Question: The people of Israel were afraid to leap into the Red Sea (Yam Suf – Final Sea) until Nachshon decided to do this. It seems that it was not easy to do.

Answer: Indeed it is not easy. We see that difficulties arose in all stages of the spiritual process. There are always those who were ready to turn back. Our ego is so multi-layered that it does not immediately give us the opportunity to escape from it or at least to define it as bad.

It is difficult for a person to nullify himself before others. If I do not act first, it means I would prefer someone else to. Is this a desire for love and unity? At the moment, this has not been clarified yet. And we see that after that the “golden calf” and many other problems were to appear.

Question: What does “Nachshon’s leap” symbolize?

Answer: There is a quality in a person that can go above reason: “Better death than such a life.” So the person leaps into the sea, come what may. Of course this is not our present state. The act called “Nachshon’s leap” requires preparation.

It is required to pass to the next stage, but are we prepared to carry it out? In the meantime, we are far from realizing it, even though this moment is quickly approaching. There is no doubt that we are in the stages of redemption. Peace and perfection are achieved in the connection of hearts. This is our salvation; this must replace the current state of Egypt. Therefore all of our work, study, and dissemination are aimed at connection and unity. Only with the help of connection and a good mutual relationship can we be saved.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalists Write: The Night of Passover Seder” 3/4/13

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Question: How can we acquire the force called Moses? After all, you say that it doesn’t exist in nature.

Answer: Moses (from the Hebrew word “Moshech” –  to pull) is the attribute that awakens in us and raises us from the bottom of Mount Sinai to its summit, to the peak of the general hatred. When a person climbs above it, he attains the Creator who is at the peak.

It is impossible to bypass this mountain; we must climb it. This is the way for the entire world. Today, all of humanity is at the foot of Mt. Sinai, surrounded by the enormous hate that separates us. But at the same time, the method called the Torah is revealed. The Torah is the light that reforms at the summit of the mountain.

We don’t have to make any special efforts, and there is nothing to fear. When we acquire the enormous hatred, we are at the bottom of the mountain where we receive the method by which we gradually can ascend by mutually complementing and helping one another.

Then Mount Sinai becomes the temple mount, at the top of which there is the temple, the place where the Creator is revealed.

This is basically the essence of Pesach (Passover). This is the reason that the calendar of the nation, of the new humanity, begins on this holiday.

Before the receiving of the Torah, mankind developed like animals, but from that moment onward, there was a connection with the Creator, with the force that can raise us continuously above the ego and help us climb the mountain of hatred by getting closer to one another.

At the same time, we attain the Creator to a greater degree, because two forces already appear in us, the egoistic force and the altruistic force. When we build ourselves from these two forces a state called the attainment of the Creator or the soul appears between them.

The two forces descend from above, and we make efforts not to mutually annul them but to connect them by placing our resistance between them, trying to recreate the harmony between them by connecting and adding all the disconnected parts. Then this harmony creates our soul, our upper existence.

This is the reason that we consider Pesach to be the major and most important holiday, because symbolizes the beginning of the creation of man, Adam, (from the Hebrew “Domeh” – to resemble the Creator).

There are, of course, many subtleties, laws, and different nuances that only speak of how to properly cover the ego with the attribute of love, and that’s all. Everything comes down only to this!

We can study this holiday down to the smallest detail, about why eating certain things is allowed and why eating other things is forbidden, about why Pesach is seven days, why we drink four glasses of wine, and why there are other customs that are described in the Haggadah.

However, these are merely actions that we must perform on every level to create the right connection between plus and minus, which are the attributes of receiving and bestowal, hate and love. We cover the hate with love, and together they will give us the sense of attainment, adhesion to the Creator.

Thus, we don’t simply come out of a small ego to love, but from our world to a perfect eternal world. This is the reason that Passover is indeed a special holiday.
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From KabTV’s “A Talk About Passover” 3/18/15

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Preparation to the Lesson

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Lesson, Part 1 – Unity Day in Honor of Hanukkah “Miracles Happen When We Unite”

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — “Miracles Happen When We Unite”

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Question: Everything I see comes from my Kelim; therefore, I do not see the complete picture of the universe. How can I rely on what I see?

Answer: The thing is that only at the beginning should you try to unite more and more. Later you will have an inner sense of unity that will guide you by itself. Then you will not need any effort to get closer to each other.

