Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is money evil, or is it just a myth?“

Money is the universal equivalent for effort. It is an indicator for our personal exertion that shows the extent to which we succeed by using the special talents we receive. For instance, money can somewhat measure whether one person is smarter, more successful, stronger or luckier than another person. It is essential to have a universal equivalent for such measurements.

Having such a universal equivalent is not evil. We cannot measure each and every person, yet we still need to be able to somewhat evaluate people and their efforts.

In Hebrew, the word for money is “Kesef,” which derives from the word for covering, “Kisuf.” It means that we cover our efforts correctly, with an intention to bestow goodness upon others, and the measure of covering our efforts is called “money” (“Kesef”). However, in its original Hebrew use, such a meaning of money/covering implies spiritual efforts and results.

Yet it also applies to our corporeal world. As mentioned, money is a certain universal equivalent we use to measure human efforts. It can, however, be replaced with another universal equivalent: relationships. That is, when we understand human relations and exercise positive connections among each other and with nature, when the laws of nature becomes our common universal equivalent, then the other dimensions will disappear, except for our inner attitudes to each other, our relationships. In the language of Kabbalah, such a measurement is called a “Masach” (“screen”) and “Ohr Hozer” (“reflected light”). The screen and reflected light become spiritual tools akin to the way in which we use coins and banknotes today. The strength of the screen and reflected light that we receive is equivalent to the strength we have to resist our own egoistic desires, which prioritize self-benefit over benefiting others, and raise the importance of benefiting others over benefiting each person’s own self. We can then measure the extent to which we positively connect in ties of bestowal above our egoistic resistance.

The more we can bestow above our egoistic resistance, the more we discover true spiritual wealth, which is eternal and completely fulfilling, unlike corporeal wealth that never truly satisfies. Wealth is about how much of ourselves we can give to others. That is the high spiritual root of money, and it has since descended to simple cash and coins that we relate to in our corporeal reality. However, we need to descend to the very bottom, and see the true egoistic extent of our relationships, in order to realize the lowliness of such relations and reach a critical juncture where we develop a genuine desire for change. At that point, nature’s positive forces will lift us. We just need to realize the lowliness of our current state and the desire to change, and accordingly ask for the kind of change that nature responds to: to improve our attitudes to each other and wish for nature’s quality of bestowal to enter into our connections.

Based on the video “Is Money Evil?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: What is deja vu? Is it a burst of memories or some kind of recorded program that a person sees?

Answer: There is nothing supernatural about deja vu. It is just how our brain digests everything. We do not enter either the past or the future, we are in the present all the time. Only this present can be accelerated with the help of a stronger influence of the upper light.

The light constantly acts on the desire it has created. Under its influence, the desire gradually develops in leaps, since it consists of four stages of development: still, vegetative, animate, and the human level. All four stages exist in still objects, plants, animals, and humans.

The desire develops to the fourth stage and then there is a qualitative leap. Then comes the next development in four stages, and again a qualitative leap, and so on. The light influences this desire evenly all the time, which develops qualitatively and quantitatively.

At first, the development of stages one, two, three, and four occurs mainly quantitatively. And when it goes to the next four stages, there is a qualitative leap, although quality and quantity are always interdependent on each other.

There is no sorcery or magic in Kabbalah but only one thing. When you understand how the world works, what you are going for,  and you connect physically in advance, do this training, expose yourself to the influence of the light, and realize that you are working with it, you attract it, you want it, and you know that the light is working to put you together with others.

By making such attempts, you accelerate the influence of the light on yourself because you, yourself take an active part, although a very small one, but still such that the light has a more effective impact on you. This is all that Kabbalah can do, nothing else.

Just like in our world, when raising a child, we give him some exercises, i.e., we accelerate his development along a kinder path. Of course, he will live out his years anyway, he still has his own program, and his fate depends on others anyway because we are all interconnected, but we are trying to provide him with the best tools for the path of life.

The same is true on the spiritual path. There is nothing special here. That is how we work. This technique is called Kabbalah—accelerating our development in a good way.

