in myself, correct them, and then they will be corrected outside. It is written: “Who is a hero? He who conquers his inclination.” And who is a hero of heroes? “He who turns his enemy into his friend.”
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Turn an Enemy into a Friend” 11/18/13

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Question: We often explain the appearance of a person in a Kabbalistic environment and his departure through some events, for example, his fatigue. But surely, he has functions when he was supposed to appear, fulfill his purpose, and then move away, i.e., to realize himself precisely in this way, right?

Answer: No. It is just that a person cannot cope with what he was given. He was given the opportunity to move forward, and he did not cope with it.

Question: Does it mean that if he enters this system, he must fully realize himself?

Answer: Yes. If he was given this opportunity, he can realize himself fully. This is how he should accept it. And we do not know what special conditions there may be regarding him.

Only as the system of connection between us is being revealed, perhaps some conditions will be revealed as to why he could not move on. I would not make any calculations. It is not for us.

We need to advance. We have an open system of connections before us. You can reach the world of infinity, that is, to full connection with everyone, up to the complete revelation of the Creator—the quality of bestowal and love between all.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Everyone Has Their Own Purpose” 11/15/13

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is Ray Kurzweil correct in saying that advances in science will enable man to live forever?“

My question in relation to Kurzweil’s statement is: What is so good about us constantly living all the time? Why live at all if we are never to die?

On the contrary, if we attain the purpose of our lives while we are alive, then we will reach a spiritual, eternal and perfect state, i.e. one where we will have no feeling of a lack. In our current lives, we constantly live out of feeling lacks and the need to fulfill our lacks. However, we can reach a state where we have no such feeling of a lack, but that we have an abundance of everything.

Developing ourselves spiritually has nothing to do with medicine or technology. It has to do with our inner world, i.e. with how we feel that we can give and receive from everyone, and to live in a world is boundless, with no beginning or end. Then, even if our bodies die, we will not feel it as death.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are your thoughts on the rise of right wing politics in Europe and around the world?“

The recent rise in popularity of the right is an outcome of our current stage of human development, where more and more people are seeing that the truth is with the more egoistic and resolute forces, i.e. those who stand by their opinion and not those who paint themselves various colors in the name of equality. The latter period is coming to an end.

We are now entering a more serious and realistic period. Nationalism and right wing politics, however, will not solve any problems. It is only a more realistic option than what we had before.

The more we develop, the readier we become to penetrate beyond the “nice words” that we hear, and increasingly inquire into human nature—all the while adjusting our behavior the more we learn about ourselves.

Our next stage of development toward a harmonious world is for us to realize where our egoistic nature situates us. In short, we live in hostility toward one another, and positive development from here requires learning how to positively connect, and what such connection depends on, i.e. fundamental changes in our media, culture and education systems. We can then take some small steps toward a more harmonious state.

The current rise of the right shows us that we want to view ourselves more realistically. Then, when we come to acknowledge our egoistic nature, we can start thinking about how to truly improve our lives.

I am not discouraged by this tendency toward the right, but on the contrary, I see it is a step toward a more correct and realistic state. It is a state that needs to unfold, and afterward, we can think about what we can do in order to transition to a better state.

Based on the video “The Rise of the Right in Europe – A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What was the result of NASA hitting the asteroid?“

Indeed, NASA managed to hit a giant asteroid and divert it from its orbit, and NASA’s director stated that NASA is trying to be ready for anything that the universe might throw our way.

I think it is a positive development, but I also think that the universe is not throwing any asteroids at us to begin with.

If we seek a true sense of security on our planet, then we need to acknowledge the existence of a higher force in the universe that is hidden from us. It is a force that encompasses and manages everything and everyone, and through this force, we can manage the universe.

We connect to this force in our desire, when we want to come closer to it: to make our desire as its desire. What is its desire? Its desire is for us to operate it toward everybody’s benefit, and that everything will connect as a single system. In other words, the general force of the universe is waiting for us—human beings—to activate it in a way that is good and benevolent toward everyone. When we realize the higher force’s desire toward us in such a way, then we also alleviate the blows that we receive from the universe, and will instead feel a major embrace, as if it is hugging us—a sensation of eternity and perfection.

Therefore, if we adjust our inner force—a small desire within us—to adapt to nature, we can then manage the universe and feel secure without the need to create devices that crash into asteroids.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is a saying, “Make your desire as His desire,” and then He—the higher force—will make His desire like yours. The higher force, or general force of nature, is also called “the Creator” in Kabbalah. If we wish to come closer to the Creator with a positive intention, then He will do the same toward us.

In practice, coming closer to the higher force of nature means exerting a positive influence over all people. If we do so, then we will start feeling that we can organize the forces around us in nature, on our planet and in outer space harmoniously.

Based on the video “NASA Hits an Asteroid – A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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