In the News (“The Rescuing Hug”): “In 1995, a pair of twins, Brielle and Kyrie Jackson, were born 12 weeks premature. Each weighed only about 2 pounds. One of them was not expected to survive.

Comment: From that some scientists drew the conclusions that if we could, with such pure, childish intention, hug a sick person or treat another person like that, then there would be no diseases.

My Response: In general this is true. It is necessary to create a field of kindness in which all of humanity will be placed. Then of course, there will be no problems!

Question: So this case is really conclusive? Such pure natural warmth?

Answer: Here, yes. There is pure nature here.

Question: We are all so dirty and egoistic in this world. Can we at least get close to that state?

Answer: Not in an easy, natural way. It needs to be explained and shown, and we need to work with it. But humanity has other tools for realizing the evil of its egoistic nature. Instead of pushing others away, bring them closer and embrace them. We can convince people that this is for good, that it is necessary. Nature gives us such examples.

There would be no life without it. It’s not simple that one life is born within another. The embryo should be in the mother for nine months. What a long term! How many weeks? How many lunar months?

Question: Is the baby in such a state, like this one twin sister hugging the other? She is growing in such care and warmth?

Answer: Yes. Moreover, there should be the same cosmic relation, like the Moon and the Earth. This all goes according to the lunar calendar, according to the lunar months. Once upon a time, women had their usual monthly flow all together, at the same time. That was the impact of the Moon.

Then all this was obscured, egoism was shattered into many more parts, and this did not happen anymore.

Once, the female body worked in accordance with nature in a single cycle. And further egoistic shattering led to the fact that the relationship between everyone became worse and worse.

Question: How to at least come closer to such a state? I really want to treat someone else like this.

Answer: We need to understand that we are in a single mechanism, that we are nourished by a single upper force, and we must take into account that only by the right relationship with it will we come to the correction of our own nature and the whole world, and discover the upper state for ourselves.

Question: And then we can have such a relationship with each other?

Answer: Yes, of course. We will feel that we are all together in the same uterus, that embrace each other, and that there is no difference or distance between us.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/11/21

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Question: What does it mean to become a slave of the house of Israel?

Answer: It means subjecting yourself to the quality of bestowal and love. The house is a vessel (Kli), and Israel (“Yashar Kel“) means “straight to the Creator.”

Question: What does it mean that a person instructs the Creator to do something?

Answer: Sometimes this can happen because the Creator wants it. As it is said: “My sons defeated Me. If a person himself, through his own efforts, strives for correction, for the purpose of creation, and adds everything from himself that is possible, then this is how it appears.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/27/21

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Question: Why was Lot not destroyed? What is this property?

Answer: Lot is a relative of Abraham. The scanty absence of participation in Lot for others does not lead humanity to a state where it cannot be corrected.

Although he was in Sodom, he still accepted the aliens, treated them differently. And such a motivation in a person, when he can somehow make contact with others, deserves correction. Therefore, Lot remained alive.

But his wife did not. She looked with regret at the place she left, and therefore, turned into a pillar of salt.

Comment: Your teacher Rabash writes that it is the wife that is always associated in a person with the desire to receive.

My Response: Yes. This is the same desire of Lot, but still not his first nine Sefirot, but his Malchut.

Question: “Lot“ in the semantic translation is a curse (“klala“). What was his curse?

Answer: The fact that he still worked to isolate himself from others so as not to be in contact with anyone or anything, but since he nevertheless comes from the root of Abraham and has a connection with this common root, then he can be saved. Therefore, they deliberately entered Sodom to get Lot out of there.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 12/7/21

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Comment: You said that cruelty is not a good quality and that a society built on cruelty cannot survive. The most enduring property of nature is mercy. However, you say that by helping others, we will not help them and we will not fix anything. There is a certain contradiction here.

My Response: I do not see any particular contradiction in that. What does helping others mean? If we give something to someone, are we really helping him? This is the problem.

If we show mercy and release, say, a murderer or a robber, we do not perform any act of mercy and we even perhaps cause irreparable harm to the world.

I always imply the deeper essence of the problem and our actions. The property of mercy is not the property with which you can correct the world. The world is generally corrected by means of what is called the middle line, when we juxtapose two lines, right and left, the property of mercy and the property of judgment, and they can together be directed toward the likeness of the Creator.

