Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the resurrection of the dead mean?“

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the resurrection of the dead refers to our inner qualities, not dead people.

A body is a desire, and a dead body refers to a desire that wishes to do nothing in a spiritual direction of love, bestowal and connection. It wishes to remain content simply as it is, as an egoistic desire. Such a desire is considered dead.

On the spiritual path, we invest a lot of effort into killing our egoistic desires, i.e., reaching states of not wishing to enjoy for self-benefit alone at the expense of others and nature. However, at a more advanced stage of our spiritual path, we wish to revive these desires since they can then be used differently, for the sake of bestowal. This is called “the resurrection of the dead.”

We then make contact with our dead egoistic qualities and work out how to correct them in a direction of bestowal.

We thus need to be concerned with bringing dead bodies to life, i.e., helping each other resurrect our dead desires and raise them above ourselves.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on the article “All My Bones Shall Say” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on August 14, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: New Publications, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Does everyone have bad thoughts?“

Everything that awakens within us stems from the upper force of bestowal and love in nature that creates and sustains reality, which in Kabbalah is called “the Creator.”

However, we receive awakenings in our egos and they thus becomes revealed as the opposite form of what was sent from the upper force.

How does this work? The upper force is absolute altruism, constantly bestowing pleasure and delight upon us, but we receive that influence in broken egoistic desires that wish to enjoy for self-benefit alone.

The egoistic desires receive everything that comes from the perfect upper force, actualizing that influence in an opposite and negative manner.

That is why, unfortunately, we all have bad thoughts and bad desires, and we will continue having bad thoughts and bad desires until we correct ourselves.

What does it mean to “correct ourselves”? It means that we invert the intention upon our desires so that instead of wishing to enjoy for self-benefit alone at the expense of others and nature, we would instead wish to benefit others and nature over our own personal egoistic benefit.

When we correct ourselves, we would come to feel ourselves as existing in a single whole with everyone and everything in nature, and we would thus be happy to serve and act for the benefit of that whole as if it were our great self.

Based on “Ask the Kabbalist” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on August 7, 2008. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is there so much confusion in the world?“

A new desire is emerging in humanity today.

It is appearing in more and more people, but only as a seed of a desire, not a fully clarified one.

What is this desire for? It is a tiny spark of a desire for a state of absolute love, bestowal and connection.

As a result of the emergence of this new desire, confusion is rising due to people not knowing how to fulfill it.

Unlike the desires that developed within us to date, i.e., corporeal desires for food, sex, family, money, honor, control and knowledge, there are no examples in our midst of how to fulfill the new desire emerging in us. It is because this new desire is not corporeal, but spiritual, and it requires a shift in how we perceive and sense reality.

What shift in perception and sensation do we need in order to realize this new desire emerging in us?

Our natural inborn egoistic desires make us want to receive maximum benefit for ourselves alone. They constantly try to absorb fulfillments into themselves. That is our clear inner self-organization through which we currently relate to the world. Instinctively, at every moment, we try to receive the most fulfillment possible, and we act in a way that our inner system considers necessary and most beneficial for ourselves at any given moment.

In our egoism, we more or less know how to work with others by pushing for what we want to receive, to take and to give, pay and buy, and so on. We interact with each other in such a way using a wide variety of means: guile, deception and politics, to name just a few. In our world, we know how to act despite all the venality and lies that we grow up with.

Now, however, another condition, force and quality emerges, a new desire that we previously did not feel: a tiny point of a desire for love, bestowal and connection.

Such a desire is rooted in nature itself, which at its core is a desire to love and to bestow. In other words, love is the base law of nature. Likewise, the more we develop today, the more we experience nature’s rawest form drawing closer to revealing itself to us.

What is the expression of nature’s rawest form drawing closer to revealing itself to us? It is that we start finding ourselves becoming more and more complexly interconnected and interdependent globally.

