Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why did God create the heavens and the earth?“

There are two forces in existence: (1) the creation, which is the desire to receive and enjoy the light of the Creator, and (2) the Creator, which is the light itself, the desire to bestow pleasure, enjoyment, fulfillment and delight.

While the creation is equal to the light, i.e. wishing to receive the light with an intention to bestow contentment upon the Creator, then it receives the light. However, if the creation intends to receive the light with a self-aimed intention, i.e. to please itself alone, then it is opposite to the Creator. In such a state, the creation feels none of the intended pleasure that the Creator wishes to impart, and instead feels complete darkness, a black copy of the light. Such a state is called “this world” or “our world.”

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” means that the Creator created the qualities of bestowal and reception. Why? It is in order for us to host a combination of these qualities, and to have the ability to exercise our free choice about which of them to use: a desire to receive and enjoy with an self-aimed intention to receive, or a desire to receive with an intention to bestow like the Creator.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is God physical, metaphysical, abstract, conceptual, material or immaterial?“

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, we study God in a practical fashion, in relation to us and how we attain it: as an upper force that creates us, the universe within and surrounding us, which rules over, sustains and guides it to a predetermined goal.

Similarly to how we refer to our parents as “mother and father” due to their specific relationship to us, when we attain a connection with the upper force, we attain a specific relationship that this force has toward us, and we cannot say anything about other possible attributes or relationships that this force might have. This is why we say in Kabbalah that we do not engage in the essence or the “self” of God, because we have no attainment in that aspect.

Therefore, with the methodology of Kabbalah, which is a practical and experimental research of ourselves and the surrounding reality, we undergo various changes upon ourselves until we can clearly perceive and sense God as an upper force that creates and sustains us, and which guides our development to a defined goal: our entering into balance—or in Kabbalistic language, “adhesion” (Heb. “Dvekut”)—with the Creator. We say “the Creator” because in Hebrew, the word for “Creator” (“Boreh”) stems from two words “come” (“Bo”) and “see” (“Reh”), i.e. we can only discuss what the Creator is once we attain this force through changes that we invite to ourselves using the Kabbalah method.

Therefore, we only characterize the upper force (the Creator, God) in relation to us people who attain it, as we can only analyze, sense and measure something that enters into our perception and sensation of reality. In the language of Kabbalah, such attainment is expressed as the reaction of the Kli (vessel/receptacle) to the light (the Creator’s quality) that fills it, while the light in and of itself is unattainable.

Therefore, by undergoing certain changes in ourselves and developing this Kli, we measure our reactions to it, and give definitions not to its qualities, but to our own reactions and perceptions. This is why Kabbalah is best defined as a science, that through applying its time-tested methodology upon ourselves, we attain results that past Kabbalists wrote about, which we can measure, repeat and reproduce. The knowledge of this science includes only what has been empirically verified.

Based on the article “Comparative Analysis of Kabbalah and Philosophy” by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why do some people like martial arts?“

The human ego develops through competition, envy and desires for respect, control and power. When we see bigger, higher, stronger and more successful people than us, our egos feel defeated. That is why so many people are drawn to martial arts or to any kind of fight.

It is due to our very makeup, the way we were created as egoists from the very beginning. If we do not aim to correct our egoistic nature, then we evaluate others in comparison with ourselves.

We have an inner urge to evaluate people and things in order to be able to place them into inner categories that make sense to us, to work out what is better or worse, what we like or do not like, what we find pleasant or unpleasant, and so on. Everything we perceive passes through an egoistic filter: “Is this good or bad for me, and how?”

Our key perceptual apparatus is the desire to enjoy. We feel the world in relation to whether or not we enjoy from what we feel. It could be colors, sounds, or anything, and even objects or phenomena that we could be completely indifferent to. We distinguish everything in relation to our desire to enjoy, on a scale of how much better or worse someone or something is to me.

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Fortitude” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 11, 2013.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Will the world end?“

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is no end of the world, but a transition to a new, higher and integral perception of the material realm that reveals itself to the degree in which we correct our nature: from our inborn nature of wishing solely to enjoy for our own benefit alone, to its polar opposite—wishing to benefit others and nature.

By correcting our nature in such a way, we discover new organs of perception, ones through which we perceive other omnipresent layers of reality that are concealed from our inborn level of perception.

Moreover, according to Kabbalah, the shift to this new perception is the defining characteristic of our current era. More and more people are feeling the incompleteness and narrowness of our current level of perception, and an inner calling to rise above it and enter a new broader and whole level of perception.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think is really the cause of the crisis in the world today?“

We are all parts of an interconnected and interdependent system of nature. In our world today, this system manifests as interdependent relations among all people in the world, and between humanity and nature.