But in general, to the extent you get closer to each other, you will be able to get closer to the Creator and begin to attain Him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/9/24, Writings of Rabash, “The Point in the Heart”

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Don’t Fall for Egoistic Unity“

The recent tragic events of the Israel-Hamas war have made much clearer that our greatest vulnerability to terrorists is not in external threats but in our internal divisions. Our own very demonstrations, protests and vitriol that we spread among each other weakens us and emboldens those who wish to attack us. While the importance of unity is widely acknowledged, what remains less clear is that unity is merely the initial step in a more profound mission.

The story of the Tower of Babel serves as a poignant illustration of the consequences of misusing unity. The Babylonians, united in purpose, harnessed the power of unity to build a tower fueled by a group egoism. Due to their self-serving misuse of the unifying force, the tower eventually collapsed, scattered them and confused their language. Similarly, the history of communism reveals how a seemingly noble pursuit of equality and friendship, rooted in unity, can devolve into greed and oppression, resulting in the loss of millions of lives.

Unity, when constructed upon the flawed foundations of selfish motives, risks undermining its potential for positive change. It is not enough to proclaim, “together we will win.” Mere unity might ward off external foes, but it fails to address the persistent internal battle against our divisive egoistic drives that surface inside us at every moment. Without a higher guiding principle, the ego will resurface, perpetuating a cycle of conflict and drawing external threats.

What distinguishes this higher guiding principle is not a distant, cloud-dwelling grandfather figure but a positive unifying force that manifests in connections that we build above our divisive egoistic tendencies. This force is rooted in the fundamental laws of nature that reveal themselves through the intentions of those who unite in a common aspiration to project the very base qualities of nature—qualities of love, bestowal and connection—to one another and who wish for these qualities to spread to the world at large. Then, the unity that these people establish is based on the fundamental unity that exists in nature, which likewise attracts the harmony and peace that dwells in nature.

To build a society that endures, we must rise above mere unity and establish a society founded on the laws of nature. Without such an alignment, any social construct risks collapse, endangering its members. Recognizing the need to match our unity with nature’s eternal and perfect form of unity is essential for breaking the cycle of internal strife and external threats. We thus need to cultivate unity in society that is built on the benefit of all, a unity made of attitudes of its members that align with nature’s quality of love, bestowal and connection.
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Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Bring Back the Pioneer Spirit”

When I came to Israel in 1974, I was sent to a hotel that accommodated new olim (Jews who had just immigrated to Israel). Each family was given a room and we slept, dined, and learned Hebrew there. One day, I found out that one of the waiters serving us in the dining hall was actually the owner of the hotel. He had donated his hotel for several years to help new olim in their first steps. I was amazed to discover that there were people with such spirit. That man was a true pioneer, and it was the pioneer spirit that drove him to do what he did. That spirit did not let him sit by, but galvanized him to do something meaningful in his life. Today, this spirit is a rarity, and we desperately need to find a way to bring it back to life.

The pioneer spirit exists in the heart of every Jew. After all, every Jew is a descendant of pioneers who paved the way for a new social model of mutual responsibility and solidarity, which was unheard of at the time. Until Abraham began to spread his ideas about mercy and love of others, and until Moses had turned the descendants of Abraham’s group into a nation, the idea of a nation fashioned by transcending one’s ego was unthinkable. The prevailing conduct was that the strong rules and subjugates or annihilates the weak, both among nations and among individuals. Here, however, was a new concept, embodied in the words of King Solomon (Prov. 10:12): “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes.”

The Golden Rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” represents the core of being Jewish. It is not a commandment to do something or say something. Nor is it a commandment to praise a deity or worship it. It is simply a commandment to love others as much as you love yourself.

The pioneers who established the State of Israel did a great job at founding a sovereign country in a land that was largely swamp and desert when they came here, and against six charging armies that sought to annihilate the Jewish presence in the Middle East. However, they did not finish the job. They established a state, but now it is up to us to nurture the soul and spirit of that state so as to merit the name the “State of Israel,” a country that hallows one and only law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If we take the next step and fill the heart of the Israeli people with the Israeli spirit of solidarity, mutual responsibility, and above all, love of others, it will be our final triumph. No one will challenge our presence here because everyone will realize that we are not here for ourselves, but for the world, to carry out our calling and be a light to the nations, spreading the light of unity and friendship above all differences and conflicts. If we rise above our internal divisions toward unity and love, we will complete our ancestors’ task, and their pioneering spirit of caring for others will spread around the world.

