Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Was Pharaoh of Passover really a bad guy or just a victim of his royal birth? He was no Haman.“

Pharaoh is a very powerful force. The wisdom of Kabbalah does not discuss Pharaoh as a personality, because in practice it is a nonexistent persona. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, Pharaoh is the very big ego that the Creator created. It is a great desire to devour everything in the world for self-benefit.

The more humanity develops, the more this force of Pharaoh, the egoistic force, surfaces. One of its expressions is that we aspire to all kinds of accomplishments in our world, and the more we achieve, the emptier we feel. Likewise, the world appears to worsen the more we develop.

We become more and more dissatisfied with life. The more we connect technologically and economically, the more internally detached we feel from each other. Today, we witness such instances as people no longer feeling secure in the most distant villages. Our tightening global interdependence has led us to such paradoxes where farmers cannot even feed themselves from their own land.

Pharaoh represents the egoistic intention behind everything we do. On one hand, we make tremendous progress technologically, and we find ourselves in a situation where we are more dependent on others all around the world. On the other hand, we find ourselves feeling more and more detached from each other, and that we cannot tolerate being so tightly connected to others.

The ego, however, leads us to the need to correctly connect to each other, where we yearn for, build and ask for connection. What this means is that Pharaoh, by transforming our world so that it becomes increasingly interdependent and interconnected, brings us to a state where we hate the feeling of division, and we then transform our world into another one with positive connections. In other words, by abiding to our ego’s demands while connecting more and more, we find that we will simply be unable to achieve long-lasting happiness, success, or even survive. Pharaoh, however, constantly spurs our divisiveness. On one hand, Pharaoh awakens in us a desire for unity and acts so that we cannot live without making the right connections between us, since otherwise we cannot provide ourselves with essentials. On the other hand, Pharaoh will not let us unite. This contrast sums up Pharaoh’s merit.

We then start understanding that we have no other way out besides rising above and escaping from Pharaoh—the egoistic desire for self-benefit. Our escape from Pharaoh, from using others egoistically for the sake of self-benefit, is called the “exodus from Egypt.”

It is quite complicated because we still need to discover these concepts within ourselves. We live in a unique era. Today, we increasingly discover what has been prepared for us in the form of Pharaoh, i.e., in an egoistic form. We see a globally interdependent and interconnected world closing in on us more and more, and at the same time, we find ourselves feeling more internally remote from others. We thus need to respect Pharaoh, this overblown ego we find ourselves in today, because it leads us to realize how bad it makes our lives, and through such a revelation, we gain a desire to exit our ego and enter into a much more meaningful and joyous world where we are positively connected.

Based on “News with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman” from April 12, 2016. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Will WW3 start because the tensions of Israel and Iran?“

Iran often discusses its aims to destroy Israel, while at the same time, it is paying a heavy price for its aspiration to build nuclear weapons. In fact, Israel does not disturb Iran, but helps Iran stand out. Iranians seem willing to sacrifice themselves in order to be seen as important and intimidating in this setup.

Regarding nuclear weapons, it is no more than a game. Leaders with nuclear weapons have no desire to use them. Historically, those who had nuclear weapons became more restrained, because the use of nuclear weapons draws the same threat onto themselves.

The Iranians are seemingly ready to die in order to gain respect, but what is it worth? When we die, we have no feeling or memory of any respect we received here. Therefore, the game is important for keeping them in the spotlight.

Israel should do nothing but hold a correct intention toward the situation, using it to come closer to the upper force, realizing the laws of nature among the relations of the people of Israel, with the most important one being, “Love your friend as yourself.”

On the physical level, Israel is correctly countering the looming threat from Iran for the time being. The problem is that Israelis are divided, which distances them from the upper force. At the end of the day, only the upper force can provide true protection.

This has nothing to do with religion. We have to understand that “Love your friend as yourself” is a law, a commandment, and it determines human relations. Moreover, implementing this law is the positive example that the people of Israel have to show the world.

If the people of Israel fulfill the commandment of “Love your friend as yourself,” then even the Iranians will start to love Israel, and this will become their source of respect: to connect to Israel, the nation that brings the method of correction to the world, i.e., the way to reach “Love your friend as yourself.” It was the revelation of this method that gave the people of Israel their name in Abraham’s times (“Israel” from “Yashar Kel” [“straight to the upper force”]).

The problem standing in Israel’s way to become a positive example for the world is simply hatred between Israelis. Therefore, a more unified and positive future or its opposite depends on whether or not the people of Israel come together, above their hatred, and show a positive unifying example to humanity.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What really is the intended meaning of ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’?“

Before the commandment of “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” described the key prohibition in holding a correct relationship with the Creator: that we should not use our relationship with the Creator for self-benefit. Receiving pleasure for self-benefit alone kills our desire.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery” is similar, but viewed from a different angle. It means to not use our connections with others for self-benefit.

