A Prayer For Others Helps Everyone

My heart breaks when I see that I am incapable of achieving a single spiritual action of bestowal with my own strength. I understand that I do not have any connection with spirituality and I am not ready to unite with the friends. In other words, I feel myself as a simple animal or even lower than that.

And from this state I need to awaken. If prior to this we made a covenant of mutual guarantee to act together within the group, it will help me. Then I feel that I am not alone and that it is not about people, but about the mutual connection of desires, intentions, thoughts, and efforts; then based on all of this, I can act.

We lack the sense of a common Kli. It is not I suddenly fell apart independently of the others, but our connection exists. It is not affecting me because right now I am in a descent and disconnected from it, but it still affects the others, and they save me.

Due to this act of each one being saved from a descent in this way, he turns into a main Sefira, Malchut, adding his desire to the upper nine Sefirot. In this way, a Kli that is able to address the Creator appears.

What does it mean that the friends throw him a rope and pull him out of the river? They turn to the Creator with a plea for him because he is incapable of doing it himself. Each prays for the other, and in this way, all are saved.

If, however, from your broken heart you turn to the Creator with a plea for yourself, then He does not hear you.¹
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/18, Writings of Rabash, Vol. 3, Article 877 “Three Prayers

New Life #982 – Building Connection Between Our Differences

New Life #982 – Building Connection Between Our Differences
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Summary

On the corporeal level people are similar in their development, but on the human level they are very different from each other. Every person has his own inner world, his own opinions, etc. Each person is born different from the others so that a powerful, whole system can be built through the contrast. Every person has a root of their soul as well as their own innate inclinations, education, and environmental influences. If all people received a similar education, there would be mutual understanding of the value of this root of their soul. Instead of trying to change others, we would see how to attain the highest value of connection above our differences.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #982 – Building Connection Between Our Differences,” 3/20/18

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“Privacy in the New Digital Era: What Have We Got To Hide?” – Linkedin

Linkedin: “Privacy in the New Digital Era: What Have We Got To Hide?“

“Mr.Zuckerberg,” asked senator Dick Durbin, regarding the way the Facebook CEO perceives his privacy, “Would you be comfortable sharing with us the name of the hotel you stayed in last night?”

“Um…” Zuckerberg took his time to answer as dozens of TV and newspaper cameras watched on. “No.” said the young man in the suit and tie. The crowd chuckled awkwardly as he answered the surprising question.

“If you’ve messaged anybody this week, would you share with us the names of the people you’ve messaged?” Durbin continued to inquire.

“Senator, no, I would probably not choose to do that publicly here,” Zuckerberg said, more avidly than before. But senator Durbin, like many of his colleagues, did not seem satisfied; even as Zuckerberg’s baby face looked back at them with a humbled look.

For over six hours, Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, testified before the Senate in Washington. Zuckerberg had to explain how the private information of 87 million users had reached the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a data mining company.

In fact, what was being interrogated on that stand was not Facebook, nor its CEO, but the very right to privacy. In an advanced technological world, with an open and increasingly interconnected virtual space, is there any room left for privacy in our lives?

My answer is: almost none. Internet users might fight for it, but the future trend shows that there really isn’t that much to hide.

Laws should indeed be legislated to limit the ability of big monopolies to trade our information and trample our rights. But that is not the main point. Human society is marching into a new age where we’ll all know everything about everyone—from the most basic information that any minor computer geek can easily track, to the most supposedly embarrassing deeds we try to hide from the eyes of our neighbors and colleagues.

We are about to experience a major transformation of what we feel ashamed about, a new era where everything becomes disclosed. It will soon become clear that we are all made of the same material.

Overcoming the Façade of Righteousness and Seeing Ourselves as We Are

A short glance at the leaders of our world today and their public image, reveals the naked truth: President Clinton had extramarital sexual affairs, President Trump is now faced with accusations of cheating on his wife with porn stars, the former prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi boasted about his orgiastic “bunga bunga” parties, stories of Libya’s former dictator, Kaddafi’s passion parties abound, as do a myriad of other rumors of different public personas.

Public personas and officials are no different to anyone else. Their official role does not make them immune to the natural drives and impulses inherent to every man and woman in the world. Every man—from small to great, from worker to leader, from elderly to youth—is driven by desires to enjoy food, sex and family. Regarding these desires, we are no different than any other animal. Therefore, there is no reason to become perplexed about the information revealed about us in social media, it reveals nothing new about our true nature.

If anyone does have a problem with your nature, with your preferences and inclinations, your passions and behaviors, your character and your thoughts, then you can answer them with a line from the Jewish sages: “Go to the craftsman who made me and say to him, ‘How ugly is the vessel which you have made’” (Talmud, Taanit 20a–b).

When we’ll realize we are all made of the same material, each with a different shade and color of desire, privacy will then become a thing of the past. When that happens, we can then delve deeper into what makes us human.

So what does make us human?

