Question: Why is it that the more we disseminate to the world, the more we are rejected?

Answer: In this case, you need help because you have to go above what you feel in your egoism. Only then does a state arise in you where you are forced to acquire a second nature opposite to the present one.

This is incomprehensible to an ordinary person because he has no idea how to act or how to move. To do this, he needs the upper light, another energy, not the energy that spins the corporeal world, but the energy of light. This is the exit to the next space.

Now I am slowly starting to talk about it. At least just to prepare people for what will happen, and then which way they will come to this. They will come. They will still come!

Can you imagine how much a person will have to go through, live through, and re-feel in order to understand at least the program in front of him that he is obliged to implement? These are big problems.

But in unity, they are solved very simply, and if there is no unity, then, of course, they cannot be solved in any way.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call, Victory Is a Sign of Defeat” 8/2/13

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “How to fight right”

Jews always argue. In our history, these arguments have sometimes led to violence, and even flared such hatred that they inflicted ruin on our nation. Yet arguments, or as we prefer to call them, “debates,” have been a core value in our tribe. They have endowed us with wisdom and understanding, the ability to perceive multiple perspectives, and a basis to build love of others that is far stronger than natural love precisely because it has survived trials and tribulations. How then do we fight right? How do we not let it ruin us, but use it to consolidate us?

These are pertinent questions since in less than two weeks, Israelis will go to the poles again. It has become a habit; it is the fifth general election in less than four years. So far, political division has brought no benefit in terms of consolidating our society or strengthening our unity; it has only deepened our division and emboldened those who wish to destroy us.

In order to avoid a breakdown of Israeli society, we should return to our roots: We argue only when it serves the purpose of solidifying our unity. Otherwise, we simply avoid it. If we approach our disagreements in this way, then however deep and fateful our disputes might seem, they will lead to greater unity and successful solutions.

Disagreements build us. They enrich us, make our minds keener and our hearts more sincere. They force us to reflect on our values and question entrenched convictions. Conflicts make us respect our adversaries and appreciate what we gain through our disputes with them. Were it not for discords and people who challenge us, we would remain dull, dumb, and undeveloped. But worst of all, we would never learn what it means to love our neighbor—a complete stranger whom we have come to love through common efforts.

Our current struggles revolve around two things that are actually one: money and respect, which translate into struggles for power. Views on Israel’s defense, social justice, the economy, the justice system, education, everything is up for sale for the right price. If you give me the power I want, I will give you anything you ask. This is not unity and it is not agreement; it is opportunism. It will not stop the fights, and will destroy our society and country.

If we want the State of Israel to flourish, we must return to our authentic values. We must shed the masks and the fake smiles, acknowledge our hatred, and remember why we feel it: to strengthen our unity.

We will never agree with one another, nor should we. People who agree do not argue, and therefore have no reason to build a strong and solid unity. Since we do argue, we have no choice but to build a union that is stronger than our division.

Fighting right means fighting for unity without denying or suppressing our division. Fighting right means understanding that our enemy is not our opponent but our ego, and the disagreements between us are our way to prevail over our ego.

If we all renounce our ego and place a higher value on unity than on opinion, we will find that our opinions have become steps, and our union has become a force that lifts us up the mountain. ‎When we reach the top, we will find each other.
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Filed under: Israel Today, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →

My new article on Linkedin “Debunking the Myth of Jewish Wisdom”

Jews have a reputation of being smart. Indeed, if you look at the list of Nobel Prize laureates, you will notice that Jewish sounding names are far more common than their share of the world’s population. There is also the famous wisdom of King Solomon, who was regarded as the wisest of men. However, if you examine the chronicles of the Jewish people and our conduct as a nation, you will find that we march from folly to folly, and never seem to learn, as if our wisdom has remained with King Solomon, and all we have is talent for math, science, and finances.

On Sunday, former president Donald Trump criticized American Jewry for their attitude toward Israel. He wrote that they must “get their act together” and show more appreciation for the state of Israel “before it is too late.”