The Creator’s quality is love and bestowal, and adultery is an act of receiving for self-benefit alone. If we receive pleasure at the expense of other people, then it is considered committing adultery.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the 8th commandment consist of (Thou shalt not steal)?“

The eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” is the same as the previous commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” with the sole difference being that adultery and theft relate to two different levels of desires.

Nature is constructed of four levels of desire: inanimate, vegetative, animate and speaking (also, human). These four levels of desire exist in nature in general as well as within us.

Theft is then a similar action to adultery, but it is a prohibition at a different level of desire. Committing adultery is when we use people for the sake of self-benefit, whereas theft is when we use the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of nature for the sake of self-benefit.

Therefore, where “Thou shalt not commit adultery” is an act of using others for self-benefit at the human level, “Thou shalt not steal” is an act of using the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels of nature for self-benefit.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” mean if not what it says?“

The sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” means to cause no detriment whatsoever to others.

The previous five commandments explain a process that leads to us receiving the upper forces, and we need to become a receptacle that lets these forces act correctly in us, not interfering with the effect that they have on us.

Using these forces correctly means to use them for the sake of bestowal, and thus “Thou shalt not kill” means the contrary, that we use these forces for self-benefit.

In other words, if we use our connection with the spiritual forces, with the Creator, for self-benefit, then this act is called “killing.” By doing so, we kill our desire. Our desire gets killed because it becomes filled with pleasure; the pleasure aimed at self-benefit kills the desire, and the desire becomes extinguished.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does it mean to covet thy neighbor’s wife?“

The states in which we progress should be aimed only at bestowal, and not for self-benefit.

Our state is very interesting regarding our spiritual path. On one hand, we are alone and the whole world is inside us, as it is written, “A person is a small world.”

On the other hand, all of our inner desires appear as characters existing outside of us. The same applies to our like-minded friends: it seems to us that they exist outside of us, and we later gradually start seeing that they are all inside us.

“Neighbors” refers to these like-minded friends of ours.

To spiritually progress, i.e., to discover our connection with the Creator, we need to process their desires, which are called “wives,” from a spiritual degree, i.e., a degree of bestowal. This means that we need to dress into these desires and work on them for their benefit, and not for self-benefit.

This has nothing to do with genders as we understand them in our world. The female part represents desires to receive, the fundamental matter of creation, and the male part represents the desire to bestow, which is the nature of the Creator.

Therefore, by working to benefit the desire to receive, and not to use it for self-benefit, we act at a spiritual degree, like the Creator Himself, and we thus implement the commandment, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” In other words, we operate at a degree of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Ten Commandments are located at the level of the ten Sefirot. The commandment “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” is the most serious of all the commandments because it deals with the lowest internal egoistic quality, namely using the desire to receive in order to receive for self-benefit alone.

The prohibition on such an intention lets us fully apply an intention to bestow upon our desire to receive, so that we can enter into a mutual connection among each other at a higher spiritual level, where we are not divided by gender.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is it possible to exit this pandemic on a pathway to a more decent society?“

“Don’t do to others what you hate” is the foundation of positive human attitudes. With this principle, we drive away any harm, and it is the best remedy that we can generate in human society, and with it, we will defeat the pandemic and return to become a good and prosperous society.

We have reached a state where humanity has become a single globally interdependent and interconnected society, and one of the conditions of our global interdependence is that one person cannot enjoy a good life if others don’t enjoy a good life to the same extent.

We can thus better our world only by increasing our concern for each other. To that end, we need a new kind of education that prioritizes positive human connection, and which is taught to both adults and children. If we establish positive connections in society, then we will be on course to leave this pandemic behind, and enter a new harmonious life that is balanced with nature.

The pandemic has emerged in order to pave a path to a new world of positive human connections. We should not look back at how things were, but focus on the upgrade in our attitudes to each other that we can implement here and now. That is the way to shift human society onto a much more positive path.

The only question is whether we will listen to what nature is telling us through such events as this pandemic and make adjustments accordingly, or whether we will try to continue our lives as before. The former will lead us to a new level of happiness and prosperity, and the latter will lead us to a long path of suffering until we eventually agree to change our attitudes to each other.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the ten commandments given in the Bible?“

The Ten Commandments are the laws of our absolute connection to each other and with the force of bestowal that holds our connection together.

