Entries in the 'Unity' Category

Who Wins Over Amalek?

Dr. Michael LaitmanAnd it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy, and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the setting of the sun.

And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword (The Torah, Exodus, “BeShalach,” 17:11 – 17:13).

Moses discovered the attribute of Binathe attribute of bestowal in a person. The outstretched hands reaching above allegorically symbolize the connection with the Creator. This is the raising of MAN (request), the connection of the lower Partzuf with the upper.

When Moses raised his hands, which means when the attribute of Bina feeds from Keter (Crown), from the upper attribute of bestowal, then Israel wins. This means that these are the attributes of a man who tries to escape Amalek and rise above. He rises above Amalek and thus wins over him.

Amalek is the foundation of the world, the foundation of the ego. However, it’s not always clearly revealed. Ordinary people don’t think that they are egoists. They think of themselves as regular citizens, who give and take. Whereas those attributes that appear later in those people with the point in the heart who discover their nature as being completely egoistic, this is already Haman, Amalek, Balaam, and Balak.

It’s impossible to win over Amalek because the means and forces in a person to connect with the Creator are limited. Thus the act itself, the war with Amalek, continues from generation to generation. This means that by your rising to each spiritual level, you are always in war with him.

Thus it continues until you completely destroy Amalek by the force of the Creator. It happens when a person who already corrects himself grasps his corrected attributes and doesn’t ask for anything at all for himself. Then the Creator corrects in him his last egoistic attribute all at once.

This means that as long as subconsciously there is a grain of ego in me, since it is within me as my foundation, then it’s impossible for me to work when I am not connected to the action and its outcome. That is Amalek, like a snake, which in any case is slithering somewhere. Thus the war with it is never ending.

Only the special attributes in a person fight with him, and the others don’t since it’s impossible to put them to war against Amalek. They would fall. They would not be able to stand up to the request of your having only bestowal. Thus only a few attributes wage war. At this level, the attributes of bestowal win, meaning faith, which is the attribute of bestowal and love, and continue onwards.

Question: It’s said, “…and his hands were steady until the setting of the sun.” What is this state that is called, “until the setting of the sun?’’

Answer: As long as the upper Light is attracted to Moses, as long as there is the connection between Moses and Keter (between Bina and Keter), then there is force to oppose Amalek. And then afterward, everything disappears. This level is concealed and the next level is revealed since the day begins with the evening.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/4/13

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A Convention The World Depends Upon

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can I serve the friends with my thoughts? How can my thoughts support the convention participants in Germany?

Answer: What happens when you worry about someone you care about? All your thoughts are focused on his success, on his getting well and on his succeeding in his mission. Your heart aches for him since it is as if you are acting with him, in his place.

This concern is enough even if we don’t know the mechanisms it operates. The friends all over the world should prepare in advance for mirror conventions so that we will not only be spectators but will actually support the general connection. Here we have to exhibit determination and concern in unity, in genuine exceptional concern. By that we connect to the convention in desperate concern for its success on a global scale.

If we all connect around this convention, then all of humanity will feel a special force of connection and this will change reality. Then our method of connection will be accepted all over the world, and it will be as if we “change rails” so that the train we are all riding will move from the path of suffering to the path of the Torah.
[103091]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/18/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar

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Appointed To Be The Creator’s Servant

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What should I do if, during the study of TES, I feel despair because I don’t fully understand what it says?

Answer: There is no reason to despair. We study about actions that are performed by a person who has already received the power to realize himself. He can be totally independent of himself and doesn’t succumb to the temptation to do something for his own good instead of for the good of others; he cannot make such a decision.

Then he examines and assesses himself. He can feel the needs of others, something that we cannot do at our current state. After all, checking the needs of the other has to be done neutrally and objectively in order to find out what is for his good.

It isn’t what a person actually wants; perhaps he wants a gun to shoot himself. Rather, we should check just as we check what is good for a small child. If we give a child whatever he wants, it will harm him. We have to give him exactly what is good for him and this decision has to be totally detached from my feelings and from his feelings.

In order to do that, I need to see what the goal of Creation is, what the revelation of the Creator and adhesion with Him in the current state is, and help the other advance in this precise direction. After all, this is the most important progress that he can make only with my help. By helping him, I also advance in such a way that I reach adhesion with the Creator, an equivalence of form with Him.

If I am incorporated in the group and help the friends advance a little, it means that I treat them like the Creator does. The only difference is that He (the Creator) cannot move them in the right direction, but I can.

He allows me to do so; so this means I am incorporated in the Creator’s work.
[103032]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/18/13, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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Altruism Is Good For The Figure

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from DailyMail):“Being a volunteer is good for the heart as well as the soul, claim researchers.

“A new study shows even at a young age, people who volunteer have healthier cardiovascular systems that could stave off heart disease.

“The study found improvements in several measurements of heart health among volunteers after just 10 weeks of taking part in community programmes. …

“The study involved 106 teenagers from an urban, inner-city Vancouver high school who were split into two groups – a group that volunteered regularly for 10 weeks and a group that was wait-listed for volunteer activities. …

“The researchers measured the students’ body mass index (BMI), inflammation levels – which affect heart health – and cholesterol scores before and after the study.

