Entries in the 'Torah' Category

Don’t Just Share Two Toys, Give Both Away!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In the stories of the righteous Job relates that his suffering is the result of a dispute with the evil spirit named Satan, who supposedly looks at people and decides to test their loyalty to the Creator.

Satan claims that Job was righteous because he had everything and thrived in life. And if you take away his wealth, it is unknown how he will respond. This is the beginning of the suffering of Job. Who is Satan?

Answer: This story is about the evil desire that confronts everybody. Satan is inside us and is called the evil inclination. It is written: “the evil inclination in a person is the Satan, the angel of death.”

Question: We consider Satan to be some kind of the higher power?

Answer: Why can’t it be higher? We are born this way; it precedes me: “the human heart is wicked from the day of one’s birth.” It rules over us. I would say that this force is even stronger than the Creator. Nature consists of four levels: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking.

The force that controls the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels is benevolent. That is why harmony and balance are present in the first three levels. Even though some live creatures gobble each other up, it happens only because they are governed by nature. They don’t hurt each other deliberately. The positive, kind force that rules the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels is called the Creator (Elokim).

The human (speaking) level is controlled by the negative force: “the human heart is wicked from the day of its birth.” The evil nature constantly tempts us to hurt others. Not only do I want to take your watch, ring, and beautiful eyeglasses just because I want them, I also enjoy that you don’t possess them anymore. Where does this feeling come from? It derives from the ability to sense our neighbors, i.e., “I feel you.”

Since I feel them, I am not satisfied when my neighbor simply doesn’t feel good. I really want them to feel bad. This mere fact makes me automatically happy. So the sensation of a neighbor that is inherent to human nature allows us enjoy others’ suffering that result from the fact that they lack things that they strive for. This sensation elevates and fulfills us. The force that causes this sensation is called Satan or the evil inclination.

Question: What does the dialogue between Satan and the Creator mean?

Answer: Satan lives inside us. It is our nature. As for the Creator, He is the external nature that we don’t yet have. It exists in the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels, but is absent from the human level: “the human heart is evil from the day it was born.” This is how we are born and then continue living. You can easily see it in our children. They gradually grow for two, three, four years, and all of a sudden they become people.

They begin lying, stealing, acting solely for their own sake, doing anything they can to fulfill their desires. They want everything, and if you give a toy to a child and the second toy to another child, the first child wants to grab both. It is our duty to transform the wicked inclination into a good one, “as if for our own self.” If previously a little child grabbed both toys and never gave them to other children, now he is supposed to give both toys to his friends. It’s not about sharing. He has to act “as if it is for his own sake.”

Question: How should we understand  Satan’s manipulations when he demands sending new troubles to Job? It’s not enough to take Job’s money away. It is necessary to take away his children!

Answer: It stems from the program of nature that constantly rules over us. We permanently advance and grow, and our desires constantly enhance, develop, and become more and more egoistic. Our needs expand. However, do we become more corrected from generation to generation?

We constantly follow Satan. He pushes us to bad things: weapons, murder, terror, deceit, and slyness. Can we resist these things? No! We drift with the wicked flow that leads us nowhere. We consent to it. Moreover, we continue considering ourselves to be honest citizens!

By converting evil into benevolence, we’ll attain the Creator’s level. Then, we’ll understand all of nature and reach the best possible scientific level, build correct relationships among us and behave accordingly. We are not there as yet.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 5/28/13

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Thou Shalt Not Take Vengeance, Nor Bear Any Grudge

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Torah, “Leviticus,” 19:18: You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.  The commandments as to what should be done should be read from the end and not from the beginning: “I am the Lord and I place before you and give you all the hardships in life so that by overcoming them you will learn how to reach a state of complete love and bestowal. Don’t accept anything as if it is the result of something.

You should understand that any state you are in, no matter how terrible it may seem, stems only from Me and you should build yourself with regard to Me above it. Therefore there can be no vengeance nor any retaliation with regard to the messengers and mediators through whom I manage you. You should attribute all that only to Me.

Let’s see how all the troubles that I put you through in life help you reveal my actions and My bestowal in them and help you grow stronger and thus change yourself. Let’s see how you constantly focus yourself on Me through different external resentments, and how you constantly correct yourself. Then you will grow into something.”

This is the whole study.

Question: It says: “You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people.” How can I constantly keep that in mind? Where does it stem from?

Answer: It is the first phase called Hafetz Hesed, when I don’t want anything for myself and when I exist neutrally or perhaps seem to not exist at all.

“You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge” is a state in which a person doesn’t perceive or absorb anything internally. It is a great correction since internally he is an enormous egoist with a clear and sharp feeling of everything that operates against him. He feels how he is poked, pushed, and insulted on all sides. However, when he ascends above his ego, he performs such corrections that he feels supreme pleasure and joy.