Therefore, the only war we need to wage is against our egos. The only victory we need is the victory of unity over division.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Curse of Re-elections”

“As long as the laws of society are not satisfactory to each and every individual in the state, and ‎leave a minority that is dissatisfied with the government of the state, that minority conspires ‎under the government of the state and seeks to overthrow it,” wrote Baal HaSulam back in the 1930s in his essay, “Peace in the World.” To this he added that if the power of the losing faction “is not sufficient to fight the government of the state face to face, it will seek to ‎overthrow it indirectly, such as by inciting countries against each other and bringing them to ‎war, for it is natural that at wartime there will be many more dissatisfied people with whom they ‎will have hope to achieve the critical mass to overthrow the government of the state and ‎establish a new leadership that is convenient for them.”

It seems as though these words were written yesterday, not ninety years ago. What is worse, the pertinence of Baal HaSulam’s words proves that we have not learned much.

We established the Jewish state based on laws we borrowed from the British Mandate that ruled here before us, with some leftovers from the rules of the Ottoman Empire that ruled here before the British. These are not the laws of the Israeli nation, but laws of the nations of the world. This incongruity wore down the legitimacy of the judicial structure to such an extent that lawmakers and laypeople alike are leaning increasingly toward following their own interpretations of the law.

Without a common goal and a collectively adopted constitution, we will never have a stable government and a solid Jewish state. Our common law should be the law that was the basis of Jewish peoplehood: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Even when the people of Israel could not practice it, they always strove for it. If they do not, they are not regarded as Israel.

Currently, because no effort, or even aspiration to unite exists within the people of Israel living in the State of Israel, we are not Israel. What are we then? We are a collective of persecuted migrants and refugees, many of whom feel that the country they live in does not belong to them and dream of the moment they can return to the country from which they or their parents were chased away.

Herzl’s vision of forming a safe haven for Jews is not enough. If this is the only reason for our gathering here, we will not be able to form a cohesive and stable society. The obstinate, opinionated nature of our people will soon take over, and division and hostility will develop. This is what is happening to Israel today. As a result, the political parties have splintered and become fragmented, and a succession of elections ensued.

If we want to stabilize the Israeli society and prevent its disintegration, we need to fall in line behind a single goal that we value more than our own opinion. Also, the goal of our country should not be to save the Jews, but to save the world from division and conflict.

The reason Israel is always at the center of attention, especially in times of conflict, is that the world looks to Israel for example. Since the inception of our people, we have been tasked with serving as a model of unity. Our ancestors assembled from numerous tribes, clans, and countries, and pledged to love each other more than themselves. This is unheard of by today’s ostensibly civilized standards. In the ancient world, this was utterly inconceivable.

Nevertheless, our ancestors attempted it and succeeded. Moreover, they proved that when they unite, they triumph and overpower any nation that challenges them. They proved that military and economic success depend, in the case of the people of Israel, solely on their unity.

Alternatively, when they became divided and hostile toward each other, they demonstrated weakness, and foreign nations overpowered them and exiled them. Our unique nation, therefore, became the first nation that could choose its own fate. When it chose unity, it succeeded; when it chose division, it failed. In a sense, our nation was a proof of concept, a “pilot,” as historian Paul Johnson called us. We proved that foreigners can bond in peace and love if they value unity more than their own culture and tradition.

The modern-day curse of endless elections reflects a decline in the level of the unity of our people in the State of Israel. Instead of lining up around the tenet of unity above all other considerations, each party promotes its own agenda and claims that it will lead Israel to success. Yet, they are all wrong because if their ideas do not require national unity as a precondition, it makes no difference what agenda they support; it is condemned to failure.

Only when we realize our unity, above all differences, will the curse of perpetual elections be removed. Moreover, only when we realize this will the danger of another cataclysm to the Jewish people be averted, as Israel becomes what Israel is meant to be: “a light [of unity] to the nations.”

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My new article on Linkedin “At Highland Park, the Murderer Went for Jews”

Four of the seven victims of the Highland Park mass shooting were Jewish, and probably many of the dozens who were injured. According to a JTA report, “Although local authorities have not yet said whether they believe the shooter’s motivation was antisemitic, [a] Highland Park rabbi reported that the suspect, whom authorities said had pre-planned his attack for weeks, had previously visited a synagogue: his own.” Moreover, “Yosef Schanowitz, the rabbi of the Highland Park Chabad, told the Orthodox news site Anash that he recognized the alleged shooter, who … had been turned away from Chabad by its armed security guard during a Passover Seder this year.” About half of Highland Park’s residents are Jewish; this mass murder did not aim at random victims; the murderer went for Jews.

I have said it more times than I can count, but no one seems to listen: The Jews in the US are in danger, mortal danger. The danger is only increasing, and at some point, these warning signs will explode, as has always happened to the Jews throughout the bloody history of our people.

