Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Rising Global Antisemitism: A Dark Reality Despite Mainstream Support for Israel“

Despite mainstream global support for Israel following the tragic events of October 7, there has also been inescapable looming antisemitic sentiment, crimes and threats around the world. These include:

Spikes in antisemitic rhetoric in social media, including celebrating the October 7 attack on Israel’s civilians, calls for further aggression against Israel and its supporters, and a surge of antisemitic conspiracy theories starting from the same day as the attack. (Source: ADL)
Four times more antisemitic incidents in the UK since the attack than in the same period the previous year. (Source: BBC)
A variety of antisemitic expressions from naming Jews in the diaspora as dirty/filthy Jews, accusing diaspora Jews of dual loyalty, blaming Jews for killing Jesus and for purposefully targeting Palestinian children in Israel’s attacks, waving Nazi flags, a crowd shouting “Gas the Jews” at a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney, a break-and-enter at a kosher restaurant in London with “Free Palestine” spray-painted on the cash register, and vans painted with “Holocaust never happened” and “Hitler was right” in Florida. Jewish students at US campuses reported verbal assaults, and three Salt Lake City synagogues were forced to evacuate due to a bomb threat during pro-Palestinian rallies following the war’s outbreak. (Source: AJC)
The Day of Rage declared by Hamas’ former leader on Friday, 13 October involved more than twenty countries holding pro-Palestinian protests, and made emotions run high. In New York City alone, some people, like Marc Schiller, who attended a synagogue in Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Friday, sought solace and strength in his Jewish identity, drawing inspiration from feeling a need to stand in solidarity with Israel. Others, however, became extra cautious. For instance, some Israeli musicians opted to cancel their participation in a Friday service in Manhattan, citing concerns about being part of large Jewish gatherings. Also, beyond the Jewish community, many people in general chose to stay home in order to avoid public areas. The responses within the Jewish community, however, show stark contrasts that highlight the complex interplay of pride, fear, anger, trauma and solidarity within the Jewish diaspora at a time when Israelis themselves also deal with a swell of emotions as they deal with the aftermath of the tragic events on October 7 and head into war.

Many wonder why Jews in the diaspora often face animosity for situations taking place in Israel, especially when many Jews around the world do not identify with or support Israel. The answer is that a lot of people have a problem with Jews, period. This can lead to hostility not just against Israel but also against Jewish people as a whole.

If there had been any doubt that Hamas was solely against the existence of the State of Israel prior to October 7, the terror attacks of that day clearly and painfully displayed the organization’s genocidal antisemitic intent. Even US President Joe Biden made well known to the public in his remarks following the attack that Hamas is “a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews.” But it is not just Hamas that has tried to shadow its Jew-hating sentiment under an anti-Israel and anti-Zionist disguise.

Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) stated that Jews are “hated by all the nations, whether for religious, racial, capitalist, communist or for cosmopolitan reasons, etc. It is so because the hatred precedes all reasons, but each merely resolves its loathing according to its own psychology.” That is, hatred of Jews is deeply rooted in the fabric of human nature, and it transcends individual psychological explanations and sociological analyses.

In today’s globally interconnected and interdependent world, where the pains or the joys in one place can spread to the other side of the world in an instant, in order to maintain equilibrium and stability, Jews from all backgrounds must foster unity above their differences. The Jews’ unifying influence would then radiate positively through today’s complex web of globally-established connections.

In his article, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee],” Baal HaSulam expressed that the Jewish people were “constructed as a sort of gateway by which the sparks of purity would shine upon the entire human race the world over… until they develop to such an extent that they acknowledge the pleasantness and tranquility that are found in the kernel of love of others.”

When this unifying influence is absent, the world falls prey to the grip of human egoism, fueling hatred and division. And the more people feel problems and crises entering their lives, the more they feel instinctively that Jews are to blame.

While many in the world today identify antisemitism as a growing problem, the effort to combat the phenomenon, whether through education, diplomacy, advocacy, awareness campaigns or dialogues, only address the surface symptoms and fail to approach the issue at its core.

Education is indeed necessary, but it should aim at raising awareness of the natural system we all live in and share. This system develops its every level—and most significantly humanity—to higher levels of unification. It was this ability to unite above divisions that established the Jewish people in their very beginnings (the Hebrew word for “Jew” [Yehudi] comes from the word for “united” [yihudi] [Yaarot Devash, Part 2, Drush no. 2]).

If the Jewish people activate a unifying spirit among one another, they act as a conduit for such unity to spread worldwide. When people feel the positive effects of a unifying spirit entering their lives, the negative antisemitic sentiment will invert to a positive feeling that Jews serve to bring harmony and peace to the world. It is as Rav Abraham Kook once wrote, “In Israel lies the secret for the unity of the world.”
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Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Image: “2023.10.08 Pro-Terrorism Rally, Washington, DC USA 281 20109” by Ted Eytan.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “A Plea from a Broken Heart“

The heart of the people of Israel still aches from the tragic events of October 7, 2023. It is a pain felt deep within, permeating the very air they breathe. As the Kabbalist Menachem Mendel of Kotzk once proclaimed, “No one is complete when their heart is in pieces.” A broken heart is highly sensitive to its own fractures. It yearns fervently for restoration, to become whole once again.

A broken heart is like an open book, vulnerable and exposed. It notices even the faintest impurities that pass through it and can regret those moments when it lets those impurities pass by.