Trump did not specify what he meant by “too late,” but Jewish history makes it very clear what that might be, although I cannot be certain that this is what Trump meant. Jewish history proves one thing, and if we were wiser, we would learn from it: When we are together, united as one, we thrive. When we are divided, we suffer. Accordingly, “getting our act together” means restoring our shattered unity and transcending the alienation between us.

Our history confirms that Jews are a nation on a mission to correct the world; this is why our motto is Tikkun Olam (correction of the world). We did not choose it; it was imposed on us.

However, we were chosen for a reason: We did what no one else has done before we established our nationhood, or since. The Jewish nation emerged from an eclectic mixture of strangers from foreign tribes and nations who had one thing in common: the conviction that living in unity and solidarity is the only viable way for humanity to exist. This is why we placed love of others above all other values.

Because unity of all people is indeed the most sublime value, we were tasked with spreading it. Since there were times when we achieved it, such as at the foot of Mt. Sinai and at other rare occasions and periods in our history, we were also tasked with setting an example, with being a model nation, a “light to the nations.”

In time, however, we have abandoned our mission and discarded our core values. Instead of being a light to the nations, we have become a darkness to the nations, setting a model of division, or as our sages called it sinaat hinam (unfounded hatred, hatred for no reason).

I respect Donald Trump and I respect his words because he respects our unity. His gut feeling that Jews should stick together does not stem from antisemitism; nor are they an attempt to play into antisemitic tropes, as some of his critics argue. Rather, his words stem from a conviction that this is the way Jews should treat one another, that Jewish unity is good for the Jews and good for the world.

He is absolutely right. Our insistence on distinguishing between American Jewry and the State of Israel works against us. Rather than mitigate antisemitism in America, this division is the very reason that antisemitism is growing.

Regardless of Israel’s actions or of the actions of American Jewry, the very fact that Jews are divided among themselves fuels the world’s anger against them because it is the opposite example of the one they should give.

At the moment, the chasm between American Jewry and Israel seems wider than the ocean that lies between us. The two communities are like two continents moving farther and farther apart. Unless we get our act together, just as Trump said, and pull together as one nation, above the alienation and hatred between us, a modern Hitler of some sort will rise and do to us what our detractors have done to us throughout our millennia of Jewish folly.

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “If We Do Not Recognize Jerusalem as Our Capital, Why Should Australia?”

This week, Australia’s center-left government reversed a decision by the previous, conservative ‎administration, to recognize West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Australia’s Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, said the city’s status should be decided through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people, and that Australia “will not support an approach that undermines” the chance of a two-state solution in which a Palestinian state exists alongside Israel.

Israel condemned the Australian government’s decision, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry has summoned the Australian envoy to lodge an official protest. But if we do not know what Jerusalem stands for or what its name means, can we expect others to recognize it as our capital?

I am not surprised that the new, left leaning government, reversed the previous decision, which was made by a conservative administration. These days, the Left is on the rise all over the world, and it has always been more antisemitic and anti-Israel than the Right.

Also, considering how Israel treated Donald Trump, perhaps Israel’s best friend since its founding, I think it is fair to say that we “had it coming.” If we do not appreciate our supporters, can we complain that our critics are emboldened?

Instead of reproving foreign ambassadors, we should focus on ourselves and do what we must do. The second part of the name Jeru-salem comes from the Hebrew word shalem (whole). Jerusalem should be a city of unity, where all Jews, of every culture, ethnicity, and denomination, come together in a celebration of unity. Jerusalem must be a symbol of unity. It will not be whole before we are whole inside, among ourselves.

In the days of the Second Temple, particularly during the 3rd century B.C., there was a period when Jerusalem was indeed a model of unity. At that time, people from all over the world flocked to it during times of celebration to derive inspiration and to learn how to unite. The book Sifrey Devarim writes that people would “go up to Jerusalem and see Israel … and say, ‘It is becoming to cling only to this nation.’”

Even Henry Ford, an otherwise rabid antisemite, advised his readers to learn from the Jews. In his compilation of antisemitic essays titled The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem, he wrote, “Modern reformers, who are constructing model social systems … would do well to look into the social system under which the early Jews were organized.”

