Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does wholeness mean?“

We can understand and appreciate wholeness when we sense the upper force of love, bestowal and connection enter our lives, because only that force is truly whole.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, that upper force is called “the Creator” and also “Nature,” i.e., the Creator and Nature are treated synonymously as the force of love and bestowal that has the ability to change us so that we experience wholeness by attaining the same trajectory in our intention as the upper force.

That is why the purpose of studying Kabbalah, in the beginning, is to attain the sensation of the upper force. Beforehand, we cannot understand what wholeness is, and the upper force chooses to reveal itself to us precisely in our most incomplete qualities.

Based on chapter 11 of “The Kabbalah Experience” by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: Why are there so many allergies now? What is an allergy?

Answer: An allergy is unresponsiveness, a negative reaction to something.

What does it mean: “I’m allergic to you”? That is, I do not tolerate you, I have a negative reaction to you, I have unpleasant feelings while being in contact with you. This is an allergy. Today, it is manifested in absolutely everything. The fact is that we have poisoned everything that gets into us: air, water, and food.

After all, a person is a factory for processing what goes inside him. And all we take in are poisons, the type our body cannot process.

These are not natural poisons like eating spoiled fish, meat, fruits, or vegetables. You made such modified products yourself; you polluted the water and air yourself, which cause unnatural reactions in our body. Therefore, the body simply rebels, it does not know how to cope with it.

Allergies manifest themselves in us in almost everything. It is the basis of all disease, all our problems at the sensory, mental, and at any level, because we have been viciously poisoning ourselves for at least 100 years.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Allergy Treatment” 10/28/11

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Comment: You once said that the Star of David has nothing to do with Judaism.

My Response: The Star of David is not found in any of the ancient Jewish symbols. Scientists say it is found in the East among the Hindus.

This symbol is called the Star of David because his army used to make shields in this way. Two triangles superimposed on each other protected the shoulders and head of the warriors, and the central part served as a double protection.

For us as well, these two triangles add up to a Kabbalistic system. But, in general, we have neither historical nor Kabbalistic facts that the Star of David is a star. Even in Hebrew, it is called Magen David (shield of David). That is, it is not a star, not a symbol, but a shield with which the soldiers defended themselves.

All 40 years of his reign, King David fought and wrote psalms. He was at the same time a statesman, a judge, and a commander, so he had to be at the highest moral level. To this day, his psalms are used by people all around the world. This is the most widely read book.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Star of David” 10/1/11

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How would you describe the world today in one sentence? Why?“

The world today is being expressed as a single unified, interconnected and interdependent global system, and since we wish to remain as our individualistic egoistic selves while the world becomes more and more connected, we experience such tightening connection as suffering.

This is why we need to infuse a new form of education and upbringing into our lives, so that we develop new influences that will promote and guide us to positively realize our increasing connectedness, with mutual consideration, support and encouragement in our connections.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on May 28, 2012 on the article, “600,000 Souls.” Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Suddenly, a War in Israel“

In an abrupt and unsettling turn of events, the specter of war has descended upon Israel. From the morning hours, Israelis find themselves glued to a web of information sources, receiving constant news updates, and sharing their thoughts with family, neighbors and friends. A palpable sense of anxiety weighs heavily among Israel’s residents as Israel suddenly finds itself at war again.

Indeed, we had a major security lapse. It is a failure characteristic of our tendency to underestimate our adversaries and our lack of military readiness. However, we should not mistake this lapse for an isolated incident. It is rather a symptom of a deeper enduring malaise afflicting our nation.

The heated divisions in Israeli society of recent times have been recurring for 75 years, if not centuries and millennia. Today, as in the past, we find ourselves again completely missing the point when it comes to our role in the world, and the overblown ego within each and every one of us intensifies our division.

Israel—i.e., the people of Israel—is a nation founded on the timeless principle, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Whenever we stray from the path to unite above our divisions, letting our connections become polluted with mutual animosity, we invite tragedies upon ourselves.

It is worth asking, then, what else could we expect? By letting hatred relentlessly accumulate toward each other, how could we think that hatred would not also surface toward us? This enmity clings to us like an unshakeable specter. The demonstrations of hatred in Tel Aviv, and all of our insults and the attempts to harm each other can only yield one outcome, for which we must all shoulder accountability. We need to acknowledge that we alone bear the responsibility for drawing these conflicts upon ourselves, as is it written, “No calamity comes to the world but for Israel” (Talmud Bavli, Yevamot, 63:1).

Our catastrophe is that we let the egoistic and divisive drives within each of us get the better of us, a sentiment King Solomon wisely cautioned against when he urged, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

How can we avert more severe trials in the days ahead? It is by fostering humility and cultivating a genuine yearning for heartfelt connections today. As the text Maor va Shemesh (Light and Sun) attests, “The primary shield against calamity is love and unity. When love and unity prevail among the people of Israel, and they abstain from harming one another, calamity finds no foothold.”

The pivotal factor for achieving a life of harmony and peace is our attitude to one another. We should hold no concerns or fears other than that of letting divisive drives overpower our motion to unite.

Everyone following the unfolding events would thus be wise to contemplate the deeper reasons behind the situation that has befallen Israel today. Only unity above division can lead us to a peaceful resolution, one that assumes paramount importance in these trying times.
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Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 7, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Turning to the Creator—the upper force of love and bestowal“

The most important and needed action in our lives is turning to the Creator—the upper force of love and bestowal—and asking Him for help: to help us correct ourselves from the situation He created us in— the evil inclination, i.e., the egoistic desire to receive for self-benefit at the expense of others—and lead us to the desire to bestow.

