A student at a school approached his teacher, because he saw a girl who had come to school in a torn coat. Since it was winter and her coat was inadequate to stand up against the cold weather, the student suggested a trade setup where anyone could give whatever they wanted with the aim of making sure that every kid in school would have an umbrella, boots and a coat for winter. The teacher was very moved, shared the idea with the parents, and it was set up in two hours.
A question that arises from this heartwarming situation is why are we all not as sensitive as that child? Obviously, we would find ourselves in a much more positive reality if we were.
We adults are bigger egoists and are much more inclined to pay attention only to what is ours. We have been created in such a way where we feel increasing detachment from each other in order for us to develop a sincere prayer for help: to have our hearts opened so that we can feel others similarly to how we feel ourselves.
By reaching such an inversion of how we feel reality, then we would feel connected, close and understanding of each other. We would then all feel like one body. We would have no holes in our coats, and would feel ourselves as parts of the upper world—of love, bestowal and connection.
Based on the video “How to Become More Empathetic” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
Love at first sight is not true love, and it is thus unsustainable. True love, rather, has a different foundation, infrastructure and cause.
To love is the meaning of life. There is nothing greater than love.
When love fills us, we are alive. When love disappears, it is worse than death.
Love is when we have something that we can do for another person, and it fulfills and enlivens us. There is no stronger emotion than love.
Why does love fade away? It is because we have to renew it. Love is like a pet that we need to constantly feed. By doing so, we can continually renew our love up to a point where it can be felt endlessly.
Based on the video “Love in the Movies – A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Israeli researchers discovered how a fungal network manages the exchange of nutrients between trees. Fungi connected to tree roots communicate the transfer of minerals, nutrients, water and carbon, while the trees funnel their carbon to the fungi in return. The researchers also found that the fungal network serves to strengthen and recover trees that developed certain problems.
Therefore, one thing we can learn from fungi is that there are complex and smart connections in nature. Among us humans, we actually have much more complex and profound connections, but due to our egoistic nature, we have no idea how to approach them. Fungi and trees, however, use their connections to their mutual benefit because they contain no such ego.
However, nature made us human beings with the ability to connect two opposite qualities, the negative egoistic quality of humans and the positive altruistic quality of nature. It is so that we can correct our egoism into its opposite—altruism—and by doing so, reach nature’s higher degree. And for us, nature’s higher degree is one of love, bestowal and positive mutual connections among everyone.
On one hand, fungi have a certain awareness of something missing in the ecosystem, and pass on certain forces to complement it. Among us people, on the other hand, we can see opposite examples, such as people continually amassing more and more wealth to a point where they do not know what to do with all of their surplus, while others starve to death.
We would thus be wise to learn from fungi about the intricate connections in nature, and that we can positively realize our interconnections by prioritizing the benefit of others over self-interest. Our eyes see an egoistic reality, but behind the scenes, from the perspective of nature itself, is an altruistic reality, and if we filled our connections altruistically like nature, then we would experience harmonious, peaceful and whole lives.
We would then gain nature’s wisdom. We would understand how the intricate connections in our reality work, and how we could maximally benefit our lives by mutually complementing each other through positively realizing such connections.
Based on the video “The Wisdom of Fungi” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Photo by Jesse Dodds on Unsplash.
School trips are no ordinary experience for 12-year-old Mayan Hanan, who has a rare disease that makes him struggle with severe pain during long walks. His class arranged a special wheelchair capable of navigating through the varied terrains. Mayan shared: “On this trip I felt that I’m like everyone else and that I’m equal among equals. Everyone really made a big effort for me.”
Such is an example that what helps a child with a disability is to support them, participate with them, and identify with them.
To identify with them means to understand their suffering, to accept them as equal and to wish for us to live and participate in everything together. And participation means sharing everything that we have 50-50.
How can we share the disability of another person? We can take half of their disability by adding our strength to theirs. And the disabled person supports the able-bodied person by providing an opportunity to help and feel that they contribute.