That is how nature’s quality of love, bestowal and connection manifests itself in the corporeal world: in addition to the egoistic force, there is also an altruistic force, and it increasingly reveals itself to us through our becoming globally interconnected and interdependent. Likewise, until we shift our attitudes to each other from egoistic to altruistic, then we will feel more and more confusion enter our lives like a dark cloud increasingly descending upon us.
[317798]

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Internal Work” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 3, 2011. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Martin Fu on Unsplash.

Filed under: New Publications, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is the path to truth difficult? Is it necessary to seek the truth? Why?“

Finally in this dull, secluded village to find him gone. In the ramshackle hut by the fire sat true.
He had never seen a more old and ugly women.
– You – Really?
Old, wrinkled hag nodded solemnly.
– Tell me, I have to tell the world? What kind of message to convey?
Old woman spat into the fire and said:
– Tell them that I am young and beautiful! – Robert Tompkins, “In Search of Truth.”

This allegory states that we seek the truth, and if it is the truth, it can often appear as an old hag, while if it is a lie, then it seems beautiful. And so the question emerges: is it really necessary to seek the truth?

Yes, we need to seek and strive for the truth. The truth could indeed be very ugly, but it is the sole higher truth, above everything, and this makes it unique and worthwhile.

Can the truth be beautiful? If we see it as such, then it is a sign of blurry vision on our behalf, that we cannot see normally and we simply sell ourselves to it.

When, then, do we feel the truth? In order to feel the truth, we need to rise above and detach from our inborn egoistic qualities, which make us wish to enjoy for self-benefit at the expense of others and nature. We can then draw closer to the truth, discover it, and what we find would be our only truth.

Rising above our inborn egoistic qualities means rising above our ideas of ugly and beautiful, and where we will evaluate what we find enjoyable and unenjoyable according to completely different values.

In our egoistic desires, “enjoyable” is that which momentary fills us with pleasure for self-benefit alone, and “unenjoyable” is when we cannot receive the pleasure that we wish for ourselves. The different values that we can discover above our egoistic desires are the contrary: that “enjoyable” becomes the ability to give contentment to others and nature, and “unenjoyable” is that we do not or cannot give contentment to others and nature.

How, then, can we accept the truth?

We need to rise above ourselves in order to view the world from a higher level. We then need to understand what we seek, where we are and where this truth we seek should be.

Likewise, we require much courage to seek and not deviate from the path to truth. According to our egoistic nature, we run away from such a search, and we thus need to feel a certain compulsion in order to embark on the path of truth, and to stay directed at it.

And what truth do we seek?

It is the meaning of life.

We can discover, achieve, reveal, understand, evaluate and feel the meaning of life if we rise above ourselves.

What does it mean, to “rise above ourselves”? It means first that we stop evaluating everything based on our personal tastes and understandings, the myriad evaluative systems we have in our egoistic intellect and sensation.

The difficulty in achieving the truth is thus due to the need to rise above our very selves, the “I” of the person. If we fail to do so, then we will always be under the thumb of our egoistic desires, which feed us with constant lies and which hold us at an infinite distance from the truth.

Yet despite the incredible difficulty in attaining the truth, more and more people feel an attraction to it and are willing to undergo various searches and efforts in order to find it. We have to be prepared for the fact that the truth is an old ugly hag though, according to the above allegory. And we can agree to that precisely because it is the truth.
[317758]

Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur on July 17, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Sinitta Leunen on Unsplash.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Does love require constant work to keep it fresh?“

There is a saying in the wisdom of Kabbalah that “our whole work is to discover love among us each and every day.”

Love is the general inclusive force of nature, and it is written that reaching the love of others as ourselves “is the greatest rule of the Torah” (see Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, “Matan Torah [The Giving of the Torah]”).

Today, in the age of globalization, we are discovering our global interconnectedness and interdependence. The force of love is bringing us closer together from the side of nature, but we are opposite to it, in a state of hatred toward one another. In other words, nature is an altruistic force and our nature is egoistic, a desire for self-benefit at the expense of others and nature. We are thus opposite to nature, and such an opposition is the cause of our every problem.