I hope that the uniqueness of this system will finally be revealed and will allow us, like a small child, to quickly walk on a good path at a good pace, to gain intelligence, strength, and in good health, in good connection with others to come to a good result and not look for it in the dark, like little lost children.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What is Deja Vu?” 5/19/13

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is Kabbalah in one sentence?“

Kabbalah is a wisdom that explains the single force of nature, which determines everything, and which exists and acts in every person and in the whole of humanity.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on the article “The History of the Wisdom of Kabbalah” by Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the qualities of a righteous person?“

At the outset, it is worthwhile clarifying that what people commonly think of as righteous—as people who give of themselves for the betterment of others, e.g. people who give money, clothes, and food to the needy—such people are not actually righteous.

Why? It is because such people have a natural desire to do good deeds, and instinctively following one’s desires is not a quality of a righteous person.

A righteous person is one who hosts two counter-forces, positive and negative, and who exercises their free choice to raise the positive force and action against their own natural desire.

The negative force is our egoistic desire, which makes us want to benefit ourselves without any concern for anyone else.

The positive force lets us receive what we need for our sustenance, and give the surplus we receive to benefit others, despite the negative force that tells us to take everything for ourselves. A righteous person is one who hosts these two forces, and who elevates the positive force over the negative one.

When we give of ourselves to others against our innate desire to receive for ourselves, we bring correction to our desire: from receiving for ourselves to giving unto others. Our soul, our collective desires, then become filled with a divine light.

If we receive what we need for our sustenance, and give the rest for the benefit of others, then we become great righteous people. Even more so, we become balanced with nature. Holding the right balance in life and with nature means that we leave for ourselves what we need in order to live normal lives, and contribute our surplus to society. It does not mean living merely on bare bodily necessities. We can be healthy and wealthy, and give a lot to others.

We are talking about an inclination in our hearts, and the more this inclination sorts itself out—from evil to good—in our hearts, the more we will see its positive materialization throughout the world.

Based on the video “What Are the Qualities of a Righteous Person?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: People love humor; it helps to perceive everything more easily and with irony. Is this the closest feeling to spirituality?

Answer: No, it is not the closest one, but people who are in spirituality love humor because it contains a comparison of two opposite qualities, which is the very thing on which spiritual development and the spiritual world is based.

Question: How do you use humor as a Kabbalist?

Answer: Since I know that everything is one continuous goodness and love and what seems scary to us, or gloomy, and even tragic compared to the spiritual process is just some kind of external game, like frightening faces that an adult makes in front of a child. It causes a humorous attitude in us toward ourselves, our life, our actions, motives, and forces.

First, humor is a call to look at yourself from the side, to be independent of what you feel, to make fun of yourself, and to see all your shortcomings from the outside. All this is nature. It is not me, instead it is the Creator or it doesn’t matter who.

That is, humor allows you to be frank, more balanced, kind, and humane. Humor cannot be evil because it is a correct understanding of human nature, agreement with its manifestations, and a kind, patient attitude toward it. Therefore, humor is especially appreciated by Kabbalists.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Humor Will Save the World” 5/20/13

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Question: What are the Moon and the Sun in relation to our perception? From the point of view of Kabbalah, what is the Earth in relation to these two objects?

Answer: The Earth is the receiving part. It receives the light of the Sun; it rotates around its axis and each time exposes its other side to the Sun. The Earth is between the Sun and the Moon and therefore obscures the Moon from the Sun. This determines the phase of the Moon.

Since everything is arranged in such a way that the Moon revolves around the Earth with a certain periodicity, we have a lunar calendar. The Earth, as it rotates around its axis, creates an earthly, circadian calendar, and as it rotates together with the Moon around the Sun, it creates an annual calendar.

In addition, the rotation of the entire solar system creates special periods that are marked in the Jewish calendar (29 years and so on).

From the point of view of Kabbalah, the Sun represents Zeir Anpin, the Earth represents Malchut, and the Moon shows the degree of connection between them. The measure in which the Earth has a screen can be seen in the phases of the Moon. The extent to which the Earth can protect the Moon from sunlight shows us the size of the screen.