The Torah is given at the foot of Mount Sinai, which is a gigantic mountain of egoistic hatred (“Sinai” comes from the word “Sinah” [“hatred”]), after the people of Israel (i.e., people with a common desire “Yashar Kel” [“straight to the Creator”]) accept the condition of mutual guarantee—to be united “as one man with one heart.” In other words, we reach a stage in our development where we discover a mountain of ego, division and hatred above us, and we can climb this mountain only with one point in the heart, i.e., by uniting our common desire for spiritual ascent above all other egoistic desires. This point is called “Moses” (from the word “Moshech” [“pulling”]), because it pulls us out of our ego.

Mount Sinai is enormous, even bigger than the Tower of Babel. Standing at the foot of Mount Sinai means that we agree to unite all parts of our individual egos into one big mountain. Then, instead of fearing this great hatred and division between us, we should instead use it as an impetus to yearn for unity, since the sole purpose of being given an ego is so that we use it to fuel our unity.

When we unite above this mountain of ego and hatred, we demand the revelation of the force of bestowal in our unification. The tendency to unite is the spiritual vessel, the deficiency for mutual love, bestowal and connection, as it is written, “From the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator.” We thus accept the condition of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and receive the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments refer to the correct use of the desire to enjoy. They discuss the limitations that we need to implement on Malchut if we are to establish and sustain a spiritual connection. These limitations are called a “screen” (“Masach”) and “reflected light” (“Ohr Hozer”). When Malchut accepts these limitations, it lets the ten Sefirot, which are also known as the Ten Commandments, dress in it.

A commandment (Dover) stems from the Hebrew root for “utterance” (Dibur), i.e., it is born in the Peh (mouth) of the Partzuf, the Peh of Rosh. These actions are performed in the world of Atzilut.

We receive the Ten Commandments after we unite “as one man with one heart.” Otherwise we cannot hear them. We have to be on the level of Bina in order to have the ear that can hear the ten utterances from Mount Sinai. In practice, this means that we need to first undergo a period of preparation until we can unite at the level of “as one man with one heart,” and only at that stage do we hear the commandments. If we are not at such a spiritual degree, we lack the vessels in order to understand and observe these commandments.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on June 3, 2014. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is it written in the bible to honor your mother and father?“

The fifth commandment is “Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you.” What does this mean, and who are the father and the mother?

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, which describes the Bible according to the language of branches, where corporeal people, phenomena and objects in our world point to spiritual phenomena, structures and processes in the upper world, father and mother are the forces of Hassadim (mercy, bestowal) and Hochma (wisdom, reception).

The Creator is the upper force. He is followed by two lower ones: Hochma and Bina. Hochma is the force of the father and Bina is the force of the mother. Then there are another six derivatives that compose Zeir Anpin: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod and Yesod.

The last Sefira is Malchut, which completes the process of creation.

The phrase, “Honor your father and your mother,” means that we should give Hochma and Bina the opportunity to create so that everything they have would appear in the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin, the six lower forces.

“To honor” means to wait for their revelation in creation, because Hochma and Bina, father and mother, exist before and above the creation. The Creator creates through these forces. Therefore, the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin are created by the father and the mother, which gives form to the creation.

“Honor your father and your mother” thus means to let these forces act within us. For instance, in our world, can a fetus in its mother’s womb make any decisions on its own account? Also, how much can a small child do? Their parents do everything for them. Thus, here we discuss the correct attitude of the lower one, the created being, to the upper one, the Creator. We in our world need to let the upper forces act on us and form us.

Based on the talk “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2016. Written/edited by students of Dr. Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” mean?“

A week is a cycle, and every seventh day is a break that as if stops then restarts the universe.

It is written that the Creator worked for six days and rested on the Sabbath, the seventh day.

This means that we should also work for six days and rest on the seventh day. However, our work differs from the Creator’s work.

The Creator’s work is creation. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the weekdays represent the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin—Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod and Yesod—six directions.

On the contrary, our work is to change ourselves in accordance with these six Sefirot. When we finish that transformation, we reach the last Sefira. However, the last Sefira becomes revealed in us by itself. Here, we have nothing to do, just to not interfere.

If we correctly attract the six forces upon ourselves, then the seventh force of the Sabbath, Shabbat, from the word Shvita (a break during work), does all the work by itself because we embody no interference to the Creator’s actions.

We receive everything possible in the six stages, the so-called “six days,” which connect in us, and then on the seventh day, we receive their result. In other words, we work during the six days to resemble the Creator’s qualities of love and bestowal, and on the seventh day, we need only let the Creator perform upon us the conclusion and outcome of our six days of work.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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