When we begin to nurture our solidarity and cohesion, when we stop worrying about what this or that government does, we will discover that this is exactly what the world wants us to do, including our Arab neighbors. We will not resolve our conflict with our neighbors or the hatred from the world before we rise above the inner conflicts that divide us and stop hating one another.
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Question: Well-known psychologist Mikhail Labkovsky shares that shame is a discreet emotion, an emotion that a person tries to hide, and therefore it is toxic and harmful. He  gives the analogy of shame as a potted plant that given the constant feeding and fertilizing and resources a person gives it (the shame), it grows into a huge tree. He advises that you need to work with shame or it will consume your entire personality.

How can a person work with it?

Answer: Only the relationship between a person as a flower with other flowers, with other people, in mutual restriction, in mutual assistance, etc. will help everyone organically develop and collect a good flower bed.

Question: Where is the place for shame here?

Answer: It is inside between them. There is shame, pride, joy, sadness, and everything else.

Question: Should I relate to it somehow? What should I do with shame?

Answer: Manage it! If there were no shame, who would we be? We would be animals.

Shame is what distinguishes man from an animal. This is the difference between these two degrees. If I am not ashamed, then I am like an animal. It does not matter why and how.

Shame is from the fact that I am not like him, not so smart, etc. Shame is what keeps me from losing at least the degree I am at.

Question: Do I need to nourish it?

Answer: It is absolutely necessary. It is imperative to make sure that shame corresponds to the degree I want to rise to each time or it will not hold me.

Question: So, it turns out that it is shame that pushes me to this degree?

Answer: Yes, it is a restraining force and a pushing force. It restrains from falling and pushes to rise.

Question: Why do psychologists usually say don’t nourish it, crush it?

Answer: I don’t know. For them, there are qualities in nature that they consider negative. And for me, there are no negative qualities; they are all positive, and everything must be used correctly.

Question: So the correct sentence here would be, “We need to properly use this shame that exists”?

Answer: Of course!

Question: And to know that it is a positive quality?

Answer: Yes. I asked about it and talked about it a lot with my teacher Rabash. And he said that shame is a special creation of the Creator. A special invention of the Creator to make people ashamed. This is like an indicator for them that they are moving away from their path.

You imagine you have a compass guiding you to a goal that you cannot see, which is far away, and you are in the dark, in bad weather. How do you advance? Shame keeps you in place, you can always direct yourself to the Creator, and shame will help you in this. Neither to the right nor to the left, it will hold you.

Look at how a person even in our ordinary world can be so egoistic, pragmatic, rude, and so on. They are still trying to keep themselves relative to each other in some decent condition. It is a shame! Moreover, it is at every degree, at every moment. That is what keeps us going.

Can you imagine how different we are from animals! They have this state disabled altogether. They only act according to what makes them feel better at every moment. And we have another system enabled: how I behave and how I show myself to the outside.

And that is what sets us apart. This is what we call a human in us. Shame is what molds a person from an animal.

Comment: Nice, you have created such a monument to shame.

My Response: Therefore, we must use this in schools and in education to tell, explain, show, and psychologically develop a sense of shame in humanity.

There is none of this. On the contrary, the more shameless I am, I can brag about it, flaunt it, and it will be considered that I am special.

This is the difference between an intelligent upbringing, the correct approach to life, to the world, to people, and such a purely open, egoistic one.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 5/30/22

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The key to successful advancement is only to have patience and to not retreat. The Creator checks a person by conducting him through all kinds of states. He is forced to do this in order to properly polish us and make us ready for spiritual attainment.

Therefore, every day (or even several times a day) should be started as anew: despair and start again, and despair again. After all, one is impossible without the other. And so we are move forward no matter what.

Only those who fall—as it is said, “The righteous will fall a thousand times and rise”—will reach the limit when the Creator will say, “That’s enough, I’m revealing Myself to this person.” Just don’t back off, if you can’t, as much as you can; fall-rise; fall-rise. Like a baby, how many times does he fall until he learns to walk! That’s how we are.

