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 forces called Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod and Yesod, 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, which is the fundamental matter of our existence. 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: “Will colonizing Mars or the Moon help save humanity?“

No. Thinking that colonizing other planets, moons, or any other locations will save humanity fails to take into consideration the root cause of our problems: that human nature, the egoistic will to enjoy at the expense of others, is all that needs to change in order for us to enjoy better lives.

If we send a bunch of people who have undergone no inner change to Mars or the moon, then they will exploit, manipulate and abuse each other over there similarly to how we do so on Earth.

Saving humanity and creating a better life for all people thus requires changing ourselves, not our location.

The essence of our self-transformation is our attitudes to each other. We need to realize that human nature is fundamentally evil because it makes our every desire and thought prioritize self-benefit over benefiting others.

Moreover, such a nature gives rise to exploitative, manipulative and abusive behavior, which can be expected to take place anywhere we go, whether Mars or the moon, if we fail to change our nature to its opposite: prioritizing benefit of others and nature over self-benefit.

Therefore, if we truly wished to save humanity and create a better life for everyone and our future generations, then we would need to focus on implementing a new kind of education: a method of connection that would guide our attitude shift from self-centered to other-centered, egoistic to altruistic, detached to positively connected, divisive to unified, and hateful to loving. Undergoing such a transformation would elevate us to a new level of life that would be balanced with the laws of nature. It would in turn bring about newfound harmony, happiness and confidence all throughout humanity, the likes of which we cannot even imagine today.

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

Photo by Christian Lischka SJ on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the second commandment mean?“

The second commandment, namely, “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,” means that everything we can imagine is a derivative of the single upper force. Therefore, we are mistaken if we think that there are forces besides this force, which create, implement or make decisions in our world. In other words, if we perceive forces other than a single force operating in reality, then we should recognize that we are not at the highest degree of attainment.

In order to observe the second commandment, we need to perceive and sense the single force behind everything in our world, all objects, plant life, animate life, and people. If we connect everything we see and feel to a single force positioned behind it all, then we fulfill this commandment.

The prohibition to make an image is due to our inability to portray the single upper force in reality. Similar to how we picture physical forces as vectors in our world, other than drawing an arrow to indicate a direction in which this force acts—i.e., as it is a force of giving, connection, integration and emanation which has no self-interest whatsoever—we cannot depict this force in a picture or an image the way we do with corporeal objects.

Based on the talk “Spiritual States: The Ten Commandments” on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is forbidden by the third commandment?“

The third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain,” means that we can act with the force of the Creator, i.e., the force of love and bestowal, only as much as we resemble that force. In other words, to the extent that we become as loving, caring and giving as the force of the Creator, which has no intention for self-benefit whatsoever, and to the extent that we unite with that force, then only on that condition can we use it.

The prohibition to use the force of the Creator for self-aimed purposes equates to the impossibility to do so. That is, it is impossible to draw the Creator’s influence in order to make ourselves rich, famous or powerful at the expense of others.

The Creator guides our development in order for us to reach a proper request or prayer, which means that instead of asking the Creator to change something in Himself or in the world to benefit us, we instead ask to change our egoistic nature in order to become as altruistic, loving and caring as the Creator. We can and do ask for all kinds of self-aimed purposes on the way to the correct request, and it is also desirable that we do so, but it is the request to become as loving and giving as the Creator that we are being developed toward—the true prayer that the Creator will ultimately grant.

Based on the talk “Spiritual States: The Ten Commandments” on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why do bad things happen in my life?“

Bad things do not actually happen to us, but a certain kind of revelation takes place that we have to correct.

When that revelation happens, it is always felt in a bad or negative way. We then have to push through that negative state with our actions toward a good and positive form, i.e., toward positive connection with others and nature.

In other words, we perceive bad and negative events unfolding in our lives in order to perform a correction. “Correction” means that we should aim to build positive connections with others, reaching mutual understanding, decisions, consideration and activity.

More broadly, human nature is a desire to enjoy, and this desire undergoes a process of development from its initial broken state, which gives us the perception of separation from others and nature, to a state where our desire acquires a corrected form, where it enjoys from loving, giving to, and being positively connected with others and nature.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains the initial shattering of this desire in the story about the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, also known as the shattering of the soul of Adam HaRishon (the “First Man”). Our entire development leads us to a point where we will need to correct this egoistic desire, and to acquire a form that is similar to nature—altruistic.

When we understand what is behind our process of development and where we are headed, we can then apply ourselves to move toward our final state in a much more enjoyable, conscious and painless manner. In short, we are headed toward a state of total interconnectedness and interdependence, which the Kabbalistic texts describe as a state of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The sooner we can agree to such a goal and organize ourselves in society to realize positive connections, then the sooner we will shift from a development where we see increasing amounts of “bad things” surfacing in our lives, to one where we become balanced with nature.

