“If I Am Not For Myself, Who Is For Me?”

Question from Facebook: What is the meaning of “If I am not for myself, who is for me”? This contradicts what you always say: “There is none else besides Him.”

Answer: If we think about this, it is indeed true that if I am not for myself, who will help me. A person needs to care for himself to the degree that he has to in order to exist and to function normally.

And all the rest, for the sake of others. But it is only after I provide myself with the basic necessities because “if there is no flour, there is no Torah.”

Question: Where does the most important principle “there is none else besides Him” fit in this equation?

Answer: According to this principle, we should act as follows: I have to think only about myself to the degree that I take care of my basic necessities and not more than that, and I should give everything else (above the basic necessities) to others because this is what the upper leadership obliges me to do.

After all, there is none else besides Him besides the upper governance, which we are subordinate to and should fulfill all its conditions in order to properly exist.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 2/1/17