Egoistic human nature, however, which makes us enjoy at the expense of other people and nature, resists our interdependence. That is why we behave contrarily to the interconnectedness and interdependence that reveals itself more and more today.

The cause of the crisis in the world today is due to the contradiction between the interconnected and interdependent system of nature and the overblown human egoism that opposes connection.

Likewise, the comprehensive solution to the global crisis is to correct human egoism, to develop an intention that inverts egoism to its opposite, making it as interconnected and interdependent as nature itself. Doing so is possible through connection-enriching education, which includes learning about how our nature and nature in general works, how we develop by becoming increasingly opposite to nature until we eventually click into balance with it, and how we can use our social, cultural and media influences to help inspire our transformation to a harmonious and peaceful world. I have discussed this topic at length in several books, talks and other materials, and here is a good page to find out more about it.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What should I do to change myself completely?“

First, we should define what it means to change ourselves. We are made of desires, and we can change those desires either in relation to ourselves or in relation to the still, vegetative, animate and human parts of nature, and all of those in relation to the absolute laws of nature—laws of love, bestowal and connection. That is, we choose what kind of desire we wish to use and what we wish to relate it to.

If we wish to use all of our desires with an intention that is in balance with the laws of nature, i.e. with a positive attitude toward the entirety of nature on the still, vegetative, animate and especially toward people, then we are on course to changing not only ourselves, but doing so is the only way we can truly change the world.

If we start paying attention to the laws of nature, we then feel a great force that is above our earthly forces. We can then work in tandem with that force, asking it to change us, and accordingly we start seeing how the world around us changes in accordance with the changes we invite upon ourselves.

Such a change is a complete transformation of ourselves because our inborn intention is one of reception for ourselves, and by changing our intention to one of giving, we switch our intention to its complete opposite.

Based on “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Michael Sanilevich on May 21, 2021.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do digital and analog systems differ?“

Analog systems are superior to digital ones because they host an infinite possibility of resolution and accuracy. Take, for instance, conventional vinyl records as opposed to digital recordings. People more knowledgable in sound appreciate precisely such records because they convey the sound’s subtlety with all the harmonics.

In numbers, however, such information needs to be digitized, or in other words, placed into corresponding pulses. No matter how many instruments there are, each one must find its pulse, and they are limited. That is, there is an incomplete transfer of information in digital systems. No matter how much resolution goes into creating curves out of pulses, the curves will always be approximate and will be made out of pulses.

It is clear that digital systems are more profitable. Thanks to them, we can transmit a great amount of information on a single frequency. But sensuality, subtlety and the harmonics that no computer can catch, which are necessary specifically for our hearing and feeling, are transmitted better by records or our old non-digital receivers and transmitters.

At the level of our thoughts and feelings, digital thinking is done with the intellect, which is limited, while analog thinking is with feelings and is unlimited. The heart perceives in an analog fashion, i.e. smooth information, waves, and the brain perceives pulse information, operating by bits.

We are on a path of development that is leading us ultimately to an analog state, i.e. to a state where we interconnect in thoughts and feelings and feel everyone and nature as a single whole. When we enter such an analog and integral state, we will experience a new set of clearly graduated degrees. On one hand, those degrees are digitized, where awareness, perception and sensation takes place within us at every moment. But on the other hand, the sensation itself turns directly into feelings, which are not digital, but analog.

Based on From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Difference between Analog and Digital Systems” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 12, 2013.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Did Noah’s Ark ever exist?“

Even if we discovered a few of its boards and could seemingly prove that it existed, what would that give us?

The main takeaway from the story of Noah’s Ark for us today is to understand that we are also on the verge of a great flood, and we have the ability to prevent it from happening.

We prevent a great deluge from coming our way by listening to what the Creator says, or to put it differently, by obeying nature’s laws, which ultimately means that we need to positively connect.

Negative human connections bring about every blow that we receive from nature. And on the contrary, if we relate favorably to one another, we manage to prevent natural disasters and other blows.

How does this work? There are laws of nature that stop us from knocking the system of nature out of balance, which we do mainly through our negative human relations. Nature has four levels—the still, vegetative, animate and human—and the human level is nature’s highest qualitative level. What we determine at the human level, in our connections to each other, unequivocally determines what will happen throughout nature in relation to us.

