Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Will the Amazon fires have a significant effect on climate change?“

The Amazon fires won’t have a significant effect on climate change. In order to understand whether nature will act toward us positively or negatively heading into the future, we need to understand how we influence nature, and how nature reacts to our influence.

Contrary to the opinion that we influence nature through our external actions on nature itself, such as the waste and pollution we inflict upon our environment, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, such actions are not the ones that lead to all kinds of natural disasters and crises.

What leads to natural disasters and crises is solely at the human level, in our connections. At the level of our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors toward each other, we cause ripples throughout human society and nature, and nature reacts to us according to how we relate to each other.

If we relate positively to each other, aiming to positively connect with each other, then we will experience positive reactions from nature. If we relate negatively to each other, aiming to harm and exploit each other for personal benefit, then we will experience negative reactions from nature. This is what we currently experience.

Nature is organized according to four levels: still, vegetative, animate and human.

If we delay our correction in establishing positive connections among us, starting from not harming each other to endlessly improving our connections, then we will experience more and more negative effects upon us from nature.

For instance:

• If we fail to correct our relations at the still level, which for the time being can be interpreted as not working on the hatred toward others that surfaces in us, there will be disruptions in nature at the still level, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
• Likewise, if we fail to correct our relations at the vegetative level, which can be interpreted as failing to stop ourselves from harming others, then there will be problems at the vegetative level, such as fires.
• If we fail to correct ourselves at the animal level, i.e. allowing ourselves to slip into wars and conflicts, then we will find problems on the animal level, such as extinctions of certain species, as well as the resurfacing of past diseases and new diseases.
• Nature’s positive or negative reaction to us in the future depends on how much we activate our human ability, i.e., our ability to connect to each other above our divisive egoistic drives.

Accordingly, when we see the complete system of a person as a small world and the world as our encasing environment, then we will see the level of integration that we humans need to have with the world: that our attitudes to each other need to undergo an upgrade: to become considerate and positively connected as a replacement for the currently antagonistic egoism that’s growing within us and increasingly dividing us.

Then, according to the integration of the still, vegetative, animate and human levels within us, between us, with the environment and with nature’s complete system that envelops us, we will experience either harmony if we realize positive human connections, or crises and blows if we don’t.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is liberalism?“

Liberalism:

Everyone has a place to say what they want,
No hatred of anybody,
You can speak your mind openly and pluralistically, i.e. in a way allowing for multiple opinions,
We can reach a dialogue—first and foremost, understand each other, and gradually integrate with each other.
As a result of such human conduct, we’ll develop a greater understanding of human society.

However, if the situation continues as it does today—where one side hates the other—then it cannot be considered as “liberal” or “democratic.” The side that is calling the other side “non-democratic” is already a non-democratic side.

This form of interest-based politics is dead.

I learned it upon myself in the Former Soviet Union. They would use pleasant words about brotherly love and unity to cover their killing of the people. It was used only with power motives to cover the social division and hatred, which was the reality of the time. Their high investment in the propaganda of this idea impressed not only its own people, but societies as far as Western Europe.

It worked for a while, and then it all collapsed.

However, today where we have one side saying that it is liberal and democratic, and absolutely hates the other side, wanting to eliminate it completely, going as far as forcefully protesting against them, what kind of democracy is that?

Democracy is that we sort these problems out peacefully and reasonably.

Liberalism is when I gather together other people’s opinions, wanting to connect everyone together in a social dialogue.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Which side is right in the Israel-Palestine conflict?“

No side is correct because no side knows the truth. The question is: what is the truth?

The people of Israel alone determine the attitude that the nations of the world have toward them. The nations of the world have no free choice in how they perceive Israel. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, Israel are people with free choice, because it was the people of Israel who were granted the ability to rise above the egoistic human nature—the desire to enjoy at the expense of others—that runs on autopilot within each and every person. If the people of Israel make the choice to rise above the divisive egoistic drives and unite, then an abundance of goodness will flow out to the world through them. Likewise, if the people of Israel fail in making that choice, letting egoism continue to grow unabated, then no agreements will help them: it will be bad for them and for the world.