Therefore it says at the end: “I am the Lord,” which means the attribute of infinite pleasure.
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From KabTV’s “Secretes of the Eternal Book” 4/9/14

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Benevolent Intentions With Incorrect Actions

Dr. Michael LaitmanTorah “Leviticus” Kedoshim 19:12: You shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby profaning the Name of your God. I am the Lord. “You shall not swear falsely by My Name” means avoiding self-deceit, a condition when one thinks that one is able to completely bestow and implement the qualities of love, but does not act this way internally.

There are various levels of violating the property of bestowal and love: by ignorance, by misunderstanding, by confusion, or by sickness. In other words, there are several minor problems and malfunctions in our egoism to which we don’t pay attention. One must scrutinize and gradually correct them so that one fully clarifies one’s ego to the extent that it becomes transparent, corrected, and bestowing.

This explains why one has to test oneself and work hard on these problems. The most widespread tendency among us is stealing. For example, when we advance in self-correction, we think that we can work with these kinds of desires. Our egoism helps us by persuading us that “Everything is all right; you are working for the sake of bestowal.”

In fact, we might even really serve others and try acting for the sake of humanity. However, suddenly it becomes obvious to us that everything we ever did in this direction was still for our own sake. It turns out that we receive something in return at all times and the pleasure we feel is the reason for our actions. It is said: “The path to hell is paved with good intentions.” Intentions looked good, but our actions were wicked.

To control ourselves, we have to study the Talmud because it explains these things in their tiny details.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/26/14

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Brothers For A Cause

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the meaning of the commandment: “Thou shalt not hate your brother in your heart?”

Answer: The Torah commands us not to hate our brother since brothers naturally hate each other, which is revealed naturally.

A brother is your reflection on the next level and therefore you shouldn’t hate him since he shows you what you must complete in order to become whole,

Question: Does this mean that it is my reflection according to which I prepare my ascent?

Answer: It is a whole system. Why does Jacob have twelve sons, for example? Abraham had only one son Isaac, because Ishmael is a totally different system. They didn’t complement one another mutually. This will only be discovered later at the end of times.

Having many offspring indicates the incompleteness of the parents. Jacob had twelve sons because he wasn’t perfect. In order to attain the level of Israel he had to make all twelve levels perfectly adaptable, since they were still separated.

These mutual relationships apply to the whole family, to all the seventy souls. The twelve sons of Jacob are the twelve attributes that stem from him that have to merge into one integral whole. Only then will they become Israel (Yashar El), straight to the Creator, aimed at the Creator. Thus they discover what and who they have to correct along the ascent up the many levels of correction.

Jacob must have the hatred appear between the brothers, and Joseph must go down to Egypt. Then Pharaoh will appear between them and will keep them apart, and despite their ego, they will have to connect above it. As a result of the connection of the twelve tribes, the one general soul will be corrected, although we are yet to witness that.

Question: You say that the separation between the brothers stems from the fact that the parents are imperfect.

Answer: Of course, otherwise there would only be one single continuation. But it can only be fulfilled along the middle line. This is where the right unity takes place each time that it is aimed straight at the Creator.

The twelve tribes will establish their common basis called the land of Israel to the extent that they begin to connect correctly. This will include all the human attributes and all the parts that are distant from one another. They will gradually begin to connect until they reunite again at the one point of connection with the Creator. But this point, in the third phase, will be on the Creator’s level.

There is an initial hatred for others in people that was given to us by nature. Ask any person who has sons whether they always get along, whether they are always together, and you will get a negative answer. Brothers always compete, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

They can be together only when there is a great force, a great reward that pulls them forward and for which they connect. This reward nullifies their natural hate.

In our world there can only be strong unity between brothers for a cause. If the cause disappears, they separate again since the internal hatred always exists. So, the Torah isn’t wrong.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book”

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The Right to Choose, Part 1

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: I would like to know your opinion about the unstable political situation in Israel, which led to early elections. It has become a tradition that the Israeli government does not keep its assumed term. Egoistical play and intrigue are at fault, leading to the collapse of the government coalition.

I would like to understand this phenomenon, because it affects all aspects of our lives and affects everyone’s pocket, forcing us to come up with a few more billion for early elections.

Every government during the election promises to bring our common ship to a wonderful shore, drawing in front of us a wonderful life. But in the end, we feel that this ship is constructed with many separate blocks, where each block draws to itself.

It faces many conflicting interests, and the ropes tying the whole structure together become torn. Such feelings arise in people by causing a sense of insecurity and instability in us.

And this is not a new phenomenon; it accompanies us from the very inception of the state of Israel. Already so many governments have broken down, each time by bringing us to early elections long before they are due.