We see this in the phases of the Moon in reverse because I do not see myself except for my reflection. The waxing moon means that my screen starts to grow and it grows until the full moon and then begins to decrease. Therefore, of the four stages of development, two are growing and two are decreasing and then there is a new period. This is exactly what happens in the development of the spiritual instrument, the Kli (vessel).
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Sun, Moon, Earth” 5/26/13

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Will AI ever replace the judicial system?“

Scientists in China have created an AI judicial system has been shown to prosecute with 97% accuracy from tests at the prosecutor’s office in Shanghai. It was trained on 17,000 cases, and the system was found to arraign on charges of fraud, gambling, dangerous driving, theft and igniting unrest. For the time being, it helps the prosecutor, while the final decision remains in human hands. Nevertheless, there is a tendency to think that AI will be able to fully replace the judicial system in the near future.

I am certain that it will come to pass because we are predictable and limited beings. Prosecutors themselves are often as corrupt as the people whom they prosecute, and so an AI judicial system could likely be fairer than the current system.

That brings up the question: Why is there so much corruption in our current judicial system to begin with?

It is simply a consequence of a society that is uncorrected and egoistic, i.e. that we each host a desire to exploit others for personal benefit. There is thus nothing we can currently replace it with.

Until we repair human relations on a mass scale, from prioritizing self-benefit to benefiting others, then our own corrupt nature will become increasingly evident in our various systems.

Based on the video “Will AI Ever Replace the Judicial System?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do you judge someone fairly?“

You judge someone fairly by being an intermediary between the Creator and the world.

The world can bring any charges against the Creator, and a fair judge can acquit everyone of almost all of these charges. That is, a fair judge should be neither a judge nor a prosecutor, but a defender, a “justifier.”

In other words, a fair judge passes acquittals, not sentences. How can we justify someone who is completely under the Creator’s control? If we see that he committed a crime, then the Creator committed the crime through such a person. We need to thus rise to a level above judgments, courts and investigations, a level of kindness and mercy.

A fair judge considers all other people as judges who judge him. In the Torah, judges were appointed collectively by the people. Naturally, they were held to great standards and expectations. A fair and true judge is both the Creator’s and the people’s representative. He must unite them, and be above the fray, so to speak.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do you think you have the qualities to be a judge? Why? What qualities are important?“

A true and fair judge is an intermediary between the Creator and the world.

The world can bring any charges against the Creator, and a fair judge can acquit everyone of almost all of these charges. That is, a fair judge should be neither a judge nor a prosecutor, but a defender, a “justifier.”

In other words, a fair judge passes acquittals, not sentences. How can we justify someone who is completely under the Creator’s control? If we see that he committed a crime, then the Creator committed the crime through such a person. We need to thus rise to a level above judgments, courts and investigations, a level of kindness and mercy.

A fair judge considers all other people as judges who judge him. In the Torah, judges were appointed collectively by the people. Naturally, they were held to great standards and expectations. A fair and true judge is both the Creator’s and the people’s representative. He must unite them, and be above the fray, so to speak.

Based on the video “Will AI Ever Replace the Judicial System?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Who was The Zohar written for?“

The Zohar was written for people who want to reach life’s peak, the purpose of creation, and strive to change their intention from our inborn egoistic one—reception for personal benefit alone—to one where we bestow, love and positively connect to others.

The Zohar provides the force, called “light,” which makes it possible to invert our intention in such a way, and discover the positive force dwelling in nature within our corrected intention.

Therefore, The Zohar, like the entire Torah, can be either the elixir of life or the potion of death. If we wish to study The Zohar, then we should check our intention for approaching it.

If we wish to change our intention by drawing the light that we can attract through reading The Zohar, then with the help of its study, The Zohar—a commentary on Five Books of Torah—becomes an elixir of life, as it is written, “I [the Creator] created the evil inclination [human egoism] and I gave the Torah for its correction because the light in it returns to the source.”

If we do not strive for an intention to bestow, that is, to return to the source, but our egoistic desires motivate our study of The Zohar i.e. to be fulfilled and to set other goals for ourselves, called “idolatry,” then our study turns into the potion of death and distances us from the purpose of creation.

Therefore, we should take care and remember that while reading The Zohar, we should prepare our intention in order to be granted the positive force of nature: love, bestowal and connection.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on May 27, 2010 on “The Book of Zohar: VaIkra.” Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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