In such a way, we will become corrected, i.e., we will acquire the desire to bestow in place of our egoistic desire, and come to feel the spiritual reality.

We currently feel the corrupted corporeal reality in our egoistic desires, a reality of short-lived, transient pleasures and incomplete perception. By discovering the spiritual reality, we will also be able to feel an endless world, an eternal and perfect life above our existence.

The trigger to activate such a revelation is our own request for it: that we ask the Creator to elevate us to the spiritual reality. He expects and awaits such a request from us. That is why there is no action in our entire lives more important and special than prayer, i.e., turning to the Creator to help us exit our self-centered desire and to connect with each other. Moreover, to the extent that we connect with each other, with the Creator’s quality of love and bestowal illuminating in our connection, we likewise connect with the Creator. That is actually of utmost importance in our lives.

Based on Lesson 4 from the World Kabbalah Convention, October 1, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is human history?“

We can view human history in two ways: either as an earthly path of development or as an evolution driven by our expanding desires. We witness it in front of us, displayed on a kind of three-dimensional spherical screen known as “this world.” Inside and all around us, it unfolds like a live movie in which we actively participate.

Yet, it resides within us.

Our entire world is projected through the lens of our desires. We merely observe it from an external vantage point, not within ourselves. The distinction between outside and inside becomes inconsequential; it is all an extension of oneself.

However, we must set aside the fallacy of our perception, for we instinctively divide the universe into what is inside and outside of us. This is the result of our egoism, our inherent desire for self-gratification at the expense of others and nature. Such a perception has shaped our worldview thus far. When we rise above our ego, we will realize that we share a common “self” with everyone, and we will experience everything within, not outside of us.

Our egoistic desires have evolved from the Big Bang through nature’s inanimate, vegetative and animate levels.

The human level of nature surfaced around 50,000 BCE, and from then until 5,000 BCE, a primitive communal society emerged, characterized by equality and shared possessions.

Initially, desires operated at an inanimate level, but the pursuit of wealth developed in the 5th century CE. The following era witnessed rapid human development, marked by the advent of pioneering technologies.

From the 5th century BCE until the end of the Middle Ages in the 15th century CE, there was a relentless quest for power. Concurrently, the Renaissance, notable discoveries, the invention of the printing press, and other milestones ushered in an era of scientific progress and enlightenment, which persisted until the end of the 20th century.

In the 21st century, we find ourselves in an entirely new era where a new desire emerges within us that wishes to surpass nature’s limits and aim for a higher level of existence where we harmonize with nature’s laws. Of course, we cannot identify the goal of this new desire as clearly as just stated when it first appears, and during this transition to a higher developmental level, we find ourselves completely ignorant as to the demands of our current evolutionary process.

There are several theories and opinions regarding how and why we should lead our lives, yet none offer complete satisfaction for everybody. However, by observing how nature compels us to constantly increase our surface-level, technological and economic interconnectedness across the globe, we can surmise that nature demands that we reach a new level of unity, interdependence and interconnectedness in our connections to each other. This concept aligns with the Biblical principle of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call: The Real History of the World” featuring Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on January 21, 2012. Edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is Kabbalah considered a hidden wisdom?“

The wisdom of Kabbalah is called a hidden wisdom because only people who use it correctly can disclose it.

What does it mean to use the wisdom of Kabbalah “correctly”? It means that its practitioners construct a system of connection among each other in which they reveal the teaching.

It is a teaching that does not come from our own minds. It is written in several places that the wisdom of Kabbalah has no need for intellectually smart people. Instead, it needs people who work on their hearts, i.e., people who calibrate their desires such that they influence each other. By doing so, they influence the system of connection that exists between them, and they accordingly receive a special influence called “the Creator”—the upper force of love and bestowal that illuminates within the system of connection that they construct.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on September 28, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is there any proof of the need for human connection?“

Nature itself provides no proof of the need for human connection. We can identify various examples of such a need for survival purposes, but there is no proof of such a need in nature itself.

In our lives, we reach various forms of connection other than a human-to-human connection that is felt at the level of our emotions. In such a place, we need to bring ourselves to connect against our egoistic desire that constantly pulls in the opposite direction, i.e., which aims at self-benefit over benefiting others, and using any kind of connection not for the benefit of everyone, but for the benefit of an individual or a group that benefits that individual.

Only by connecting above the ego can we reach a harmonious connection, as it is written, “as one man with one heart.”

However, human-to-human connection does not happen naturally and instinctively, as it does in nature’s other degrees: the still, vegetative and animate.

Specifically, connection is unique to the human level in that we resist and oppose each other according to our nature, as we can see throughout history, and that in order to truly connect, we need to rise above our egoistic nature.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on September 26, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the Sefirot?“

The word “Sefirot” comes from the word “Sapir,” which means “glow” or “illumination.”

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that there is a spiritual force of love and bestowal, which it calls “light,” and when we adapt ourselves to this force, we let it enter our desires and it shines in them. We then call the desires in which the spiritual light illuminates, “Sefirot.”

The process of spiritual attainment is one of rising above our inborn corporeal desires with a spiritual intention to love and to bestow. The more we do so, the more we reveal the Sefirot.

We discover these Sefirot in the place of what are called the spiritual worlds (Olamot), from the word for concealment (He’elem). That is, the more we rise in spiritual degrees, the more we reveal the illuminations of the Sefirot and the concealments upon our perception and senses disappear.

Based on KabTV’s “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on August 27, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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