Our main problem is a lack of love. In love, we discover a life of eternity and perfection.

So why do we have to work for love? Doesn’t everybody already want love?

Indeed, we all have a desire to feel love, but how do we realize it not in a transient and involuntary way, which is how we generally feel love in our world, but in a way where we can grow the love? We realize it by inviting the force of love that dwells abundantly in nature into our connections. About drawing the force of love into our lives, it is written that “I created the evil inclination, I created the Torah as a spice, because the light in it reforms.”

The light is the force of love that can enter our lives and correct our intentions so that we genuinely want to love others as ourselves. The more we connect to sources that explain the foundations of nature—both human nature and the general inclusive nature—how we can attract the force of love in nature into our connections, and by doing so, achieve a happy and harmonious life the world over, then the more we attract the force of light and it works on correcting us.

Based on “Ask the Kabbalist” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on August 28, 2008. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is the Rosh Hashanah important?“

Before discussing the importance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, it is important to understand that the Jewish holidays are not the tradition of one particular nation or people. They are rather symbols of unique spiritual states where we attain a common quality of love and bestowal in higher levels of our connection among each other and with nature.

If we attain a certain level of unity that is latent in nature, then we celebrate such an event. When we rise a little further to the next level of connection among each other and with nature, then we again attain a new degree of a unified perception and sensation of nature, and celebrate such an event.

Our own decision making plays no role in determining the holidays. Instead, we celebrate the attainment of certain levels of equivalence of form that are omnipresent in nature. We thus cannot change these holidays.

Nature is an interconnected and interdependent network of altruistic forces. It is a unified system where its every part is completely interlinked. We humans, on the other hand, are the only parts of nature that oppose and resist it with our egoistic desire to benefit ourselves at the expense of others and nature.

If we—humanity or at least a critical mass within humanity—will start undergoing a process of changing our egoistic quality into an altruistic one that is similar to nature’s, then we will approach nature’s unified form.

A key step in such a process is called “recognition of evil.” It means that we need to first reach a recognition of our inborn egoistic nature holding us back from experiencing the wholeness that exists in nature. In order to then change our egoistic nature into an altruistic one that is similar to nature’s force of love and bestowal, we require a deep inner scrutiny, which is called “prayer.” In Hebrew, to pray (“Lehitpalel”) means to “incriminate” (“Lehapil”) oneself. That is, we must incriminate ourselves, and such a confession leading up to Rosh Hashanah is called “the month of Elul.”

During such a scrutiny, we view our current low egoistic state in comparison to the exalted and whole altruistic state of love, bestowal and connection, which we wish to reach. The immense chasm between those two states give rise to a prayer, where we judge ourselves and express a great desire to change our egoistic intention into an altruistic one that is similar to nature’s.

We find how our egoistic nature turns us into criminals together with the discovery of an overpowering and much greater force above our egoistic powers, the altruistic force of nature, to which we wish to advance.

That state is called “Rosh Hashanah,” the beginning (“Rosh”) of our change (“Shinui”). It is the beginning of a new cycle of states through which we progress in order to become more and more like the loving and bestowing force of nature.
[317664]

Based on “A New Life” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 14, 2014. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Igal Ness on Unsplash.

Filed under: New Publications, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do teachers effectively manage individualized instruction?“

Effectively managing individualized instruction is indeed a problem in modern education. Nonetheless, we have to check what suits the children’s characteristics.

There are many instances of dividing the students into classes according to topics, but it is usually when they have grown up a little. In elementary school, we can also see children have their own inner direction, which becomes clearer with age, but we need to help them make their clarifications.

I think that teachers should be able to discern each student’s attitude to reality, their inclinations, interests and inner structure. Accordingly, I would group the students according to distinctive characteristics, such as sensitivity, intellectual aptitude, affinity for nature or technology, and more. By doing so, teachers can tailor their teaching methods to resonate with each group’s preferences and learning styles.