Therefore, patience is needed. Life passes anyway, and there is nothing in it worth investing efforts in except to allow yourself to exist and realize the thought of creation.

We have already received a lucky opportunity. We were chosen by the Creator. So let’s continue to the end and let’s not despair.
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From a Conversation at the Unity Event “Unity Tent” 10/13/22

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Everything in life develops from a woman. Men find and conquer new lands, cross oceans, and discover new continents. But then a woman comes and so a settlement arises with houses, children appear, and land begins to be developed.

Therefore we, men, have passed a certain stage of the spiritual path, and then the time has come when women should join in to help us enter the spiritual land and settle in it. Let us hope that this year it will already be realized in practice.
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From a Conversation at the Unity Event “Unity Tent” 10/13/22

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The last day of Sukkot is dedicated to the guest of honor David, the correction of the Sefira Malchut. It is clear that all corrections are concentrated in and end in Malchut.

Malchut is the quintessence and the result of all corrections. Therefore King David, Malchut, signifies the end of the corrections of our soul when we all gather together under the roof of the Sukkah, under one screen, and receive the upper light from above, which is revealed in the corrected Kli.

Thus we reach the state when the entire upper light enters our Kli. Then comes the feast of the Joy of the Torah (Simchat Torah), when we receive the upper light no longer inside the Sukkah, not under the roof, but rather outside of it, and the upper light fills all of reality.

David symbolizes the general Kli, which is all created beings. On one hand it is a state of complete separation from the Creator, from the upper light. But on the other hand, in this state there is a complete work that brings us to adhesion with the upper force.

Therefore King David is woven from opposite forces, from contradictory qualities. If we talk about his spiritual work, his entire life was like this because he fought all the time. But at the same time he was the ruler, the King of Israel.

King David receives from the qualities of bestowal, from Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. From the qualities of reception, from Isaac, that is, from overcoming, he takes Kelim in order to use them just to the extent that the qualities of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph can be imprinted in them. This combination of forces takes place in David, and therefore he is called the King of Israel.

After all, Malchut accumulates and collects all the forces within itself and combines them in the correct form.

Therefore David had such a difficult life, as described in the Torah. He was constantly involved in various wars and problems and was forced to hide from enemies and haters. His life was not easy, but he corrected all of Malchut through this. The Messiah is called the son of David because he comes out of this quality.

As long as the people of Israel do not have a king, this means that they cannot build Malchut; that is, they cannot become similar to the Creator in the full measure. After all the King of Israel is that quality of similarity to the Creator that created beings form within themselves, within their connection.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/16/22, “Ushpizin David—Sefira Malchut“

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The Torah doesn’t really distinguish Aaron. He constantly accompanies Moses as if hiding in his shadow. Moses acts as a link between the Creator and the people, and Aaron stands beside him as his assistant, his brother.

From this story, the role of Aaron is not very clear. But just because it is not clear, it is apparently more hidden, which means that it is closer to a person, to you and me, and related to our work.

Aaron prepares the vessels, the connection of the people with the Creator. Moses comes from above, and Aaron comes from below, from the people, all the qualities of a person, the whole group, and the ten relative to the Creator. And that is why the role of Aaron does not stand out so much because a person has to add his work to it. Moses acts as the representative of the Creator before the people, and Aaron acts as the representative of the people before the Creator.

If I am in the power of the Creator (and there is none else besides Him), then I must always be satisfied, in any state. And if I am dissatisfied with something, it means that I am separated from the Creator. Therefore, I need to get back to the connection with Him, and a sign that I have this connection will be my joy from any state whatever it may be.

The quality of Aaron is the most important quality in a person. The qualities of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses are just preparation from above. And the quality of Aaron is our work from below, which we realize when we reach faith above reason, which is, mercy (Hesed), which is above all, bestowal, which is above any desire to enjoy.

To study the quality of Aaron means to accept him as a guest in our Sukkah. We want his quality to build our soul, the right connection between us. To clothe the quality of Hesed on all your inner qualities, which are called “the people of Israel,” means to do the work of Aaron, to adopt his quality on yourself, on all your desire to enjoy.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/20, “Sukkot”

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