Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is Purim? Why is it significant?“

Purim represents a state called “the end of correction,” where humanity merges into perfect harmonious connection with nature.

The Kli (vessel) at the end of correction merges with the light of the end of correction—the Kli of Ein Sof (infinity) and the light of Ein Sof—where we feel eternity and perfection, and where we leave behind all of our problems and sorrows, and we enter into a boundless world full of light and joy. That is why it is said that the day should be full of wine and other alcoholic drinks.

It is significant because the more we emulate the sensation of existing in the perfect eternal world, where there are no conflicts and no problems, but only one light filling reality, then we will draw that state of perfect connection to exist among us and fill us.

Based on a speech by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 13, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Should Iraq recognize Israel?“

Faruk, a 14-year-old from Northern Iraq, was dying due to congenital heart disease and doctors in Iraq had already given up hope. Through the connections of an aid organization, doctors in an Israeli hospital ended up operating on him and saving his life. On returning home to Iraq, his father said: “I am saying this from here, from Iraq to Israel. I kiss the eyes of your doctors, one by one. Israeli people are a merciful nation.” Such stories are indeed heartwarming, and raise the question: why can we not normalize the relations between these two countries?

On one hand, such stories touch the hearts of many, but on the other hand, they fail to touch the hearts of leaders. In short, we should not look to leaders for a positive solution, but instead look to tuning ourselves toward positively connecting to each other. Otherwise, we can expect to see our world heading toward greater and greater evil.

We need to understand human nature and the nature of the world. The reason we are “stuck” in a negative tendency toward worsening relations among people, societies and nations is in the hands of the people of Israel. The ball is in our court: we need to reach positive connections among each other first and foremost. It is very difficult because we accumulate within ourselves the entire ego of the world, all of its evil.

Nonetheless, we need to perform a special heart operation on the people of Israel by inviting the positive force dwelling in nature to improve our connections. We do so by becoming an example to all people that we wish to come closer and positively connect. Such is how we can save ourselves from myriad troubles. We need to understand that people hate us only to the extent that we hate each other.

The nations of the world are not evil. Rather, our negative connections project onto them. We are the ones who can bring about correction, since we are the nation who originally reached the state of “love your neighbor as yourself” above our differences, and we need only want to achieve that state again. If we would implement such a correction of our relations to each other, then we would see a major positive response— one of them being the feeling of Muslims not just as our cousins, but as our brothers.

Based on the video “Israeli Doctors Save Iraqi Child’s Life – 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: “How is war today different to war in the past?“

In today’s war, we have the means to rise above the war and the conflict, and connect two opposing sides in a way where they complement each other.

In the current war, like in the previous world war, the world rose against the desire of one power to control others by force.

In addition to war manifesting in the physical world, it also plays out psychologically, in our thoughts and desires, at the very point where we agree on being in control. That is, we have self-determining matter, egoism, at the center of our being, built on receiving pleasure for itself alone. It is opposite to the altruistic force of nature, which is built on the bestowal of pleasure, and which precedes the egoistic matter.

Since the egoistic force is lower in status—a receiver—to the altruistic force—a giver—it comes to disagree with its status as a receiver, and instead chooses to acquire the giver’s status, equal in form with the altruistic force that created it. Accordingly, we see how today’s world holds a general mutual consensus against the desire of one power to control over another by force.

I very much hope that both sides will better understand the increasingly interconnected and interdependent ties we have today, how there are forces in nature that advance us to more unified states, and that they are ultimately awakening the wars we experience. Moreover, these forces also give us the opportunity to rise above the current wars we face, and unite.

I also hope that this understanding will lead us to a state where the conflicting sides will discover—which they indeed need to discover—the way by which they can both be satisfied, and moreover, that they will receive twofold what they would receive from one side defeating the other—”twofold” because they would draw the positive forces dwelling in nature into the connection that they establish.

War today is thus different to war in the past in that, today we have the means to rise above war and conflict, and connect two opposing sides in mutual complementarity.

I thus wish for all sides in conflict today to seek and discover unity above division, and by doing so, mutually enjoy a whole new level of peace, harmony and prosperity.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 14, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are some interesting characteristics of Jewish people?“

Israel has the world’s highest rate of kidney donations to strangers, which serves as an example of a paradox: On one hand, we find such displays of sensitivity and support in Israel, and on the other hand, we see a place where people’s egos often collide. How do these two extremes coexist?