What exactly does a disabled person give us? This is the crux of the matter. It seems to us that the able-bodied person gives to a disabled person only because we fail to understand how much the disabled person gives. Participation gives us an opportunity to connect and to act together.
What is the correct attitude toward people with disabilities? For the able-bodied, it is a call from the general forces of nature that we need to take these supposedly disabled persons into our society, take care of them, and bring them to a state where they feel no disability at all. It depends only on our correct attitude toward such people: that there is no disability and that we are equal in everything in life.
How are we equal? We are equal in that we share all good and bad things among us equally. When we reach these feelings, even if only a little bit, then we will feel ourselves in a different state. We will be in a different world, one of true equality, which is worthwhile to live in.
Based on the video “Disability Equality from a Kabbalist’s Perspective” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Infinite energy exists in the attitude of nature toward us, an attitude of unconditional love and bestowal.
As nature is a force of love, bestowal and connection, when we use this force to benefit others, we discover infinite sources of energy, light and beauty.
In principle, we lack nothing on condition that we use everything to benefit others. Why is there such a condition in nature? It is because nature is whole. In order to relate correctly to nature, we as a humanity thus also need to be whole like nature.
We should thus invest in improving human connections up to a point where we relate to each other as nature relates to us: out of absolute love and bestowal. We would then discover infinite energy as we use that energy for the benefit of others.
Based on the video “How to Extract Infinite Energy from Nature” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
The end of all wars will come about when we all aim at mutually complementing each other.
It cannot be a state where one ego will overpower another ego, but rather one where we mutually concede to the upper force of connection, love and mutual bestowal for the benefit of all people in the world.
In such a state, everyone will be directed at positively connecting above all egoistic and divisive drives.
Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 8, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
The spiritual root of circumcision is the desire to cut ties with our egoism.
Egoism is the desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature, and those who wish to detach from it do so in order to connect with the Creator, the quality of love, bestowal and connection—the positive force of nature—opposite to egoism.
Egoism prevents us from feeling the Creator. It dwells in our heart, i.e. in the desires behind our thoughts and behaviors. As such, it is written, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart” (Deuteronomy 10:16). The human ego constantly grows within us, and at a certain point of our development, we awaken spiritually, recognize the ego as an evil quality positioned against a positive force of love, bestowal and connection, and reach a state called “circumcision,” where we feel the need to rid ourselves of the ego. We are then left with only positive intentions toward others, which is the revelation of the upper spiritual world. We can then feel the spiritual life of love, bestowal and connection with everyone up to a point of loving the Creator, the divine and benevolent force that governs and fills reality.
Based on the video “What Is the Spiritual Root of Circumcision?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
While the media reports on the Asia-Pacific region as turning into a powder keg, we should remember that the media is primarily interested in its ratings, and neither America nor China are interested in serious warfare with each other. There is no point in trying to conquer other countries and regions in a world where an all-encompassing global crisis sweeps over us.
The real tension today is between us and nature. Nature is starting to work on us and our goal, which is of utmost importance, is to establish a dialog with it.
Nature will not leave us alone until we change ourselves, and it will change to the extent that we do. There are inanimate, vegetative, animate and human natures. Human nature is at the peak of all the levels of nature, and as such, the other levels depend on it.
If we can become more balanced among each other on our human level, then we can also bring calm to nature’s other levels. Kabbalistic books very clearly state in several places that only the good force exists in nature, and a human being can change everything. Humans cause imbalance in nature, and humans are also capable of bringing about balance.
Based on the video “War Between America and China? A Kabbalist’s Response” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Many people stop believing in love because we live in a world built on the growing human ego, which wishes to enjoy at the expense of other people and nature. In such a world, hatred and desires to overpower others abound more and more, which makes the concept of love seem increasingly childish and unrealistic.
However, we need to understand that other than the negative pressures that emerge from our growing egoism, there is also a positive force that can govern and sustain us, yet it can do so only on condition that we want it.