Free choice is the choice to connect among each other and by doing so, reveal the upper force—the force of connection and love—here in this world. If we fail to make that choice, then the negative side of the force of connection and love—division and hatred due to egoistic desires growing without any effective regulation—will ripple out to all humanity in depth and width. This is the root of any positive or negative attitude toward Israel from the nations of the world.

Today, since the people of Israel are not making any effort to realize their unifying role in the world, then anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiment—including denial of the State of Israel—grows in order to pressure the people of Israel to fulfill their duty in the world.

Therefore, Palestinians are not responsible for the way they think and behave toward Israel. The law of nature draws humanity to connection at the peak of its development, and those who resist and deny Israel act according to their function within this system, which is to pressure the people of Israel to exercise their free choice. I thus see in Israel’s haters simply the force of nature, which reveals itself to us in such a way. The people of Israel, however, have free choice, i.e. the ability to change themselves, as they have been given a method of the world’s correction. So who’s to blame? I can’t say that Palestinians or anyone in the world are to blame for any of their hatred toward Israel, since no one in the world other than the people of Israel have free choice. There is a statement in the wisdom of Kabbalah about this: “the heads of ministers are in the hands of God.” That is, those in ruling positions around the world have no free choice in how they think and act, since the demands of the system of nature operate on them in order for them to carry out what needs to unfold in nature.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is Israel an apartheid state? What are the facts that prove or disprove this opinion?“

I have no interest in such labels that people pin on Israel. I evaluate Israel solely according to the authentic Kabbalistic sources that I have been studying for the past 40-plus years.

In any case, taking into consideration the amount of Arabs in Israeli society, from studying at universities through to assuming respected professions such as lawyers and doctors, I wouldn’t consider Israel an apartheid state. Apartheid is something else entirely. But again, whatever name-calling is addressed at Israel doesn’t matter to me. What matters is the intensifying need of the people of Israel to carry out their role in the world: to unite (“love your neighbor as yourself”) and be a conduit for unity to spread worldwide (“a light unto nations”). If the people of Israel will observe such a condition, then it will be good for them and for the world. If they don’t, then it will be the opposite.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are your reasons for supporting Israel?“

I support Israel for a single reason: that Israel becomes a source of the world’s connection. Through the special connection that Israel has the potential to bring—a connection above people’s innate divisive drives (“Love covers all transgressions” [Proverbs 10:12])—the world can elevate itself to another level of existence, both corporeally and spiritually:

Corporeally, this means that all human conflicts and natural disasters would cease. We would feel a life filled with happiness and confidence as a result of the balance with nature that such connection would yield.
Spiritually, it means we would rise to a new dimension of eternity and perfection. This is due to awakening the force of connection and love dwelling in nature to reveal in our newly-created connections.

Therefore, I support Israel for this sole reason.

Today, it is very sad for me to see the contrary, how Israel is the source of all of the world’s problems (“No calamity comes to the world but for Israel” [Yevamot 63]). That is, the more that the people of Israel fail to apply efforts in the direction of connection—connection above our differences for the sake of positive global connection—the more the world sinks deeper into division and conflict. It is as Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) writes in item 69 of his “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” that “they cause poverty, ruin, robbery, killing and destruction in the whole world.” Why? It is because the people of Israel possess the method for the correction of human nature, i.e. correction of the egoistic, self-centered drive to benefit at the expense of others, which is growing rampant in our era. The more the ego inflates without an effective form of regulation—the connection above differences that the people of Israel have a method and a role to realize—the more problems and crises abound in the world.

Moreover, the more the nations of the world feel problems in their lives, the more they feel hatred toward Israel. This is because they subconsciously feel that the people of Israel are the source of their problems and are holding something significant away from them. Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism thus rise due to the people of Israel’s failure to implement the role required of them in the world.