In order to raise any action, any property, any idea, to the correct level, to a stable foundation, we need three points, “three legs of a table.” This is the minimum.

The essence of the “three legs” is as follows. We are given the property of bestowal and the property of reception, and we must apply these two properties correctly. How can they be correctly juxtaposed against each other? Where should there be more mercy and where are the properties of judgment, restrictions? To beat or not to beat, to execute or to pardon? For this, we must necessarily reveal the Creator.

When we combine both properties and direct them to the Creator, He gives us a clear guideline on how we can correctly internally juxtapose them. And then we develop.

That is, we need three points: two so-called angels, two forces, reception and bestowal, and they are in us. But the most important, the third point, is that we need the revelation of the Creator.

Therefore, the wisdom of Kabbalah is given to us only so that we can understand Him. But He is revealed to a person only to the extent that the person wants to receive an example of how to realize internally his likeness to the Creator from Him.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Fate and The Book of Zohar” 2/5/10

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The forecast for 2022 depends entirely on the kind of relations we will have with each other. Man is at the very top of the ladder of all parts of reality: inanimate matter, plants, animals, and humans. Therefore, our behavior toward nature and with each other determines all the other lower levels.

Although it seems to us that our thoughts, desires, and relationships do not affect the levels of nature below us: the inanimate, vegetative, and animate, the fact is that we also determine our attitude toward the rest of nature through our egoistic relations with each other and we see the corresponding consequences in nature itself and how we are harming it.

There is no more harmful element than man in the world that damages all of nature. This is why we need to think about ways to change our attitude to the environment, the use of natural resources, and climate change. All this can be balanced by adjusting the relations between people.

We can do i; everything is in our hands. This is a very flexible way because we do not need to stop plants and factories. Let’s just relate to each other more kindly and obligate everyone to this because everyone understands that our world requires urgent change and healing.

If we do not do it, the world will be dying away year after year. We are depleting the natural resources of the Earth, taking the last of the oil, gas, and coal, polluting the oceans and sources of freshwater, and poisoning the air. We cannot go on like this. I do not belong to any society for the protection of the environment. I only say that the ecology and all other problems on Earth depend on the relationships between people. Let’s change this relationship and everything will change from that.

We are already in an economic crisis, and we can have other crises in addition to it: financial, industrial, family, international diplomatic crisis. There are many conflict points in the world  that could spark a world war. However, the relationship between people includes an attitude toward everything else. We need to correct man! I hope that in 2022 we will begin to understand this.

If humanity could look at itself in the mirror and see its internal relationships, we would simply shudder with horror. Everyone would look like an evil wolf or crocodile—just like in horror movies.

People do not believe that our relationships can be improved; they do not believe at all that it is possible to correct man. However, here is the method of Kabbalah. If we really feel how dependent we are on each other, how we are enslaved to our egoism, which controls us all the time to our detriment, and we start thinking about the way to escape from this slavery, we will be able to somewhat rise above ourselves a. Then our lives will change completely.

The problem is that people do not think this correction is possible because it does not come from nature. It is revealed only to a limited number of people that it is possible to rise above human egoism.

Besides, this method is special due to the fact that it cannot be implemented by one person but requires the support of many people around him.

Only by mutually supporting and helping each other can they rise above the egoism they were born into and grew up in. In this way they can overcome their egoism and see how the world changes if they look at it from the quality of bestowal instead of the quality of reception.
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From KabTV’s “World” 12/21/21

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A person enters the spiritual world and begins to feel the Creator after he crosses the point called zero. He works to subjugate his will to receive more and more, and thus he reaches the zero point. When he crosses this point, it means that he is born in the spiritual world, in the quality of bestowal.

Of course this is not an easy and simple path; this is the reality that we do not understand, and everything is reached by subjugating egoism with regard to all the obstacles that lie in our path.

This is why the beginning of the work is indicated by the zero point. It is as if a person does not exist and does not have his own desire, since he cancels it before his desire to be in spirituality, in bestowal.