Moreover, the more we experience pain, suffering and crises from our growing egoistic natures, the readier we become to recognize its evil, and to call upon the positive force in nature to correct us. This is what the kabbalistic texts mean by “the coming of the Messiah.” That is, the Messiah is a force that pulls or draws (“Messiah” [Heb. “Moshiach”] from the word “pull/draw/attract” [Heb. “Moshech”]) us out of our egoism and inserts us into a new reality of love and positive connection to each other above our differences and divisions.
Therefore, while we grow increasingly egoistic, we should not focus on our egoism and hatred of each other, but instead build positive connections to each other above our divisive drives. By doing so, we will draw the positive force dwelling in nature among us and raise an umbrella of love and goodness over ourselves.
Based on the video “Calling on the Good Force” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Chaim Ratz. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Indeed, Jews have received the blame for a lot of phenomena throughout history, from poisoning wells to creating viruses, and from drinking children’s blood to running the world. Often the blame is completely illogical, yet it becomes accepted by masses of people. Why is this the case?
Around 3,800 years ago, in a time of great division in human society, Abraham, a priest, explained to anyone willing to listen to him that the human ego had increased, and that people needed to rise above it. His followers received the name “the people of Israel” (“Israel” from the words “Yashar Kel” [“straight to God”]), and Abraham guided their unity to a state of “love your friend as yourself” above their divisions. Later, this group became known as “the Jews,” where the Hebrew word for “Jew” [Yehudi] comes from the word for “united” [yihudi].
This group detached from human society because they had an opposite direction in life to the rest of the people. In other words, by primarily wishing to reach a state of “love your friend as yourself,” they became detached from the egoistic goals that ran rampant throughout Babylonian society at the time.
Then, around 2,000 years ago, this group separated and scattered in all directions. They lost track of what initially brought them together, and continued to exist without directing themselves at a goal of uniting above their differences. This period is called “the 2,000 years of exile.”
Now, the time has come when we as humanity increasingly feel our interdependence, and we likewise need to undergo a process of unifying above our divisive drives in order to realize our interdependence harmoniously. At the same time, humanity has no idea how to apply itself to such a process, and more and more people thus instinctively feel that the Jews are to blame for all kinds of problems in their lives. We thus see surges in antisemitic crimes and sentiment from one year to the next.
Why is there an instinctive feeling of blame and hatred for the Jews? It is because the Jewish people were formed due to their attainment of unity above division, i.e., the attainment of the state of “love your friend as yourself” amid an increasingly divided society, and they hold the method that Abraham once granted them in order to rise above their divisive drives in order to attain the sublimity of unity. Today, however, the Jews themselves have no idea that they hold such a method, and thus they do not implement it. Instead of realizing what made them Jews to begin with, they try to live solely according to the smorgasbord of corporeal goals at everyone’s fingertips.
Therefore, more and more people subconsciously feel as if the Jews are robbing them of something, without pinpointing that what they mostly lack is a harmonious connection to expand throughout human society, which would bring about happiness, peace and love to everyone, and that the Jews hold a method to achieve such a state. Likewise, Jews themselves also do not understand that the method to achieve such exalted unity above division is what brought them together and made them Jewish to begin with. They only feel hated, not knowing why they consistently become the targets of accusations, while they—disproportionately to other nations—make significant advances in fields that seemingly contribute much benefit to humanity, such as science, medicine, technology and culture.
Only kabbalists, which are merely a few hundred from among the Jewish people, exert in trying to communicate the message to Jews about their role, and how it ties in with the cause and solution to antisemitism. Moreover, antisemitism is exponentially rising in our era, and history has shown the terrible consequences that can come about when the antisemitic inclination is left untreated. We have the ability, however, to take hold of the method to unite above the abundant divisive drives in our society today, attain the most magnificent goal of “love your friend as yourself” that has been given to humanity, and by doing so, act as a conduit of the positive force dwelling in nature to reach every person in humanity. It is thus my hope that the Jewish people will awaken to their role sooner rather than later, and that they start making motions in the direction of unity. A good future not only for Jews, but for humanity as a whole, depends on it.
Based on the video “Why Are Jews Blamed for Everything?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Chaim Ratz. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can I become more empathetic?“
