Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the ten commandments given in the Bible?“

The Ten Commandments are the laws of our absolute connection to each other and with the force of bestowal that holds our connection together.

The Torah is given at the foot of Mount Sinai, which is a gigantic mountain of egoistic hatred (“Sinai” comes from the word “Sinah” [“hatred”]), after the people of Israel (i.e., people with a common desire “Yashar Kel” [“straight to the Creator”]) accept the condition of mutual guarantee—to be united “as one man with one heart.” In other words, we reach a stage in our development where we discover a mountain of ego, division and hatred above us, and we can climb this mountain only with one point in the heart, i.e., by uniting our common desire for spiritual ascent above all other egoistic desires. This point is called “Moses” (from the word “Moshech” [“pulling”]), because it pulls us out of our ego.

Mount Sinai is enormous, even bigger than the Tower of Babel. Standing at the foot of Mount Sinai means that we agree to unite all parts of our individual egos into one big mountain. Then, instead of fearing this great hatred and division between us, we should instead use it as an impetus to yearn for unity, since the sole purpose of being given an ego is so that we use it to fuel our unity.

When we unite above this mountain of ego and hatred, we demand the revelation of the force of bestowal in our unification. The tendency to unite is the spiritual vessel, the deficiency for mutual love, bestowal and connection, as it is written, “From the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator.” We thus accept the condition of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and receive the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments refer to the correct use of the desire to enjoy. They discuss the limitations that we need to implement on Malchut if we are to establish and sustain a spiritual connection. These limitations are called a “screen” (“Masach”) and “reflected light” (“Ohr Hozer”). When Malchut accepts these limitations, it lets the ten Sefirot, which are also known as the Ten Commandments, dress in it.

A commandment (Dover) stems from the Hebrew root for “utterance” (Dibur), i.e., it is born in the Peh (mouth) of the Partzuf, the Peh of Rosh. These actions are performed in the world of Atzilut.

We receive the Ten Commandments after we unite “as one man with one heart.” Otherwise we cannot hear them. We have to be on the level of Bina in order to have the ear that can hear the ten utterances from Mount Sinai. In practice, this means that we need to first undergo a period of preparation until we can unite at the level of “as one man with one heart,” and only at that stage do we hear the commandments. If we are not at such a spiritual degree, we lack the vessels in order to understand and observe these commandments.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on June 3, 2014. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is it written in the bible to honor your mother and father?“

The fifth commandment is “Honor your father and your mother, in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you.” What does this mean, and who are the father and the mother?

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, which describes the Bible according to the language of branches, where corporeal people, phenomena and objects in our world point to spiritual phenomena, structures and processes in the upper world, father and mother are the forces of Hassadim (mercy, bestowal) and Hochma (wisdom, reception).

The Creator is the upper force. He is followed by two lower ones: Hochma and Bina. Hochma is the force of the father and Bina is the force of the mother. Then there are another six derivatives that compose Zeir Anpin: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod and Yesod.

The last Sefira is Malchut, which completes the process of creation.

The phrase, “Honor your father and your mother,” means that we should give Hochma and Bina the opportunity to create so that everything they have would appear in the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin, the six lower forces.

“To honor” means to wait for their revelation in creation, because Hochma and Bina, father and mother, exist before and above the creation. The Creator creates through these forces. Therefore, the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin are created by the father and the mother, which gives form to the creation.

“Honor your father and your mother” thus means to let these forces act within us. For instance, in our world, can a fetus in its mother’s womb make any decisions on its own account? Also, how much can a small child do? Their parents do everything for them. Thus, here we discuss the correct attitude of the lower one, the created being, to the upper one, the Creator. We in our world need to let the upper forces act on us and form us.

Based on the talk “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2016. Written/edited by students of Dr. Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” mean?“

A week is a cycle, and every seventh day is a break that as if stops then restarts the universe.

It is written that the Creator worked for six days and rested on the Sabbath, the seventh day.

This means that we should also work for six days and rest on the seventh day. However, our work differs from the Creator’s work.