The stark divisiveness of the people of Israel throughout the year, expressed in the constant protests and demonstrations, all shattered with the tragedies on October 7. Today, brokenhearted, they can naturally implore for healing.

The plea is simple: may no unkind thoughts traverse our hearts, may no folly enter, and may we shed no disdain or arrogance in our interactions.

By doing so, we draw closer to balance with the fundamental laws of nature—laws of love, bestowal and connection—for if we do not wish to align our unity with the total unity that exists in nature itself, then we have a rickety basis for our unity.

How can we align our unity with nature’s unity? It is by regularly developing our very plea to mend our fractured hearts to unite as one.

In our wounded state lies an immense opportunity: to ask for healing, to pray for the unity of all, so that we could stand as a single harmonious entity—a nation bound together “as one man with one heart.”

It is my hope that this plea from a broken heart will accompany us moving forward, and that with its help, a positive sense of unity will take shape not only in our nation, but the world over.
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Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 12, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Image: “Broken Heart” by Suzanne Schroeter on Flickr.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is social development essentially a matter of?“

As we mature into adults, we inevitably engage with one another, not solely within our familial bonds, but in social interactions. What binds us is the necessity of our earthly existence.

Without social connections, self-sustenance would be unattainable, especially in today’s world, where global interconnection is paramount for our well-being.

If we examine any objects within our environment, such as the items currently in our apartments and homes, we will find that practically the entire planet contributes to shaping our living spaces.

Now, the question arises: what comes next? What follows is our need to participate with one another, not solely in order to create self-serving alliances and to organize our lives, but more so, to achieve harmony with nature.

Nature urges us to establish harmonious connections with one another. To the degree that it interconnects on various levels—the still, vegetative and animate—it compels us to form a unified societal framework marked by mutual support, integration, encouragement, unity and inclusion in a single, cohesive picture. That is why we have been created as social beings, and such unification is next stage of development that we are being led to.

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. How not to Lose Money?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 31, 2011. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is our purpose in creation?“

The human being is the center of creation and is its purpose. The upper force of love and bestowal in reality, which Kabbalists call “the Creator” and “Nature,” created us in order to raise us to the highest possible degree: to identify with the upper force.

The process of attaining similarity with the upper force is called a process of correction. In this process, we acquire the qualities of love and bestowal. This process is also called the “attainment of the Creator,” and it is the ultimate purpose of our creation in this world. Why? It is because we were created with a nature of wishing solely to enjoy, and attaining the Creator is the greatest and most satisfying form of enjoyment we could possibly reach. Unlike our corporeal pleasures in this world—for food, sex, family, money, honor, control and knowledge, which all fade away—the pleasure of attaining the Creator is eternal and perfect.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, we were initially created as a single soul called “Adam HaRishon” (Hebrew for “The First Man”), after which we shattered into 600,000 parts. Every part undergoes an independent process of correction. The correction of each part gives it the possibility to be filled with the upper force, or in other words, a feeling of the Creator. The feeling of the Creator filling us gives us access to what are called “spiritual worlds.”

The purpose of creation is thus that the Creator will completely fulfill us. For the time being, however, our souls are in a state called “this world,” where we have no feeling of the Creator. In such a state, it is considered that the Creator is concealed from us. (The word for “world” [“Olam”] in Hebrew connects to the same linguistic root as the word for “concealment” [“He’elem”].)

When the soul perceives contact with the Creator for the first time, it rises to its first spiritual degree. It then begins to make itself resemble the Creator more and more, and by doing so, it feels the upper force with increasing intensity and sensitivity. When all the parts of the soul become fully corrected, they then rise to a state called “the end of correction” (“Gmar Tikkun”).
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Based on “The Kabbalah Experience” by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What should Israel do next in light of their declaration of war?“

First, we should reflect deeply upon the painful divide that has festered among us, causing the devastating toll of hundreds of lives lost and thousands wounded. We need to yearn for a major change and wholeheartedly unite as one. Only the bonds of unity can shield us from future tragedy and elevate our nation from the abyss of despair.

We cannot afford to nurse bitterness or delay action, waiting for the war’s end to ponder our fractured state. Now is the time for introspection. We need to pinpoint the reasons behind our present circumstances and act accordingly.

Our quest for understanding needs to extend to our lives’ very source: the upper force of love, bestowal and connection that acts on us beyond our current level of awareness, which perceives through an egoistic and divisive lens. It is no matter of religion, but a realization that reality’s governing force is singular, and we accordingly need to stand united before it as one.

Precisely in our trying times, we are in need for an expansion of consciousness to let the upper force of love and bestowal into our lives. We need to raise the pain and anguish that erupts in so many people in such times to the upper force, and wish for it to mend our torn relations, and draw us closer together. We must seek to hold each other close to our hearts, not solely in times of war, but as an enduring duty.

We are a nation established not on a biological foundation, but on a spiritual-ideological one: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That is, we were people from all around ancient Babylon who felt a problem with living our lives solely according to competitive-materialistic ideals and sought for a higher truth to our existence, which we revealed as a higher force of love, bestowal and connection that united us above our divisive drives. That is why we cannot remain divided without suffering from our separation.

Our mission to unite above our divisions is constant, because divisive egoistic desires constantly surface within us, driving us apart. Therefore, much like a diligent student who finds new homework awaiting them each day, we should not accumulate any more overdue assignments that end up exploding in our faces, pressuring us into critical situations such as the one we now find before us. Instead, we should hurry up and correct our hearts to favor unity “as one man with one heart” above our divisions.
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Based on the afternoon lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 9, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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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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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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