Therefore, the people of Israel need only come to the realization that they hold their own as well as humanity’s life and well-being in their hands. By starting to tilt the scales toward connection, they will bring harmony to themselves and to the world, whereas by continuing to tilt the scales toward division through their indifference and rejection of their role, they will continue inviting problems to the world and hatred to themselves.

It is thus my hope that the people of Israel will acknowledge their role and start making efforts to connect sooner rather than later, because if things keep developing as they currently do, then not only will the elimination of the State of Israel become a reality, but we will experience wars and major suffering on a global scale the likes that we have never seen before.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do you support the existence of Israel? Why?“

I support the existence of Israel as a source of the world’s connection. Through the special connection that Israel has the potential to bring—a connection above people’s innate divisive drives (“Love covers all transgressions” [Proverbs 10:12])—the world can elevate itself to another level of existence, both corporeally and spiritually:

Corporeally, this means that all human conflicts and natural disasters would cease. We would feel a life filled with happiness and confidence as a result of the balance with nature that such connection would yield.
Spiritually, it means we would rise to a new dimension of eternity and perfection. This is due to awakening the force of connection and love dwelling in nature to reveal in our newly-created connections.
Therefore, yes, I do support such a nation’s existence.

Today, it is very sad for me to see the contrary, how Israel is the source of all of the world’s problems (“No calamity comes to the world but for Israel” [Yevamot 63]). That is, the more that the people of Israel fail to apply efforts in the direction of connection—connection above our differences for the sake of positive global connection—the more the world sinks deeper into division and conflict. It is as Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) writes in item 69 of his “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” that “they cause poverty, ruin, robbery, killing and destruction in the whole world.” Why? It is because the people of Israel possess the method for the correction of human nature, i.e. correction of the egoistic, self-centered drive to benefit at the expense of others, which is growing rampant in our era. The more the ego inflates without an effective form of regulation—the connection above differences that the people of Israel have a method and a role to realize—the more problems and crises abound in the world.

Moreover, the more the nations of the world feel problems in their lives, the more they feel hatred toward Israel. This is because they subconsciously feel that the people of Israel are the source of their problems and are holding something significant away from them. Anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism thus rise due to the people of Israel’s failure to implement the role required of them in the world.

Therefore, the people of Israel need only come to the realization that they hold their own as well as humanity’s life and well-being in their hands. By starting to tilt the scales toward connection, they will bring harmony to themselves and to the world, whereas by continuing to tilt the scales toward division through their indifference and rejection of their role, they will continue inviting problems to the world and hatred to themselves.

It is thus my hope that the people of Israel will acknowledge their role and start making efforts to connect sooner rather than later, because if things keep developing as they currently do, then we will experience wars and major suffering on a whole new level of egoistic relations the likes that we have never seen before.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Does the State of Israel have a right to exist? Why or why not?“

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is a program that runs through nature’s and humanity’s development, which guides us all to a state of complete unification, eternity and perfection at the end of our development. In this process, the State of Israel has been given a right and ability to exist, however on a very specific condition: that the people of Israel fulfill a key role in the process.

What is the role of the people of Israel? It is to pioneer a method of unifying above division among each other—i.e. to reach what is described as “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) and “love covers all transgressions” (Proverbs 10:12)—in order to become a conduit for unity to expand worldwide—i.e. to be “a light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6).

According to our role, to bring unity to the world, we have been doing the opposite until today. We are unaware of the duty we have toward the world, and due to the lack of awareness and efforts to unite, we experience increasing division among each other. As a result, we become a source of the world’s problems, conflicts and separation.