The Creator’s work is creation. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the weekdays represent the six Sefirot of Zeir Anpin—Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod and Yesod—six directions.

On the contrary, our work is to change ourselves in accordance with these six Sefirot. When we finish that transformation, we reach the last Sefira. However, the last Sefira becomes revealed in us by itself. Here, we have nothing to do, just to not interfere.

If we correctly attract the six forces upon ourselves, then the seventh force of the Sabbath, Shabbat, from the word Shvita (a break during work), does all the work by itself because we embody no interference to the Creator’s actions.

We receive everything possible in the six stages, the so-called “six days,” which connect in us, and then on the seventh day, we receive their result. In other words, we work during the six days to resemble the Creator’s qualities of love and bestowal, and on the seventh day, we need only let the Creator perform upon us the conclusion and outcome of our six days of work.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” mean if not what it says?“

The sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” means to cause no detriment whatsoever to others.

The previous five commandments explain a process that leads to us receiving the forces called Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod and Yesod, and we need to become a receptacle that lets these forces act correctly in us, not interfering with the effect that they have on us.

Using these forces correctly means to use them for the sake of bestowal, and thus “Thou shalt not kill” means the contrary, that we use these forces for self-benefit.

In other words, if we use our connection with the spiritual forces, with the Creator, for self-benefit, then this act is called “killing.” By doing so, we kill our desire, which is the fundamental matter of our existence. Our desire gets killed because it becomes filled with pleasure; the pleasure aimed at self-benefit kills the desire, and the desire becomes extinguished.

Based on the TV show, “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Will colonizing Mars or the Moon help save humanity?“

No. Thinking that colonizing other planets, moons, or any other locations will save humanity fails to take into consideration the root cause of our problems: that human nature, the egoistic will to enjoy at the expense of others, is all that needs to change in order for us to enjoy better lives.

If we send a bunch of people who have undergone no inner change to Mars or the moon, then they will exploit, manipulate and abuse each other over there similarly to how we do so on Earth.

Saving humanity and creating a better life for all people thus requires changing ourselves, not our location.

The essence of our self-transformation is our attitudes to each other. We need to realize that human nature is fundamentally evil because it makes our every desire and thought prioritize self-benefit over benefiting others.

Moreover, such a nature gives rise to exploitative, manipulative and abusive behavior, which can be expected to take place anywhere we go, whether Mars or the moon, if we fail to change our nature to its opposite: prioritizing benefit of others and nature over self-benefit.

Therefore, if we truly wished to save humanity and create a better life for everyone and our future generations, then we would need to focus on implementing a new kind of education: a method of connection that would guide our attitude shift from self-centered to other-centered, egoistic to altruistic, detached to positively connected, divisive to unified, and hateful to loving. Undergoing such a transformation would elevate us to a new level of life that would be balanced with the laws of nature. It would in turn bring about newfound harmony, happiness and confidence all throughout humanity, the likes of which we cannot even imagine today.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Photo by Christian Lischka SJ on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does the second commandment mean?“

The second commandment, namely, “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,” means that everything we can imagine is a derivative of the single upper force. Therefore, we are mistaken if we think that there are forces besides this force, which create, implement or make decisions in our world. In other words, if we perceive forces other than a single force operating in reality, then we should recognize that we are not at the highest degree of attainment.

In order to observe the second commandment, we need to perceive and sense the single force behind everything in our world, all objects, plant life, animate life, and people. If we connect everything we see and feel to a single force positioned behind it all, then we fulfill this commandment.

The prohibition to make an image is due to our inability to portray the single upper force in reality. Similar to how we picture physical forces as vectors in our world, other than drawing an arrow to indicate a direction in which this force acts—i.e., as it is a force of giving, connection, integration and emanation which has no self-interest whatsoever—we cannot depict this force in a picture or an image the way we do with corporeal objects.

Based on the talk “Spiritual States: The Ten Commandments” on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is forbidden by the third commandment?“

The third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain,” means that we can act with the force of the Creator, i.e., the force of love and bestowal, only as much as we resemble that force. In other words, to the extent that we become as loving, caring and giving as the force of the Creator, which has no intention for self-benefit whatsoever, and to the extent that we unite with that force, then only on that condition can we use it.