According to statistics over the 68 years of Israel’s existence, 33 governments and 19 Knesset assemblies have been replaced. The average time spent in power by the Israeli government is less than two years. This is the ruthless display of statistics.

But we do not want to open any political debates here, which are now well underway on all media channels. We just would like to understand the reason for this phenomenon and how we can fix it. How do we provide a captain for our ship who will lead the ship to the sacred shore? What was the cause for such instability in our government?

Answer: The answer is very simple. In the past there was a king put above all of society and the state government. Even though the king had many ministers, they all obeyed him. It was impossible to challenge the decisions of the king since everything he said was sacred.

How did the king make the right decisions?  He got them from heaven. People believed that the king was placed by a higher power and had a direct link with this power. This is how humanity progressed throughout its history, developing society, technology, science, religion, and education. All countries developed according to some program, with some countries becoming more developed than others. The king stood at the head of society, and under him there was the hierarchy of his assistants and courtiers.

Nature moved us along without asking for anything, yet sent everyone all the necessary thoughts and desires. Of course, we were accompanied by problems and wars, but it was all planned by nature and was supposed to happen. All we had to do was to learn from the experience and gradually move towards an understanding of how to make this a more balanced life.

The force of nature sent the king in the direction in which he lead his people and the people followed him. That was the case in all countries, and the people of Israel also went through many tests, all thanks to the higher power. Everything was planned in advance.

We see that in the days of the prophets, the entire process we had gone through was described by them. For hundreds of years before the destruction of the Temple and the people of Israel going into exile, the prophets knew and wrote about it. The Talmud says that even 70 years before the destruction of the Temple, there were signs of its destruction.

Question: Back then, did the rulers of Israel know that what was going to happen?

Answer: Of course, they knew because it was written in the Talmud and in the books of the prophets.

Among other people, the monarchy remained until recently. For example, a king ruled Russia at the beginning of the last century. People were very religious, no matter what group they belonged to within the society. Everything was organized so that humanity existed and acted at the will of the higher power.

This was ongoing until the time came to exercise freedom of will. Freedom lies in the fact that I myself get involved in the program of nature, study it, and realize how I need to change myself, the entire human society, everyone of us, and most importantly, our relationships with each other.

Now it is the duty of every person. Monarchies began to crumble and eventually we come to the fact that today everyone is king! Everyone is involved in a life of society as a separate, independent person that makes decisions.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 12/9/14

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Spiritual Category Of “The Creation Of The World”

laitman_281_02Question: As we know, after Adam there was the deluge in which only Noah and his family survived. Could we state that our lineage comes from both Adam and Noah?

Answer: All that is said in the Torah as the history of our people is understood as what happened in people’s inner ascent.

Adam was not the first person in the world; there were people before him. The human being evolved from apes tens of thousands of years ago. This is the same as stated in Kabbalah. For example, 600 years before Darwinism, in the book Etz Hayim (The Tree of Life), the great Kabbalist Ari wrote that man evolved from apes.

That is, the creation of the world is a spiritual category. The Torah tells only about the spiritual path of man, his ascent. Noah and all the other characters of the Torah are spiritual followers of Adam.
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From KabTV’s “A Special Opinion” 8/12/14

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A Very Delicate Connection

Dr. Michael LaitmanTorah, “Leviticus” Kedoshim 19:17: Do not harbor hatred in your heart towards your brother. The Torah describes the immense hatred that exists between brothers. They say that there is a thin line between love and hate.

The blood ties don’t operate on the next level of connection, the realization for the sake of the ascent, and are expressed as hatred, competition, and confrontation, while a person views his own brother as a huge interference.

There is a very fine line between “you and I are brothers in the goal of the ascent” and “we are just brothers.” If we are just brothers, then we’re competitors.

We have one father, and I want to be his sole heir. I don’t want to depend on someone else and owe anything to anybody. I always owe to a brother, since I depend on him due to the blood ties. If he does something that is either good or bad, somehow the light shines good or bad upon me.

A brother is a very big obstacle. He and I are equal before the whole world, but I don’t want to deal with anyone being equal to me. He expresses something that I can’t by his actions, and by doing so, he uncovers me since we are from the same level and from one father and mother.

So if I want to hide something, do something one way and not the other, then he will do it in his own style, deciding his own way, and possibly complete me, or vice versa, by being ahead of me. I depend on him and his actions always shine a good or a bad light upon me.

The concept of brothers is essentially non-existent in our world. In fact, this is a very delicate connection.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book”

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Don’t Deceive Yourself

laitman_423_01The Torah, “Leviticus” (Kedoshim), 19:13: Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, nor rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

A person should not play sophisticated tricks on other people under any circumstances. He has to be honest and truthful as much as possible since otherwise the attribute of love and bestowal doesn’t work.

