“What did Einstein really do that was so great that helped humanity?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: “What did Einstein really do that was so great that helped humanity?“

Einstein did nothing to benefit us.

Moreover, he helped build the atom bomb, and told us that there are properties in our world that we cannot understand.

It would have been better if he and the other nuclear physicists had done nothing. We can get along fine without nuclear power, and of course, without atom bombs. For all the praise Einstein receives, we have no need for what he brought us.

In general, I think that science of the 20th century brought no benefit to humanity. I do not want to deny its achievements, because science did quite a lot. The problem is that our scientific innovations and achievements have turned against us.

Indeed, we do not work as hard as we did in the past. We have made for ourselves all sorts of appliances and tools that grant us more free time. But what do we do with our increased free time? We bring ourselves more and more troubles and concerns, and we increasingly deplete the earth of its natural resources.

I do not see happier people as a result of our scientific progress. People used to engage in much more emotionally and mentally constructive activities. We used to spend more time listening to large works of music, attending theaters and reading thick novels and other literature. Today, people’s attention spans have drastically dropped, and we find ourselves more with our heads down, thumbing our phones, mindlessly scrolling down our social media feeds.

We have much more depression, loneliness, anxiety, stress, drug abuse and suicides than ever before. There might be an illusion that we became happier by not having to work as hard as we did in the past, but we see that less work and more luxury time does not equate to more happiness.

Although Einstein was sincere in his pursuits to create a better world, I see that he and many like him did not crack what it takes to make us happier people.

I say all this despite the fact that I like and encourage science. The problem with science is not science in and of itself, but its blending with human egoism, where we wish to use science for the purposes of overpowering, outcompeting, manipulating and exploiting others. This egoistic quality in man turned Einstein’s discoveries into the creation of an atom bomb. Therefore, the message here is not to do away with science, but that we should develop science after we correct the human ego. We first need to correct ourselves, i.e., to learn how to invert our inborn intention to benefit ourselves at the expense of others and nature, otherwise we will use science and any kind of innovation we make eventually to our detriment.

If it were possible, I would willingly go back to Einstein’s time and instead of developing science, I would introduce connection-enriching education that guides us on how to correct the human ego. Only after we develop frameworks for positively relating to one another above our inborn desires to exploit and abuse others, we should then let science develop.

Science would then benefit humanity. As a result of connection-enriching education, we would come to feel humanity like our family. Our research would then never lead to the creation of weapons and the atom bomb that we use to bring mass destruction and anxiety to humankind. We would only seek how to make creations that would make people happier, more confident and safer by increasing our positive connection to each other above our harmful egoistic drives.

Based on the video “Conversations with Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on May 13, 2015. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 5/18/23

Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — The Time of The Giving of The Torah

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Matan Torah (The Giving of Torah),” Item 52

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Selected Highlights

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 5/17/23

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Complete Faith in the Creator

765.1“The whole earth is full of the glory of the Creator” is the very first, obligatory, and unchangeable law, which says that the Creator fills the whole world, moves and controls everything. Only one force operates in all of reality, and there is nothing else besides it.

We need to take this statement as an axiom and as a primary law that is revealed to us gradually, step by step. As we establish connection with spiritual nature, we reveal this truth that the earth is full of His glory.

From the very beginning we need to attune ourselves to the fact that we are striving to reveal this law. All the events of our life have only one cause; everything that happens to us at every second is arranged by the Creator, and there is none else besides Him.

It is said that “the earth is full of His glory,” because earth (Eretz) means desire (Ratzon). The Creator creates this desire and renews it day by day, every moment. Therefore we see nothing but the actions of the Creator.

If we have thoughts that someone else is doing something other than the Creator, then this is wrong. He alone has done, is doing, and will do all the actions that occur in our lives. Therefore, this condition, this law, this principle, must enter into our lives in all possible situations so that we do not see or feel anything except the Creator.

All our desires are full of the presence of the Creator in all possible forms, and in essence, we feel only Him. There is no one else who can fulfill our desires. We cannot even doubt for a second that we have received something not from the Creator because this simply cannot be.

We are inside the Creator and we reveal only Him. There is none else; only one Creator Himself fills the whole world. When we discover this fully, it is called the complete faith of a person in his Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah 5/14/23, “The whole earth is full of His glory”

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The Role of the Creator

610.2Question: Everything in the universe has a certain role. What is the role of the force called the Creator?

Answer: The role of the Creator is unequivocal; it is to constantly educate the creation created by Him so that it comes to perfection.

The upper force is everything. It includes the force of desire, will, knowledge, and decision. Everything that exists in nature at all is just the single upper force.