Therefore, if the people of Israel fail to develop from this moment onward in a unifying direction, then the period of the existence of the State of Israel will come to an end. If the people of Israel in the State of Israel, in the land that we have been given, fail to motion toward serving the world with a positive example of unification, and continue developing in the opposite direction, then the State of Israel will have no right to exist. Then, as has taken place before in history, the Jewish people would become pressured to exit this land and disperse around the world. Moreover, according to the exponentially-growing hatred toward the Jewish people and the methodical delegitimization of the State of Israel unfolding from one day to the next, I think that the decision to eliminate the State of Israel could very well happen soon.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why can’t Palestine recognise Israel?“

The people of Israel alone determine the attitude that the nations of the world have toward them. The nations of the world have no free choice in how they perceive Israel. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, Israel are people with free choice, because it was the people of Israel who were granted the ability to rise above the egoistic human nature—the desire to enjoy at the expense of others—that runs on autopilot within each and every person. If the people of Israel make the choice to rise above the divisive egoistic drives and unite, then an abundance of goodness will flow out to the world through them. Likewise, if the people of Israel fail in making that choice, letting egoism continue to grow unabated, then no agreements will help them: it will be bad for them and for the world.

Free choice is the choice to connect among each other and by doing so, reveal the upper force—the force of connection and love—here in this world. If we fail to make that choice, then the negative side of the force of connection and love—division and hatred due to egoistic desires growing without any effective regulation—will ripple out to all humanity in depth and width. This is the root of any positive or negative attitude toward Israel from the nations of the world.

Today, since the people of Israel are not making any effort to realize their unifying role in the world, then anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiment—including denial of the State of Israel—grows in order to pressure the people of Israel to fulfill their duty in the world.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How could modern America become anti-Semitic? “

It is becoming anti-Semitic in many ways, not the least of which is through the education system. Colleges are notorious for fomenting hatred against the Jews.

I spoke about it many years ago, that the next Holocaust would be in America because it is the most developed, modern and multicultural country in our times. As America was still becoming established, it endured its labor pains through struggles with African Americans and Latin Americans. However, when America more or less became established, then anti-Semitism started appearing more and more.

When I visited America 20 years ago, I spoke with American Jews, explaining how anti-Semitism was going to ignite in the US. They all exploded in laughter when I said that. Today, the same American Jews I spoke to clearly see and agree that anti-Semitism is an intensifying problem in America. However, today I’m saying something even worse, that the next Holocaust will be in America. They still don’t understand that and say, “in the meantime, it’s still okay.” That’s also what the Jews in Germany said as they were being escorted to the trains to Auschwitz.

I have extensively spoken and written about the reason for anti-Semitism, which is that the Jewish people need to perform a special role in humanity—to unite (“love your friend as yourself”) and be a conduit for unity to spread to humanity (to be a “light unto nations”)—and anti-Semitism appears as a force to pressure the Jews to perform their role if they make no moves in that direction by themselves. This is the role that the Jews acquired when they gathered from all parts of Babylon some 4,000 years ago, under the guidance of Abraham, who led them to attain spiritual unity, where from unity among themselves they reached unity with the upper spiritual force.

The Jews lost connection to their spiritual unity some 2,000 years ago as they entered the period of exile. In our time, there is a renewed sense of urgency for unity to reawaken in humanity. As such, all fingers point at the Jews, albeit subconsciously, for them to implement the method of connection that they received in Abraham’s time. This is the reason for the exponential rise of anti-Semitism in our time, and especially in today’s most developed country, America. As myriad problems hit people around the world due to a lack of social cohesion, the need for unity above divisions becomes more and more prominent, and the more people feel pain in their lives, the more they subconsciously feel that Jews are behind that pain—for failing to come forward with the method of unification of all peoples.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “As an American Jew, I am horrified by the anti-Semitism and racism that seems to have slithered out from under a rock since Donald Trump was elected. At what point does it make sense to leave the US? What would have to happen for you to leave?“

It won’t help you to leave America. Don’t think that by leaving America you will do yourselves and the world any good. In order to make a positive impact in the world, which will also put an end to anti-Semitism and racism, you will need to start understanding what the nations of the world demand of you and what you need to correct. Your good future depends only on that. Therefore, I recommend, as quickly as possible, to recognize what is the role of the Jews toward all nations of the world, and let us approach this work because by doing so, we secure a good world for them, for us all, and our future generations.

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