The prohibition to use the force of the Creator for self-aimed purposes equates to the impossibility to do so. That is, it is impossible to draw the Creator’s influence in order to make ourselves rich, famous or powerful at the expense of others.

The Creator guides our development in order for us to reach a proper request or prayer, which means that instead of asking the Creator to change something in Himself or in the world to benefit us, we instead ask to change our egoistic nature in order to become as altruistic, loving and caring as the Creator. We can and do ask for all kinds of self-aimed purposes on the way to the correct request, and it is also desirable that we do so, but it is the request to become as loving and giving as the Creator that we are being developed toward—the true prayer that the Creator will ultimately grant.

Based on the talk “Spiritual States: The Ten Commandments” on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why do bad things happen in my life?“

Bad things do not actually happen to us, but a certain kind of revelation takes place that we have to correct.

When that revelation happens, it is always felt in a bad or negative way. We then have to push through that negative state with our actions toward a good and positive form, i.e., toward positive connection with others and nature.

In other words, we perceive bad and negative events unfolding in our lives in order to perform a correction. “Correction” means that we should aim to build positive connections with others, reaching mutual understanding, decisions, consideration and activity.

More broadly, human nature is a desire to enjoy, and this desire undergoes a process of development from its initial broken state, which gives us the perception of separation from others and nature, to a state where our desire acquires a corrected form, where it enjoys from loving, giving to, and being positively connected with others and nature.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains the initial shattering of this desire in the story about the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, also known as the shattering of the soul of Adam HaRishon (the “First Man”). Our entire development leads us to a point where we will need to correct this egoistic desire, and to acquire a form that is similar to nature—altruistic.

When we understand what is behind our process of development and where we are headed, we can then apply ourselves to move toward our final state in a much more enjoyable, conscious and painless manner. In short, we are headed toward a state of total interconnectedness and interdependence, which the Kabbalistic texts describe as a state of “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The sooner we can agree to such a goal and organize ourselves in society to realize positive connections, then the sooner we will shift from a development where we see increasing amounts of “bad things” surfacing in our lives, to one where we become balanced with nature.

Then, when we balance with the form that nature is urging us to reach, we will experience a whole new level of harmony, happiness, confidence and security, together with full understanding and sensation of who and what we are, and why we were put here in this reality.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the implications of the first commandment in the Bible “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me”?“

This is the most fundamental commandment. It means that there is a single force in the world that is above and beyond everything. This force develops us through the still, vegetative and animate levels of nature, up to the level called “speaking” or “human,” which in Hebrew is “Adam.”

Adam (“human”), which comes from “Adameh le Elyon” (“similar to the most high”), is one who understands and feels connection with the all-encompassing force of nature, the Creator.

Despite humanity’s progress in science, technology and art, the vast majority of humanity exists at the animate level. The animate level, i.e., our animal state, defines our primary consideration of self-benefit over benefiting others and nature. In other words, it is when we are encased in our inborn egoistic nature.

We can exit our egoistic nature, i.e., “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” and rise to the human level, where we accept the influence of the higher force in reality, the Creator, or as is written in the commandment, “I am the Lord your God.”

Based on the talk “Spiritual States: The Ten Commandments” on December 26, 2019. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the defining characteristics of being Jewish?“

Anyone who agrees with rising above the egoistic human nature in order to positively connect with other people—according to the phrase “Love your friend as yourself”—is considered a Jew, which comes from the word for “unity” (“Yichud“).

It is not a matter of having Jewish ancestry in the physical and biological sense, but everybody—all humanity—will eventually have to reach such a state. In other words, everybody will reach a state of unification above the divisive ego, as it is written, that then the Land of Israel will spread to the entire world, which means that all people in the world will live according to the tenet, “Love your friend as yourself.”

I am certain that we will reach this state. The only questions are when and how we will aid it to come about.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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