It is indeed characteristic of Jews, who both rise to the sky and also fall into the depths of the abyss. Our nature is such that we cannot be only in one extreme, but since we were originally established as a people who reached a state of unity above our divisive drives, then it becomes characteristic of us to hold two opposites within ourselves.

We now have to make all possible efforts in order to elevate ourselves from the depths of the abyss, i.e. from immersion in our egoism—our desire to enjoy at the expense of each other—to correct our egoism, and instead use our desires to bring benefit to others.

We have the ability to invert everything that appears negative to its positive, i.e., to the benefit of others, with the help of the intention. The intention is the thought of what we wish to get out of a certain action, and a good intention is one where we aim to benefit others through our actions. Likewise, every person has the ability to conduct their every action with a good intention for the benefit of others. It is thus worthwhile for us to exercise this ability—to engage in building environments that nurture the creation of a good intention—in order to reach a more harmonious, peaceful and happier state of existence.

Based on the video “How Two Extremes Can Exist in the Same Place” 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: “Is Israel treating Palestinians the same way Nazis had treated Jews?“

This was one of the questions on a survey of the Norwegian public, published by the Oslo-based Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities, and more than a third of those who answered believed that Israel treats Palestinians the same as how Nazis treated Jews during the Holocaust. Such an attitude coincides with Norwegian schools and media presenting Israel as the great villain of the Middle East. It thus raises the question of what will future generations think about Israel if such is the material being circulated, and have we not progressed beyond such attitudes?

We have not progressed beyond any of these attitudes because we have not corrected anything. Antisemitism does not pass, but only on condition that Jews change themselves, i.e. that Jews start relating to themselves, to their lives, to their place and to the world differently and truthfully.

We need to know why we exist, and who we are as a nation. We exist in order to show the world the corrected form of human society as a whole. The corrected form is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we make progress in that direction, then we will be able to influence the entire world, Norway included. This is the rule by which we all need to live. If we lived by it, then all people would feel a positive illumination coming from the Jewish people, and thanks to the Jews, all people would also come closer to realizing that rule.

Today, we are condemned for how we treat the Palestinians. However, if we in Israel will start implementing relations of love for one another, even if only a little, then the extent to which we reach mutual love for each other will accordingly change the world’s view of us. We would then also find ourselves closer to Palestinians, Norwegians and everyone else.

We Jews once held relations of mutual love, but we since lost it. We developed a common hatred toward each other in its place, and that is the source of our every problem. If we fix our broken connections, then we would also correct our relations with the rest of the world. The cure for antisemitism is thus in the love between us.

Based on the video “Does Israel Treat Palestinians the Same Way Nazis Treated Jews?” 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: “How can I become more empathetic?“

A student at a school approached his teacher, because he saw a girl who had come to school in a torn coat. Since it was winter and her coat was inadequate to stand up against the cold weather, the student suggested a trade setup where anyone could give whatever they wanted with the aim of making sure that every kid in school would have an umbrella, boots and a coat for winter. The teacher was very moved, shared the idea with the parents, and it was set up in two hours.

A question that arises from this heartwarming situation is why are we all not as sensitive as that child? Obviously, we would find ourselves in a much more positive reality if we were.

We adults are bigger egoists and are much more inclined to pay attention only to what is ours. We have been created in such a way where we feel increasing detachment from each other in order for us to develop a sincere prayer for help: to have our hearts opened so that we can feel others similarly to how we feel ourselves.

By reaching such an inversion of how we feel reality, then we would feel connected, close and understanding of each other. We would then all feel like one body. We would have no holes in our coats, and would feel ourselves as parts of the upper world—of love, bestowal and connection.

Based on the video “How to Become More Empathetic” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is love at first sight sustainable?“

Love at first sight is not true love, and it is thus unsustainable. True love, rather, has a different foundation, infrastructure and cause.

To love is the meaning of life. There is nothing greater than love.

When love fills us, we are alive. When love disappears, it is worse than death.

Love is when we have something that we can do for another person, and it fulfills and enlivens us. There is no stronger emotion than love.

Why does love fade away? It is because we have to renew it. Love is like a pet that we need to constantly feed. By doing so, we can continually renew our love up to a point where it can be felt endlessly.

Based on the video “Love in the Movies – 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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From Ivan Ivanov: “Michael Laitman, please comment on the state when peace will come between brothers.”

My Response: When they feel that they are brothers! And this state does not exist today because there is huge individual egoism between them.