We should thus learn how to become more attentive to what really matters in our world today—to develop positive human connections as a means of reaching balance with nature’s laws—and by doing so, we will find that we not only protect ourselves from natural disasters and several other blows, but moreover, we will open the gates to a new peaceful and harmonious world the likes of which we have yet to experience.

Based on the video “Did Noah’s Ark Ever Exist?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is there violence in Israel right now?“

One of my students recently asked me about the rise in violence among Jews in Israel after the tragic murder of 18-year-old Yoel Lhanghal by a group of young adults at a birthday party in the northern-Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona.

Indeed, we are headed in a negative direction, toward a state called “the recognition of evil,” i.e. recognition that our ego is behind the various tragedies and misfortunes that we experience.

The ego burns within each of us and it is growing. It is making us intolerant of anyone who is a bit different from us. That is how it is supposed to be, because it is a law of nature that we become increasingly opposite from nature’s altruistic quality until we gain awareness of what we actually are—egoists—become sick of how we host this negative egoistic quality within us (the “recognition of evil”), and develop a sincere desire to change ourselves. However, in the meantime, we are not doing anything toward a positive transition, and so from one day to the next, we become ever more evil.

In relation to Yoel’s murder, his father said “How could a Jew murder another Jew?” We have reached such a state because we do not want to educate ourselves about our egoistic nature and how to transform it into its positive opposite. In short, we do not want to become good people toward each other.

Why? It is because we reject anything that goes against our egoistic nature. Our nature is a great big ego, which wishes to enjoy at the expense of others, and it is written about our nature that it is an “evil inclination.” It was given to us on purpose so that we could rise above it.

We can rise above our ego by working with each other on developing relations of love, giving and positive connection. Developing relations of love, giving and positive connection means that we first need to understand that we are interdependent and that we cannot exist without each other, even though we currently hate each other. And the transition point is the recognition of evil: that we acknowledge that we are the evildoers in the world, and that the world’s well-being—humanity’s shift to a positive direction—depends on us.

While the egoistic and altruistic forces are opposites, we can make the shift from hatred to love if we develop a desire for it to happen. As such, there is a good reason for antisemitism’s rise worldwide. More and more people feel that the Jews are responsible for various forms of suffering proliferating throughout humanity.

What we lack is a desire and a method for how to improve the situation. No one wants things to be bad, but we have to know that it depends on us. Also, we should know the method for shifting from an increasingly negative direction to a positive one.

Through education about our nature and what is required to change it, we need to first reach an agreement that the evil resides within us, in the way we treat each other, our fellow Jews. If we change our attitude toward each other from negative to positive, then we will see how the increasingly negative attitude from humanity toward us will also change. In its place, we will see that everyone will treat us favorably and respectfully. We will then also find that we will not need to discuss how to make peace with our neighbors, because all the pieces will fall into place: more and more people will feel a positive force illuminating from the people of Israel, and will wish to support the positive connection that we develop with each other above the growing ego.

Based on the video “How Could a Jew Murder Another Jew?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do Jews feel different from other people?“

First of all, we feel ourselves in relation to something, because we cannot discuss a feeling in and of itself. Were there only me, I would not feel myself. I feel myself in relation to the environment, the air, the soil, the sun, the flowers—it does not matter what the object is, but feeling oneself means feeling oneself in relation to one’s surroundings. This is how we find ourselves in the world. We grow up from babies into grown adults through a process of discovering ourselves in relation to what surrounds us—the still, vegetative, animate and people.

Finding ourselves in relation to other people is of utmost significance in this process. From the moment we are born, we are surrounded by a family, whether big or small, i.e. people with whom we feel comfortable and safe, and who treat us favorably regardless of how we behave. In relation to our families, we do not have to examine, shrink and restrict ourselves, but we can be as we are, behaving like a baby in its mother’s arms, feeling like the world loves us. Everything is comfortable and positive in such a state.

However, when we grow up, we exit the framework of our families, and enter into other kinds of relations. We then need to discern why other people, whether they are closer or more distant from us, treat us one way or another. We learn from such relations that not all people are equal in their attitude toward us, and so we also have to treat them differently. We then have to restrict ourselves, to not be as open with them as to our families, and to not fully trust them.

Among the people who relate to us in various ways, there are those who are simply strangers, like anyone in the world, but there are also people who treat us in a specific special way, not because of our behavior, but because we belong to a special nation, the Jewish people. That attitude toward us can be positive, but it is mostly negative, i.e. if we are discussing humanity’s attitude to the Jewish people. I have discussed the reasons for the generally-negative attitude toward Jews at length in other places.

Based on the video “Do Jews Feel Different from Other People?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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