We cannot imagine such a zero state where our desires are canceled as if they do not exist. In fact they exist and even grow, and appear more and more assertive to a person. He remembers his whole life, with different events he went through. All this is in order to reveal to him all the will to receive that he has.

He begins to examine his entire life from a new point of view. One by one, all kinds of pictures, images, and thoughts from his life appear before him, his attitude to others and others to him, and by analyzing them, he comes to the conclusion that he is an absolute zero in everything and with regard to everyone. In fact this is true: everyone is zero with regard to the others.

Only when a person goes through all this recognition does he turn into a spiritual embryo and begin to grow in spirituality, in a spiritual manner, with spiritual forces and thoughts. All this is due to the fact that he annuls his egoistic desire more and more.

The desire remains and grows, starting from this point of zero, but the upper light gives it the form of Adam, similar to the Creator. And in this way a person grows under the protection from above for nine months while in the womb of the mother.

Everything begins from zero, from complete annulment, when a person constantly turns to the Creator and increasingly attributes his success in annulment to Him.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/30/21, “Annulling before the Friends”

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Medium published my new article “Why Not Chinese Kabbalists?”

A student from China asked me about circulating the wisdom of Kabbalah in China. Indeed, I think China is a very special country, and the Chinese are a very special people. When you look at the history, geography, culture, and mentality of the country, you could almost think they were from another planet. But when I was in China, I felt that they were very ready for the wisdom of Kabbalah, that their hearts were open to it.

Every nation needs its own manner of presenting the wisdom. Every nation has its own mentality and culture, its unique inner makeup, and its unique values and understanding of life. Therefore, introducing Kabbalah in China must be done by Chinese people, who understand and feel the intricacies and subtleties of their people, yet are proficient in Kabbalah studies and can present it correctly, in its authentic form, and with the intention only to contribute to the Chinese people and not in any way derive personal or other forms of benefit from it.

The wisdom of Kabbalah as we know it began with Abraham in Babylon some 3,800 years ago. At that time, there was no nation of Israel. Abraham spoke to his compatriots, and those who were interested gathered around him. Abraham spoke to them about solidarity, rising above the ego, which was intensifying in Babylon at the time, and how they would benefit from loving one another.

Babylonians who agreed with Abraham’s ideas followed him and formed a group that evolved into the nation of Israel. Today we are witnessing a very similar phenomenon: Thousands upon thousands of people around the world gather daily to hear about solidarity and rising above the ego, since today, just like then, the ego is intensifying. In the spiritual sense, these people are the contemporary nation of Israel. Just as Abraham’s disciples came from all over Babylon, today’s Kabbalah students come from all over the world, from every nationality, and they unite around the same idea of unity and solidarity above all differences.

The Chinese people are no different. They, too, have a great yearning to feel the warmth of genuine solidarity and true mutual responsibility. They, too, yearn for a wisdom that connects above all differences. There is no reason why we should not have Chinese Kabbalists. If offered properly, Chinese people will resonate with the wisdom, accept, trust, and welcome the wisdom of Kabbalah.
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My new article on Linkedin “Madness Not a Winning Strategy”

The current mindset of sustaining the economy by pushing for endless shopping is not capitalism; it’s madness. If we want to go on living, we must adopt more rational priorities and values.

On the one hand, the media and every pundit with a microphone or a laptop tell us that prices are rising because disruptions in supply chains and shortage of computer chips have slowed production and distribution while demand is on the rise. As a result, prices are soaring. At the same time, we throw out more than half of what we produce, and even what we do buy, we throw away while it is still working perfectly fine, just in order to get a newer model. This is not a capitalistic economy; it is senseless madness.

This is why I was so happy when Covid came along. It forced us to stop the mad shopping and frantic traveling, give Earth some time to breathe, and give ourselves some time for one another. But once vaccines became available, we let the shopping monster out of the cage and now we cannot cage it anymore. With tooth and nail, we are fighting to keep up the insanity. But Omicron is proof that nature has many tricks up its sleeve. We may fight it tooth and nail, but nature will keep fighting back until we have no teeth or nails.

We are depleting our resources, both natural and human, increasing our debt, both personal and national, and we are living with a mindset of “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” But madness is not a winning strategy; it will end in war or in another form of complete destruction.