The desire to enjoy is created within it. This single, great force of the field works on the point of the desire that develops under its influence and becomes equal to the force of the field. The desire as if swells to the size of the field, then bursts, collapses into many parts, and then begins to work on itself in order to gather together.

Gradually, it gathers into that single new whole that fits into the same field. The Creator and the creation like two flatbreads stick together and penetrate each other by diffusion.

Although they are different in their original nature, they have come to a state where they are absolutely similar to each other in the quality that now comes from them—the quality of bestowal and love. For the Creator it is primary, for the creation it is secondary, acquired.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What is the Creator?” 2/21/11

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The Birth of the next Degree

963.1Question: How can you explain the birth of the next degree?

Answer: The birth of the next degree is a continuation of the relationship between the male and female parts on the next level. Moreover, this level is usually higher.

A child is born from a man and a woman. But his basis is the next state.

The spiritual man and woman or a man and woman in our world are just the external reason that a child is born. Suppose a child is to be born, so a couple appears who have a craving for each other, they unite and conceive him because a certain number of souls in their bodily expression must be born in our world.

They themselves do not know why they suddenly start flirting with each other, start some kind of relationship. A desire is aroused in them when it is necessary to give birth to someone from within, from nature itself. Are we doing something on our own? Although it seems to us that these are our personal desires, they in fact come from the need to develop a common system.

We are inside this field like peas. What needs to be realized is aroused in us, and we involuntarily realize it, and we can realize not involuntarily, but based on our attainment. Kabbalah leads to this.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What is a Man and a Woman?” 2/21/11

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What Is a Family?

507.03Question: What is a family?

Answer: A family is a few related souls who appear to be closer to me than anyone else.

The role of the family is similar in its form to close cells in the body. It is mutual involvement, overcoming obstacles to help each other, and so on. There is nothing else, and as a rule it is not on the spiritual, but on the animal level of help and destruction.

On the spiritual level, only the group operates—friends who are similar to me in striving for the goal.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What is a Family?” 2/21/11

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“What makes you criticize others?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: “What makes you criticize others?“

We criticize others as a result of our egoism, which makes us want to enjoy at the expense of others, and which thus makes us enjoy viewing others as smaller and lesser than ourselves.

If we make no changes to our inborn egoism, then we live in this inclination to criticize others. However, if we strive to connect with others, we then start criticizing ourselves, because the egoistic inclination within us is the opposite of the inclination to connect with others.

If we wish to progress to a higher spiritual goal than our earthly corporeal ones, i.e., to a goal of enjoying through a new nature of giving, loving and connecting with others, then once we set that goal and place ourselves among the means to achieve it, we can criticize anything that counters the direction to that goal.

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What Is Criticism?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on February 21, 2011. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Time Travel

910Question: What is memory?

Answer: Memory is a past state that I can retrieve and experience as real. Actually, there is no such thing as memory. It is just that all my states are stored within me as past Partzufim, and I can transition from one state to another. I can travel between them as if in time. In spirituality, it is absolutely real.

Question: What is the purpose of this time travel? What can it give?

Answer: Nothing, very little. As a rule, one should strive forward and not look back.

Question: Is it possible to travel forward in time?

Answer: No, because for that you have to ascend to future states and to reach them. We can only aspire for the next step and no more than that. And what awaits ahead you cannot see because these states have not yet been realized in you. It is all pure physics. There is no mysticism here.

There are people who feel the future in our world. There are famous examples of this: Wolf Messing, baba Vanga, and Nostradamus. Moreover, they did not necessarily have to be in spiritual attainment. They knew nothing about the spiritual world; they simply relied on their sensations.

Wolf Messing said that he himself did not know where he got such abilities. He would suddenly enter states where he felt the future, present, or the past because they all exist.

But when we talk about the spiritual, then there is already freedom of will. Therefore, future spiritual states, in principle, can be seen. But how you will approach them: either through suffering or through light, your efforts, it is unknown, it depends on you. This is what absolute freedom of will which must be realized by you consists of.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What is Memory?” 2/21/11

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“God Has Made Them One Opposite the Other”

243.07It is known that God has made them one opposite the other. Opposite each force in Kedusha [holiness], the Creator made an equal force in the Sitra Achra, opposite from the Kedusha (Zohar for All, Introduction of The Book of Zohar, The Letters of Rav Hamnuna Saba, Item 23).

Question: What is the purpose of creating the world? Why do we need two opposing forces?

Answer: Two opposite forces are necessary to create something. Nothing can be created with the help of one force. This is natural. We see it also in our world.

The point is that when the Creator wished to create a world, that is, to create a place where His creatures can reside, He had to accordingly transfer to this world the qualities in which these creatures can exist, multiply, develop, and reach a certain upper state.
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From KabTV’s “Introduction to The Book of Zohar” 4/23/23

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