We can discerning students’ unique qualities by employing multifaceted teaching approaches. Instead of adhering to a single teaching style, we should explain concepts from various angles and provide examples from different fields. Such an approach lets students grasp the material in a way that aligns with their individual learning styles.

I recall my own school days when I sometimes struggled to comprehend a concept presented by a teacher. However, when my mother explained the same concept differently, using examples that resonated with my learning style, I gained a deeper understanding. This underscores the importance of flexibility in teaching and the potential of using relatable examples that cater to each student’s preferences.

When it comes to perceiving the uniqueness of every student, especially from a spiritual perspective, we, as teachers, can greatly benefit from inner preparation. I suggest that teachers view their role not solely as instructors of young children but as facilitators of the development of humanity to its final, perfect and eternal state of complete connection. In other words, the more teachers are aware of the way in which nature develops us all toward states of greater connection, then the more teachers can align their methods in a way that leads the students to increasing balance with nature. Recognizing that each student embarks on a unique journey in their development to a greater state of connection with others and nature can help us connect with our students on a profound level.

By considering the teaching process as a means of guiding the students to more balance with nature, we can transcend conventional notions and acknowledge the inner essence within each child. This shift in perspective empowers us to discover the distinct qualities in our students and offer a more profound level of fulfillment.

Effectively managing individualized instruction in teaching is a multifaceted task that demands sensitivity, adaptability and an understanding of each student’s uniqueness. By grouping students based on their characteristics, employing multifaceted teaching approaches, and adopting a spiritual perspective, we, as teachers, can navigate this challenge more effectively. Ultimately, our goal is to provide tailored education that enables every student to thrive on their unique path of learning and self-discovery.
[317624]

Based on “Ask the Kabbalist” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 11, 2008. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do I overcome my gambling addiction?“

The attraction to gambling stems from a strong feeling of lacking connection with fate.

What is a lack of connection with fate? It is a lack of a harmonious connection between people and nature, or to a pathway to such a goal.

At the basis of all of our desires is a desire to connect with the source of our lives, the force of love, bestowal and connection that created and sustains us, and which can fulfill us completely.

We are on a developmental course to discover that force, but we do not all know about that goal or about the process we are in toward its attainment.

We thus wish to know our fate, the process we are in, what is rooted in nature and the plan by which nature operates.

Accordingly, by gambling, we feel like scientists in a lab. We express our desire to reveal the formula by which nature and humanity operate.

I understand and feel gamblers, even though I am not a gambler myself and I have never held any attraction to gambling. My wife, however, an adult lady, has an interest in playing various gambling-style games. It stems from searching for the force of fate that works on us and if we will bring people an opportunity to meet that force, then they will feel it.

It might seem as if an obsessive gambler just wants to make money fast, but it is not about the money. They can happily lose and win money, so it is not about losing or gaining. Rather, internally, the gambling addict seeks connection with the upper force that is operating on us at every moment. There is a spiritual aspect to it, as there is with all games.

What is the spiritual aspect to games? Games are actions in which their players rise from one level to another. When we play games, we do not know their outcomes. That is how life is. In such a sense, we could say that a scientist conducting various experiments or research is a kind of gambler.

We behave likewise in many areas of our lives. If we wish to progress on safe grounds, then we need to detach ourselves from the idea of fate and enter into a gamble.

In terms of overcoming a destructive gambling addiction, then it is written that the Torah heals everyone. I recommend that anyone addicted to gambling open and read the books of Kabbalah. The method of Kabbalah provides a process of gambling, i.e., undertaking risks, experiments and searches to find and feel a certain spark that exists within us. It leaves us on the edge of our seats, so to speak, in that we could either lose that spark or increase its intensity at every moment. By applying ourselves to the Kabbalistic method, we gain a lot of fulfillment while acquiring more knowledge, awareness and wisdom about our lives, and we regularly engage in a game to progress ourselves to greater and higher levels of perception of reality.
[317580]

Based on “Ask the Kabbalist” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 18, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How does one discover their true self?“

We discover our true self from within what Kabbalah calls the “point in the heart,” a tiny desire within us that attracts us upward to another realm beyond this world.