We are made up of two levels, the physical-bodily level and the human-spiritual level. On the first level, every person needs to satisfy their corporeal desires. This is all well and good, on condition that no harm is done to anyone in the process. On the second level, there is our internal essence, which is what we need for true, heartfelt connection to others.

This second level is hidden from us. It is the deep level of relationships with others, a spiritual level that is not experienced in our first-level corporeal ties. It is called “the human” in us, as Kabbalists refer to it, and to grasp it further, one needs to consciously evolve.

Since the second level is hidden from us, it is intangible and we cannot feel it. We mistakenly equate our “human” spiritual self to our physical human body. As a result, we create social norms and moral values that limit the use of the human body, i.e. the fulfillment of desires on the first level.

Precisely at this point is where the media enters to take advantage of the way we limit ourselves. The media thrives on celebrating our lack of connection to our inner essence. To continue making money, the media deludes us day and night, producing extravagant shows out of our natural impulses. The media dramatizes behaviors and actions that derive from our instinctive basic drives, instead of reminding us that it is our real nature, and theirs. And so we are gradually brainwashed by a fake value system, praising or reprimanding others for the natural drives they were born with.

A correct version of the media would engage itself in creating positive human connections, “to connect people, to build community and to bring the world closer together’, as Zuckerberg testified before US Congress and the world. The media needs to help elevate us to the second, hidden level; to create a new set of values based not on our bodies and natural impulses, but a set of values aimed at attaining our essence, to strengthen our contribution to society and to encourage good relationships.

Humans are Wired for Connection

The public’s victory in the struggle for privacy will be possible when we begin to develop our “inner human,” and connect meaningfully and positively to others. It is through mutual relations that we will discover nature’s hidden force—a force binding us on all levels, and which is increasingly pressuring us to wake up and face our connection to each other. By attaining such a mutual sensation of nature’s higher force, we will lift the veil of smoke covering what we deem as private and shameful, and this “mystery” surrounding the virtual world will be gone.

The media, with Facebook as one of its current leading players, has the ability to create positive trends that will inspire and elevate humanity to greater connection. They have the power to set the social tone and create a new culture, to sharpen the social perception of reality into a healthy perception of human nature, and to aid every person in adopting new understandings about his or her physical and spiritual drives.

When meaningful content flows in the veins of social networks, no one will be ashamed or afraid of exposure any longer. The more we identify with our spiritual level that is disconnected from any physical need, the more we will be able to be calm about such incidences as this privacy leak of tens of millions of users. We will know how to put our self in the right perspective, the physical and the spiritual. In such a social climate the only shame that will afflict man will be when one takes a hard look at oneself and considers: “Have I invested enough in creating positive relations? Have I contributed to positive connection in society? Have I been considerate of others, the way a ‘human’ should?”

Good Intention Defines Everything

What is this like? It is like a wealthy man who had an old father whom he did not wish to support. He was tried and the verdict was that he would support him at least as respectfully as he supports his own kin, or he would face a harsh punishment.

Naturally, he took him into his home and had to support him generously, but his heart was grieving. The old man said to him, “Since you are already giving me every delight that you have on your table, what would you lose if you also had a good intention, which is reasonable in the eyes of every sensible person, to be happy with having the opportunity to honor your father, who had spent all his energy for you and made you a respectable man? Why are you so obstinate that you afflict yourself? Can you rid yourself even slightly because of it?”

So it is. At the end of the day, we bestow upon society, and only society gains from our lives, since every person, great or small, adds and enriches the treasury of society. But the individual, when weighing the sorrow and pain that one receives, one is in great deficit. Hence, you are giving to your fellow person, but painfully and with great and bitter suffering. So why do you mind the good intention? (Baal HaSulam. The Writings of the Last Generation).

The parable talks about the fact that we must change our attitude toward all people in the world from contempt, hatred, distance, and rejection, to love. By caring for the father, the parable means that the same care for the whole world is as for the people closest to you.

Everyone knows that the Torah commands “to love your neighbor as yourself,” but no one is eager to fulfill this single commandment in any religion or culture till today. Everyone fervently utters words of love and then sticks a knife into their neighbor’s back. Thus, a person does not have neighbors. The only person close to one is oneself.

Question: In the parable, the father says: “You can rejoice that you have the opportunity to show respect to your father.” How is it possible to switch to sudden joy?

Answer: We must understand the depth of this story. A person makes a calculation: If I can show respect to my father to the extent that I will deserve to enter the Garden of Eden (paradise), then I should do it because how long will my father live… I will formally show him respect, I can’t change my heart.

Or maybe I can? If I begin to imagine the paradise that is being prepared for me in the other world every day, then, of course, I will have certain feelings for the Creator because I earn this paradise with His help.

But in any case, this is a very difficult deal, even in the egoistic sense, because paradise is waiting for me in the future world, but to make an effort, I have to sacrifice myself in this world. Only a few are capable of this. Where are they, these people who would do good for others for the sake of entering paradise? I would like to see them, be among them, and let them earn paradise with my help.