When we ascend above our corporeal state in the group, we understand that there is nothing we can do since we were created this way and all the problems are above our corporeal creature, in the unity among us in mutual love and bestowal. We reach a state in which there can be no lies. Otherwise a person deceives himself because he doesn’t establish a connection with the other parts of his soul.

It is because together we make up one unique soul, which is one for everyone and all are incorporated in this general soul. Then it is your incorporation, your soul, from your perspective. So, who can you deceive if it is actually you? Who can you lie to, and who can you cheat, or steal from, detract in your giving, or leave what you can do today for tomorrow? This means that it isn’t bestowal anymore. Therefore it says: “… nor rob him (thy neighbor),” since he is actually a part of you.

The Creator performs the whole correction in us. Part of the correction is fulfilled by our evident efforts and part of it stems from efforts that are not evident.

You suddenly discover that you don’t work in order to bestow but in order to receive, by feeling that all this is yours. This means that you justify your being a thief since you are also allowed to do what others are allowed to do.

There was a popular movie in Russia in the past called Be Careful of the Car in which the leading character used to steal cars only from thieves. He used to sell the stolen cars and give the money to orphanages. This is being your own judge. This is where the problem is, when a person believes that he is doing the right thing and that he doesn’t steal.

This means that he should be made aware of what is going on and it can only be done after he steals. There is nothing else we can do and therefore we go through many different phases.

It says that there is no righteous in the land that does good and hasn’t sinned. It is impossible to skip these phases.

“The wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning,” means that when you have to give you have to do so immediately. If you stall, you turn into one who receives instead of one who bestows, even if you don’t profit from it at all. Thus, whole worlds are revealed in a person with regard to his connection with other people and to the same extent with the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 3/26/14

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A Court Without Prejudice

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Torah, “Leviticus” 19:15: Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. The Torah warns us not to corrupt our feelings and that we must not treat people as the unmerciful ego dictates.

Each of us is a judge. You should judge a person without prejudice and without looking at him. He can be black or yellow, ugly or handsome, or he may speak in an amazing manner and move you to tears and so on.

How can a judge make sure that he can conduct a trial without prejudice? In order to do so, he has to judge himself. After all, if you judge another person according to a perspective that is free of prejudice, which means that you dress into the Creator on their level, and the verdict is wrong, then you must assume the guilt for the accused and pay for his debt to all of society, to the whole general soul.

If you send a thief to prison and after serving his time he is free and steals again, it means that you have to be imprisoned instead of him because this sentence was incorrect. If he didn’t reform for different reasons while in prison and steals again, it means that you are to blame, not him, since you and society should have corrected him and you did not do so.

Thus when he goes free, you face the problem of what to do with him, while we know exactly what to do with you: we put you in prison or resort to other forms of correction.

Comment: If we followed this principle, all the judges would be in prison by now, but as we all know, prison does not reform.

Answer: There is no mention of prisons in the Torah. Indeed, prison doesn’t reform and we see that according to what happens today. The sages knew this 5,000 years ago.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/2/14

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Turn Obstacles Into A Degree of Elevation

Laitman_041_01The Torah “Leviticus” (Kedoshim) 19:14: You shall not curse a deaf person. You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.

If we translate the language of the earth into very simple spiritual laws, then hearing is Bina, and vision is Hochma.

The deaf are people who don’t possess the level of Bina, the quality of bestowal, and the blind are those who don’t have the level of Hochma. Therefore it is said, do not put obstacles in front of the blind for one will stumble since there are no sensors, no internal device to see, to analyze, and to determine what is good and what is bad at these levels.

An obstacle is everything that you can’t properly use during the spiritual path. If you would have the sight, you would define it not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to overcome and rise to a higher level. After a blind person faces a step when it’s invisible, he stumbles and falls, but the one who sees the step rises higher and higher. Everything depends on whether you are able to cope with this obstacle, turn it into a lever for lifting along the spiritual ladder.

It turns out that the deaf isn’t able to climb to the level of Bina with the help of obstacles, and the blind isn’t able to do the same at the level of Hochma. Therefore, you should feel the level of the other person, what is for his benefit and what isn’t, and lead him gently, as a small child, so he would start studying, ascending, descending, but not falling. This is how you should treat any neighbor, following the rule of “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

We educate children through soft teachings and morals in our world. A serious analysis and ascertainment take place in the spiritual world of whether it is possible to turn obstacles into a level of ascent.

This is why you have to act so that there will be obstacles in front of others, by which they would ascend. You must enter the other person, understand at what level he is, and even help this person to find an obstacle that he can overcome it.

This is the mutual aid, when all merge into one common cause, on one hand, reveal obstacles to each other, and on the other hand, help to overcome them. And so mutually supporting each other, people rise up like mountain climbers.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/2/14

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