Today, we live in an era where people despair more and more from living in this world. Rising depression, loneliness, anxiety, stress and drug abuse signal that more and more people wish to separate from our current sensation of life. However, at the same time, a new desire surfaces within us with a spark hope, fulfillment and vitality. This desire’s fulfillment exists in a different place to where we understand and feel our desires’ fulfillment up until today.

If we pursue the fulfillment of the point in the heart, not suppressing it but interesting ourselves in how we can exit our present state and progress upward to discover life’s source—what we live for, why we were put here to begin with, and what is the meaning of life—then such a point guides us to the revelation of our true self.

The more we seek according to the demands of the point in the heart, the more we will be led to discover the source of our existence in the upper force of nature, the force of love and bestowal, which created and sustains all life.

In other words, our true self and the upper force are one and the same. We arrived here in our world by way of descent and stemming down from that upper force, and we can ascend back to that root point of our existence via a path of ascent. The point in the heart, also called “the desire for spirituality,” is what attracts us to that exalted spiritual state.

We were all initially created in what the wisdom of Kabbalah calls “the world of Ein Sof (Infinity).” We descended into our world from the world of Ein Sof through various levels, from a lofty state of love and bestowal down into its opposite egoistic state that characterizes our world.

We exist in the world of Ein Sof in our perfect and eternal state—our soul. We were initially created in such a state, and from there, our soul—the root of each and everyone’s soul—began shrinking, gradually minimizing until we ended up in this world where only a tiny fragmented point of a desire remains in our consciousness of the great big soul we all share.

Our descent from a eternal and perfect state as a single soul into our world was intentional. From our current form of existence, we need to start developing back up to the state we were created in, and to do so by seemingly creating it by ourselves, not just by receiving it with no free choice. We will then attain a much fuller and richer sense of our state as a single soul.

In our original state, we had no real sense of that soul, no sense of life. It is because we lacked feeling the complexity and the purpose for our development. Our soul underwent shrinkage to a tiny point that exists as a small spiritual desire within us, and from the feeling of this tiny point, we can develop this desire up to a sensation of our full soul, and on our own accord.

In other words, by attaining the root of our soul—our true self—through developing and nurturing our point in the heart, we develop, sense, examine and increasingly understand that desire, all the way until becoming fulfilled through it. When we return to the world of Ein Sof, we then live to our fullest extent: in eternity and perfection.

That is our true self, and it is what we have to attain.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, this state is called “the attainment of adhesion with the Creator,” and it is considered the purpose of our lives, the reason for our creation in the first place. The Creator is the force of love and bestowal that becomes revealed within us, and which fulfills us completely, in such a state. In Hebrew, the word for Creator (“Boreh”) comes from two words “come” and “see” (“Bo” and “Reh”), i.e., “come and see” that you receive every goodness and delight there is to receive in existence.

[317530]
Based on “Ask the Kabbalist” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 18, 2008. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Who is spiritual?“

One is spiritual when one is above our world.

“Our world” is the egoistic desire that constantly calculates self-benefit at the expense of others and nature. If we aim ourselves outwardly in order to bestow contentment upon others and nature, when the outcomes of our acts are unrelated to those who perform them—even indirectly—then we are considered spiritual.

In other words, being spiritual means attaining an intention to bestow to others and nature above our inborn desires to enjoy ourselves alone. With such attainment, we come to sense our eternal and perfect existence as a single soul, i.e., as a great desire that wishes to enjoy through the intention to bestow to the upper force of bestowal that creates and sustains life.

Such an existence is above time, space and motion. It is in no way linked to the sensation of the animate body, but is rather felt in a new inner space in our senses, in an intention to bestow that we develop and attain.

Based on the book The Kabbalah Experience, Ch. 11 – Concepts in Kabbalah by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora - No Comments →