“They also assessed the students’ self-esteem, mental health, mood, and empathy, says a report published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics… .

“The volunteer group of students spent one hour per week working with elementary school children in after-school programs in their neighbourhood.

“After 10 weeks they had lower levels of inflammation and cholesterol and lower BMIs than the students who were wait-listed.”

My Comment: Since nature is interconnected, then nothing harmful can be in strengthening connections; on the contrary, it is only useful and promotes natural beauty.
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Root Out Our Desire To Be Separate

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Sages’ Fruit about the Torah,” “It Isn’t Time to Collect the Herd”: When the seventy souls of Jacob spread to 600,000 souls, things went back to the way they were before, that the herd have to be collected, and the stone should be rolled from the well, and when the strength is lacking from one part it causes the exhaustion of the full measure. And this is the secret, that the individual and the general are equal and everything that was included in the general and became an exception doesn’t come to teach us about the exception but rather about the general… and this is what the fable in The Zohar means when it tells about two who came to a boat and one was drilling a hole underneath him and his friend reprimanded him saying, why are you drilling a hole, and the fool answered him: “What do you care, I am drilling underneath myself,” since indeed the individual ruins the beauty of the whole figure.

… and this is the meaning of a prayer for the public, that the individual mustn’t be an exception and ask for himself, even if it is to bring contentment to his Maker, except for the general as a whole… since he who is an exception and who asks for himself, doesn’t build but rather brings about destruction upon himself, since there cannot be an exception without the dress of pride, and alas for the one who brings destruction upon his soul… and every person should be included with all his might in the general Israel, in every appeal to the Creator, in praying and in the work…since this is the nature of the Light of the general that resides on the individual that annuls his individuality so that he doesn’t feel himself.”

We must constantly remember that all our thoughts come as ‘help against” and it is thanks to them that we can get stronger and develop. We have to rise above every interruption and connect as much as we can to the feeling of the general family, “as one man in one heart.”

We mustn’t leave these thoughts, the feeling that we are all part of one family. The general feeling of “one family” is the feeling of the Creator that resides among us, in us, when we constantly yearn for the feeling of connection among us despite all the interruptions.

This is our work. We have to remind each other about this and it is even better to try to do it with our thoughts: to keep this thought and to try to influence all the friends and the whole world by our thoughts and to pass on the emphasis on internal actions. This is our goal at the moment; we have to reach adhesion and to succeed.

This is the meaning of the “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one”—all those who yearn for the revelation of the Creator (Yashar – El) in the connection between them following all the advice of the Kabbalists in order to reach connection in which the Creator will be revealed.

So even the purest prayer with the best intention doesn’t help if it isn’t a prayer for many, for the general as one whole, but is rather a prayer of a person who separates himself from others. Not only isn’t it helpful, but it is actually harmful! We should regard separation and division, especially if it is intentional, as unacceptable conduct. It is the most serious obstacle and we should try to root it out.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/17/13

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Let The Most Distant Become The Closest

Dr. Michael LaitmanSpiritual fear (awe) is the fear of using something for my own benefit, even if it’s the revelation of the Creator in any form, meaning enjoying the fact that I am correcting the world, that I am bringing the Creator contentment, that I bestow like He does, and that I reach adhesion with Him.

The Creator shows me that everything depends on me and He does so with everyone. Everyone hears from Him that he is the most special of all. This is the truth. He isn’t lying to me and doesn’t try to buy me off! But I have to overcome all this great Light, and in order to do that I need to build a shield to protect me from this fear in advance.

Therefore, our work is in concealment and we have to perform many actions to which we feel no attraction by working on the connection among us. We have to make efforts in the group in advance, although I have no desire and no yearning for that and see no value in it. It isn’t only about the local group that is close to you and that directly belongs to you. It is worthwhile to invest in this group according to many conscious and subconscious egoistic calculations. But I also have to try to connect to the global vessel.

We should understand that the more distant a person seems to me geographically or emotionally, the more important he is and the more critical his influence is on my advancement than the people who are close to me. It’s like the difference between the spiritual levels; if I shorten the distance between us emotionally or physically, it will turn into an amplifier for the level of my correction.

So all those that are distant from us are very important to us: the distant groups that are far away and the individual students who speak different languages, who differ in their mentality and who live under difficult conditions so that they have to to hide from others. Each of us needs to make sure that the physical distances will not keep us away from one another, so that those that are most distant will become the closest.

In this way, we will surely build the vessel called “fear,” we will understand what spiritual fear means, and will be ready for spiritual advancement.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/13, Shamati #38

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Connection That Destroys Evil

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Peace”: And you find that all the seeds from which the good states grow are only the corrupted deeds themselves, meaning that all the exposed evils that come from under the hands of the wicked in the generation join and accumulate to a great sum, until they weigh so heavily that the public can no longer bear them. Then, they rise up and ruin it and create a more desirable state.