Moreover, this egoism is not the same; one is because of one thing and the other is because of something else. And so they do not meet even in their egoism one against the other. Therefore, they are wrong.

That is, there is no real war. Hatred does not really manifest itself. In some way, here and there they brush against each other, but they can immediately remember that they are close.

Question: And what should happen to make them really feel like brothers?

Answer: These people—they must develop.

Question: To become human?

Answer: Yes. And then they will be able to realize what they are here for, who they are, and so on. They just want a quiet, peaceful life. I am not saying that it is wrong, unfair, or maybe low—no. But this suggests that they need to develop.

Question: And if I develop into a human, what will I want?

Answer: If you develop into human, then you will want human, higher relationships, and corrections that will vibrate like connections in hearts, in thoughts, in understanding, and in clear penetration into each other so that we can see through each other and understand where else we do not connect.

We do not have to be equal, but we have to complement each other properly. Through such penetration into each other to see where I can complement my neighbor and he can complement me in order to create an absolute sphere together in which we will reveal the Creator—perfection, perfection from two opposites that, in general, cannot connect.

Question: Is this the state of true brotherhood?

Answer: Yes. That is what we need to look for and not to run after each other with machine guns. In general, all the hatred—it will later be revealed what it was for.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 2/28/22

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What could humans learn from fungi?“

Israeli researchers discovered how a fungal network manages the exchange of nutrients between trees. Fungi connected to tree roots communicate the transfer of minerals, nutrients, water and carbon, while the trees funnel their carbon to the fungi in return. The researchers also found that the fungal network serves to strengthen and recover trees that developed certain problems.

Therefore, one thing we can learn from fungi is that there are complex and smart connections in nature. Among us humans, we actually have much more complex and profound connections, but due to our egoistic nature, we have no idea how to approach them. Fungi and trees, however, use their connections to their mutual benefit because they contain no such ego.

However, nature made us human beings with the ability to connect two opposite qualities, the negative egoistic quality of humans and the positive altruistic quality of nature. It is so that we can correct our egoism into its opposite—altruism—and by doing so, reach nature’s higher degree. And for us, nature’s higher degree is one of love, bestowal and positive mutual connections among everyone.

On one hand, fungi have a certain awareness of something missing in the ecosystem, and pass on certain forces to complement it. Among us people, on the other hand, we can see opposite examples, such as people continually amassing more and more wealth to a point where they do not know what to do with all of their surplus, while others starve to death.

We would thus be wise to learn from fungi about the intricate connections in nature, and that we can positively realize our interconnections by prioritizing the benefit of others over self-interest. Our eyes see an egoistic reality, but behind the scenes, from the perspective of nature itself, is an altruistic reality, and if we filled our connections altruistically like nature, then we would experience harmonious, peaceful and whole lives.

We would then gain nature’s wisdom. We would understand how the intricate connections in our reality work, and how we could maximally benefit our lives by mutually complementing each other through positively realizing such connections.

Based on the video “The Wisdom of Fungi” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Jesse Dodds on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we help disabled children?“

School trips are no ordinary experience for 12-year-old Mayan Hanan, who has a rare disease that makes him struggle with severe pain during long walks. His class arranged a special wheelchair capable of navigating through the varied terrains. Mayan shared: “On this trip I felt that I’m like everyone else and that I’m equal among equals. Everyone really made a big effort for me.”

Such is an example that what helps a child with a disability is to support them, participate with them, and identify with them.

To identify with them means to understand their suffering, to accept them as equal and to wish for us to live and participate in everything together. And participation means sharing everything that we have 50-50.

How can we share the disability of another person? We can take half of their disability by adding our strength to theirs. And the disabled person supports the able-bodied person by providing an opportunity to help and feel that they contribute.

What exactly does a disabled person give us? This is the crux of the matter. It seems to us that the able-bodied person gives to a disabled person only because we fail to understand how much the disabled person gives. Participation gives us an opportunity to connect and to act together.

What is the correct attitude toward people with disabilities? For the able-bodied, it is a call from the general forces of nature that we need to take these supposedly disabled persons into our society, take care of them, and bring them to a state where they feel no disability at all. It depends only on our correct attitude toward such people: that there is no disability and that we are equal in everything in life.

How are we equal? We are equal in that we share all good and bad things among us equally. When we reach these feelings, even if only a little bit, then we will feel ourselves in a different state. We will be in a different world, one of true equality, which is worthwhile to live in.

Based on the video “Disability Equality from a Kabbalist’s Perspective” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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