If we want to live to see more tomorrows, we must change our mindset. It is time to rise to a higher level of existence. Endless shopping has exhausted itself, and now we must look a little deeper.

To look deeper, we need to change our value system. If we let the media keep telling us to shop till we drop, this is what we will do. We need to make the media tell us a different story, one where people enjoy other things, such as each other’s company, or prosperous and supportive communities. Just as we currently let the media teach us that we are worth only as much as we make, we can make it tell us that we are worth only as much as we care—about each other.

If we start thinking more about each other and less about ourselves, we will not need to constantly affirm our self-worth by buying more stuff that we do not really need. Instead, we will buy what we need for comfortable living rather than buying for emotional comfort or to boost our confidence.

If we adopt this mindset, there will be no over-demand, no disruptions of supply chains, and no shortage of anything. Producers will not only have to produce less and lower their prices, they will not want to exploit and charge more than they need to because their approach to people will change from exploitation to connection.

In that regard, an intriguing research was recently published by Northeastern University. The researchers, Shanyu Kates and David DeSteno, examined the effects of gratitude on people. They distinguished gratitude from a general feeling of contentment, which could be driven by selfish motivations and did not prove to have any impact on people’s social or environmental behavior. Gratitude, they discovered, made people more considerate of others and decreased their propensity to overconsume. They concluded that gratitude “may be useful in promoting sustainable behavior,” and aptly titled their research, “Gratitude reduces consumption of depleting resources.”

I sincerely hope that in the coming year, before it is too late, we will acknowledge that nurturing mutual care rather than alienation and competition is our only way to guarantee our future in a positive way, and that all other roads lead to scarcity and further madness.
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My new article on Linkedin “Why We Are Silent over Antisemitism on Campus”

Despite the growing number of antisemitic incidents on campuses all over the US, American Jews are almost completely mute about it. Either they are afraid or they underestimate the danger. Avoidance is the least desirable solution, but the real remedy for Jew-hatred is solidarity.

The past two years have seen record breaking numbers of anti-Jewish incidents in the US, particularly on campuses. Yet, Jews have largely been silent over this facet of the hatred. There can only be two explanations for this apparent abandonment of Jewish youths to fend for themselves in the face of organized and often institutional Jew-hatred: not realizing the gravity of the situation, or fear that “making waves” will make matters worse.

Antisemitism on campuses did not begin this year. When I was on a speaking tour in the US in 2014, I spoke with Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, head of the AMCHA initiative to combat anti-Semitism in US colleges and universities. Although she was well aware of the deteriorating situation of Jewish students precisely because they are Jews, it was clear that she was unaware of how quickly things could deteriorate and to what extent.

Worse yet, when I mentioned this problem in a lecture I gave the following evening in Los Angeles, people left in protest. Now there is at least some understanding that not enough is being done, though there is no understanding what we can and should do about the problem.

The Jewish people are the people who gave the world such noble notions as loving others as yourself, and not doing to others what you would hate if it were done to you. We gave the world such values as mutual responsibility, mercy, and almsgiving. We did all this under the obligation we had taken upon ourselves at the foot of Mt. Sinai when we became a nation: to be “a light unto nations.”

Yet, for centuries, we have been plagued by internal hatred and division that have brought our nation to ruin. Divided, we cannot be the example of mutual responsibility and solidarity that the world expects of us. If we cannot show solidarity, the world cannot have solidarity, and division and hatred prevail. The result is that the world blames us for its wars. This is what is happening today.

Antisemitism on campus is a sore spot. It hurts us where we are most vulnerable: our children. Naturally, we tend to suppress it and pretend that it does not exist.

We should do the opposite. To neutralize antisemitism on campus, Jews, including Jewish students, should acknowledge the hatred and do what all Jews are required to do – unite with each other, no matter how far and how hateful we are to each other. They must do this not for themselves, but for their children, who will not see a relief in hatred toward them until American Jewry unites, and for America, whose society will continue to disintegrate until Jews lead by example toward unity.

If American Jewry rises to the challenge, it will not be the most despised community in the US, but the most venerated. I hope that American Jewry makes 2022 their year of unity. It will benefit them; it will benefit America; and it will benefit the world.
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