Nothing will change that trajectory unless American Jews do what they must. They will suffer such excruciating torments that will force them to change their ways. Currently, if you speak with American Jews, they still feel on the top of the world. They feel entitled and superior. It is bound to hurt them; pride is the bane that has always hurt the Jews, in the end.

If American Jewry wants to avoid appearing in Simon Rawidowicz’s next edition of Israel—The Ever-Dying People, they must reevaluate everything. First and foremost, they must realign themselves with the basic Jewish tenets of unity and solidarity.

By unity, I am not referring to sympathy with Israel’s enemies, thereby displaying their aversion toward the State of Israel. What I mean is placing unity among Jews above all other values and establishing it among all factions, views, denominations, and opinions in our nation.

Jewish unity is the cure for antisemitism and the road to safety not because it makes Jews strong, but because it is the calling of our people to show the world that it is possible to unite without encroaching on people who think or feel differently, but simply by placing the value of unity above all other values. This is what the world expects from all Jews, whether or not it articulates it in explicit words.

Our nation was born when our ancestors gave up their pride and united “as one man with one heart.” Since then, it has been our duty to repeat our ancestors’ feat in every generation. When we succeed, we thrive. When we fail, we suffer.

Currently, American Jews are failing miserably in the test of unity. Admittedly, Israelis are failing, too, but in this piece, I am referring to the situation in America.

Either way, both communities will pay heavily for their division, and will have to choose between unity and success or division and destruction. This, in fact, has been our choice throughout the generations.*

* For more on the link between Jewish unity and antisemitism, read my publications The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord, and Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.
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My new article on Linkedin “Where in Europe Is Good for Jews?”

The answer to the question of what are the best places to be Jewish should be an unequivocal “anywhere.” Unfortunately, that is not the case. The fact that such a question was the main topic in a recent study by the European Jewish Association reveals the heightened prevalence of antisemitism. According to that research, Belgium and Poland are the worst countries for Jews while Italy and Hungary are the best.

The survey examined the lives of Jews in the 12 European countries with the largest Jewish communities. The parameters studied were governmental measures against antisemitism, security of the Jewish community, freedom of religion, promotion of Jewish culture and the country’s voting record in favor or against Israel at the United Nations.

There is nothing new under the antisemitic sun. Belgium and Poland are known as countries that despise Jews, while Italy and Hungary hate us a little less. I have traveled to Europe many times, both for work and family vacations, and every time I step on European soil, I feel an antisemitic atmosphere that makes me uncomfortable and like I have no country other than Israel.

The situation has worsened over time. In the first decades after the Holocaust the atmosphere in Europe was still stable; today hatred of the Jews raises its head proudly and fearlessly. Are the Jews seeing the warning lights in the increased openly displayed acts of antisemitism? Not really.

In Belgium, for example, the government has significantly reduced security around the Jewish communities, banned kosher slaughter and is considering banning circumcision. But for the Jews of Belgium “it is good to be a Jew in the country,” in their own words. As it has usually happened throughout history, Jews bury their heads in the sand and are prepared to get used to any situation instead of exerting their strength through Jewish unity.

The phenomenon of antisemitism is not revealed to ultimately destroy some local Jews, but it is a natural response designed to remind Jews why we exist in the world. We have no possibility of defending ourselves against hatred, except temporarily and insufficiently. The only protection against antisemitism is the realization of our original destiny as the people of Israel.

Jews must unite against the crystallizing hatred, not as a frightened flock of sheep encircled by a snarling pack of wolves, but because it is our call to action to become “a light unto nations” through Jewish unity. In a state of cohesion, a supreme power emerges as a positive force that radiates to all humanity.

Conversely, as long as we, Jews, abandon our spiritual role, we slowly disengage from the very feeling of being Jews and instinctively understand that we have no right to knock hard on the table of the nations and say, “Yes, we live here too! We have been here for generations and this is our place too!” In the absence of unification, the Jews bend and compromise until the wave of hatred passes, momentarily, because it never really goes away.

Although Israel is the Jewish state, our national home, I do not expect European Jews to immigrate here. Their mass emigration is neither a solution for them nor for us. Of course, there is no objection or prohibition, but it does not strengthen us in any way if it is not done with the full conviction of the true meaning of Israel in our lives.

Israel is a place for those who feel they cannot live anywhere else in the world and are willing to accept the laws of true Zionism: to transcend our selfish nature, mobilize for the good of others, connect internally and externally with other Jews to build a unique network, the abode of the Upper Force. This spiritual space is and will always be the safest place for every Jew.
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