If I want to advance correctly, I have to participate in destroying evil by concrete actions along the way. These actions come down to the most efficient act, which is connection among the friends. It is the connection that destroys evil.

Question: What does it mean that the evil appears during the connection?

Answer: That’s right. The true evil is revealed only when I want to connect with others and see how repulsed I am by them and how much I hate them. I am attracted to them and this repulses me and I feel rejection. This is the evil inclination and that’s the only thing we have to correct. Everything else are animalistic feelings.

After all, Adam, a human being, is only someone who is attracted to the connection with others. The negative response to connection is the evil inclination that I correct and turn into the good inclination.

My first inclination is to establish a connection with the group and with the friends. Then I feel that I don’t want to study or do anything anymore. Instead I feel the hardening of the heart; I am tired of trying, “How much longer? I don’t see that anything good comes out of this…” This is the evil inclination, the Pharaoh in me that I have to work on now. His evil is that he opposes the connection.

On the other hand, the result of the connection is called “CreatorBo-Re” which means come and see (Bo – come and Re – see in Hebrew). If I connect with all the souls or with some of them, then in the connection between them I discover the Creator. In other words, I reach connection and there inside it I discover the result.

But in the meantime I feel bad since my desire is extinguished and I fall asleep and don’t see the point in anything anymore, not in this world and not in the next world. Nothing is worth the effort anymore. Now when I feel the hardening of the heart, I have to find the power to act, to raise MAN, a request.

So how do you do that if I already want to receive a sleeping pill for the rest of my life? Here we need an environment to help us wake up. This environment does two things:

First it “buries” my evil inclination.

Second, when we connect, and together rise to Holiness, we ask for the force of bestowal by the prayer of many with all our might.

Therefore, the good inclination can only be revealed in the group. Then from Above, I receive the good force, the force of bestowal that unites me with the friends and the Creator.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/15/13, “The Peace”

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From A Circle Into The Spiritual World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Does a combination of people in the integral circle form a new force, integrality, meaning people’s minds and feelings are combined together?

Answer: They are not simply combined together, but, rather, the mind and feelings are mutually complemented. Therefore, they form a new, physical, integral force. This is not just a sum, but rather, a sum of all common efforts to rise above oneself to connect with others; that is, it is a spiritual force.

Spiritual means “apart from egoism” because everyone must rise in order to begin connecting with others.

All our small efforts accumulate together. Then, from our connection, we begin to sense something new. It’s very good, kind, pleasant, and safe.

Let’s say that ten people sit in the circle. However, during the discussion, they form not just a combination of the ten people, but it’s multiplied by an infinite number. This is because, when I annul myself in order to connect with one and another one and a third one, and they, in turn, do the same, in this way, each of us receives the integral desire. Then, with this integral desire, we, again, “enter” one another in one experience, and, in this way, we form a multiplicity of multiplication. It is as if we pull ourselves by our hair from our world into the spiritual world.
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From KabTV’s program, “Professional Secrets,” 2/10/13

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The Love Of Flowers As An Example For People

Dr. Michael LaitmanChyngyz Aitmatov (a Russian and Kyrgyz writer whose works were translated into more than 150 languages): “In one popular science magazine I recently read a story that exotic flowers in Paris suddenly began to die. Those flowers were once exported from Latin America. Meanwhile, there was perfect weather.

“Scientists did not find any reason that could explain what had happened. What did happen? There was extraordinary drought at the homeland of these flowers, and there, the same flowers died …

“What would be the history of humankind, our today’s life, if people, who think themselves ‘the crown of nature,’ could feel each other in the same way and respond to the suffering and joy of another person?!”

My Comment: This is an example of the universal interconnection of Nature. And the mutual sensation of other people’s feelings like one’s own is called love!
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Establishing The Rules Of Cyberwar

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The Christian Science Monitor): “A stunning report by a US digital-security company accuses China’s military of conducting more than 100 cyberattacks on American corporate and government computers. If accurate, the report by the firm Mandiant only adds to the urgency to develop international norms in cyberwar and cyberespionage.

“Each new tool of aggression requires its own rules of war. Cyberwarfare should be no different. Without a code of ethics for conflict in the digital universe, nations could eventually bring down each other’s water supplies, electric grids, military defenses, and vital institutions. And key values, such as privacy and a right to intellectual property, could also be lost.

“Global rules now restrict the use of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. They also help safeguard civilians and prisoners of war. What the Mandiant report shows is that the world may be losing the struggle to come up with rules for cyberspace behavior.”

My Comment: The problem is not in the desire to adopt new rules for new weapons of war, but that the enemy can easily disguise himself and strike without exposing himself to retaliatory attacks. So, a lack of complete control, as in the case of nuclear weapons, is the cause of the ongoing cyberwar.

The solution lies in the unity of all the systems into one, when everyone attacking the enemy will bring a blow to himself at the same time. Either we ourselves will create this system or nature will bring us to this system of mutual dependence in which there will no other choice but to establish such ties or perish.
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