Then, when we balance with the form that nature is urging us to reach, we will experience a whole new level of harmony, happiness, confidence and security, together with full understanding and sensation of who and what we are, and why we were put here in this reality.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why does music heal our pain?“

Music acts on our sense of hearing, which is the most sensual of the five senses.

When there is a properly-tuned harmony, it affects us almost instantaneously. A few beats is all it takes to draw us in.

Likewise, music has the ability to raise our moods, to calm and to heal us.

Nonetheless, it is still a merely an earthly means for doing so, and we should not be deceived that it is anything more than that.

Much of how music affects us has to do with how we have been raised. We have to understand the music we listen to. For instance, indigenous cultures typically will not understand classical music, and those raised strictly on classical music will not understand contemporary music.

However, despite the different kinds of music, it remains a very powerful accompaniment to humanity’s history. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, music is at the level of Bina, which is the sense of hearing.

Based on the TV program, “News with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman,” on January 18, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the implications of the first commandment in the Bible “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me”?“

This is the most fundamental commandment. It means that there is a single force in the world that is above and beyond everything. This force develops us through the still, vegetative and animate levels of nature, up to the level called “speaking” or “human,” which in Hebrew is “Adam.”

Adam (“human”), which comes from “Adameh le Elyon” (“similar to the most high”), is one who understands and feels connection with the all-encompassing force of nature, the Creator.

Despite humanity’s progress in science, technology and art, the vast majority of humanity exists at the animate level. The animate level, i.e., our animal state, defines our primary consideration of self-benefit over benefiting others and nature. In other words, it is when we are encased in our inborn egoistic nature.

We can exit our egoistic nature, i.e., “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” and rise to the human level, where we accept the influence of the higher force in reality, the Creator, or as is written in the commandment, “I am the Lord your God.”

Based on the talk “Spiritual States: The Ten Commandments” on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the defining characteristics of being Jewish?“

Anyone who agrees with rising above the egoistic human nature in order to positively connect with other people—according to the phrase “Love your friend as yourself”—is considered a Jew, which comes from the word for “unity” (“Yichud“).

It is not a matter of having Jewish ancestry in the physical and biological sense, but everybody—all humanity—will eventually have to reach such a state. In other words, everybody will reach a state of unification above the divisive ego, as it is written, that then the Land of Israel will spread to the entire world, which means that all people in the world will live according to the tenet, “Love your friend as yourself.”

I am certain that we will reach this state. The only questions are when and how we will aid it to come about.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why are brands important?“

Brands help coordinate people toward a certain purpose according to a certain direction, movement, teaching, methodology, theory or practice. They help describe and explain all of the latter. As social creatures, we have needs to communicate, teach, grow and bring other people together in certain directions. We can then progress toward various goals.

We, as human beings, have always set ourselves goals, but they have been corporeal. In other words, the goals we have progressed toward have all been in the realm of our corporeal desires and fulfillments of food, sex, family, shelter, money, honor, control and knowledge.

In our present era, the emptiness of living for corporeal goals alone surfaces more and more in our sensations together with the emergence of the desire to discover life’s meaning and purpose. Moreover, today, as the wisdom of Kabbalah reveals itself more and more to the world, we have the ability to understand the meaning of life, and to present it in clearer and more tangible ways.

Likewise, progressing toward the meaning and purpose of life requires participation of those wishing to discover it via learning, connecting, brainstorming and sharing. We thus need various social institutions and organizations assembled according to different types of people and other parameters in order to help us progress toward life’s meaning and purpose.

I therefore think that humanity will have much to do in this direction, as it is an integral aspect of human development.

Based on the show “Kabbalah Express” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Israel Samsonikov on January 12, 2021.
Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why do we cry?“

Crying comes from agreeing that we are out of energy, that our fate is not in our hands; that there is a superior “something” in our lives, which we can do nothing about; and also that we ultimately have no idea about what is going on in our lives.

We cry as a result of feeling weak and helpless. By doing so, we also yield to the upper force, a greater force of nature that exists in reality.

In our corporeal reality, crying is our way of expressing ourselves when we want what is out of our reach, or when we feel a certain kind of compassion for other people, i.e., picturing ourselves in other people’s shoes and becoming afraid of the same negative occurrences happening to us.

In spirituality, crying is the expression of passive participation in our spiritual correction, i.e., the transformation of our egoistic intention to receive into an intention to love and bestow. That is, crying is a sign that we (as a spiritual Partzuf or soul) are spiritually weak, in the state called “Katnut” (“spiritual smallness” or “spiritual infancy”), which is a small spiritual state where we have a tiny intention to bestow above our inborn desire to receive. In other words, in such a state, our intention is strong enough to protect us from egoistically receiving for self-benefit alone, but it does not yet let us work directly with our ego in order to love and bestow.

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

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