A person is made in such a way that no tricks or any persuasion can affect his egoism. It is very difficult for one to change one’s attitude even toward one’s own parents, relatives, and friends, and even more so to society, which consists of the most diverse people, those opposed to oneself, including one’s enemies. Change in attitude is realized only with the help of the science of Kabbalah.

Baal HaSulam wrote: “So, what difference does it make if you have a good intention?” When a person asks this question and begins to understand what it means to change one’s attitude, one sees how it is not easy, because actions have no value, but intention defines everything.

The right intention is the transition from our world to the spiritual world; this is the revelation of the upper world.
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 10/9/17

The Goal Of The Future Society

Question: If ordinary people understand that they should unite for the importance of the goal, they will be able to work correctly with their egoistic nature. What is this goal?

Answer: Many people restrain themselves somewhat in order to work with others to achieve a beneficial goal. If I enter into a partnership with someone, I understand that I limit myself, my opinion, possibly the result, my profit, etc. I have no other choice. There is a very clear, direct egoistic benefit.

In the beginning, it should be that way in both ordinary and Kabbalistic relationships. There is no difference between them because both always start with simple egoism.

But then, by working together according to the Kabbalistic method, I gradually start to feel two opposite forces in this work.

On one hand, my ego greatly resists moving forward. On the other hand, in business, it may not be so. To the contrary, in business, my ego agrees that we should unite and go forward because the ego always weighs the possible future outcomes, such as wealth or completion of a project.

In our case, it doesn’t work that way. We feel increasing resistance from the ego. Why? It is in order to elevate the goal in our eyes—that the goal will always be a level higher than the ego’s resistance. Meanwhile, we reach a state where we try our best to elevate the goal and struggle to make it more important than our ego.

Here, mutual guarantee and the influence of the surrounding upper force are very important. By acting correctly, we receive the strength to remain connected with each other until we are transformed into one common desire, one common intention, in which the sensation of the upper force appears according to the extent of our unity.

This sensation is the action of this force. We connect with each other and with this force. This state is called the next, spiritual level of our existence.

Question: Who can tolerate this, except a person with a point in the heart?

Answer: Everyone has a point in the heart that will gradually develop. In addition, a person sees what is happening in the world around him: constant stress, failure, drugs, and so on. Kabbalah provides us with a profound science about humanity’s ascent.

Question: Is the seriousness of this science understood through a person’s efforts to unite? In business, everything is clear: millions, billions of dollars attract people to it.

Answer: Here, too, we can measure the greatness of the goal in millions and billions, but in relative units, not money.

Question: What does the measurement of the goal mean for a Kabbalist?

Answer: There are 125 steps to achieve this goal. At each step, it is achieved at a certain degree. The ultimate goal becomes increasingly clearer with each step. It is felt qualitatively higher and the aspiration to it grows accordingly.
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From Kab TV’s The Last Generation” 8/16/17

New Life #981 – The Role Of Women In The 21st Century

New Life #981 – The Role Of Women In The 21st Century
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

Women are responsible for repairing the world. The future is in their hands. They have the power to influence everyone to unite and connect as one body. They must feel that they are protecting their children and lead in the family, in society, and in the world at large. If they use their collective purchasing power, for example, out of concern for the general connection, they will awaken powerful forces and the world will change immediately. Women must believe in their power and understand that there is no choice but to act now.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #981 – The Role Of Women In The 21st Century,” 3/18/18

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The Health Of Social Networks

In the News (Wired): “Twitter launched a new initiative Thursday to find out exactly what it means to be a healthy social network in 2018. The company, which has been plagued by a number of election-meddling, harassment, bot, and scam-related scandals since the 2016 presidential election, announced that it was looking to partner with outside experts to help ‘identify how we measure the health of Twitter.’ The company said it was looking to find new ways to fight abuse and spam, and to encourage ‘healthy’ debates and conversations.

“In a series of tweets, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged that his company didn’t ‘fully predict or understand the real-world negative consequences’ of how the platform was designed, like harassment, trolls, bots, and other forms of abuse. ‘We aren’t proud of how people have taken advantage of our service, or our inability to address it fast enough,’ he wrote.”

Question: This begs the question, what is a healthy social network?

Answer: I suppose that to give an answer to the question, it is first necessary to understand the significance of our development. Then it will be possible to evaluate scientific and social platforms according to the degree of benefit or harm they cause, relative to the attainment of the goal in the best way. Then the “diagnosis” of the social networks will be severe: “terminally ill.”

I understand the disappointment of the creators of the Internet with what people have done with their brainchild. The problem here is not about the Internet itself, but the egothat controls us. We must correct ourselves, not the Internet. Without correcting ourselves, nothing will help. People will bypass everything because the ego is what motivates them.

Twitter in particular and the Internet in general must begin to be involved with only one thing: re-education. It is necessary to fill the virtual space with what is useful for the development of positive mutual connections among people.

I am not an ascetic and I do not advocate restriction. However, people have stopped reading, stopped consuming normal information, have forgotten how to think, analyze, and empathize. In fact, they are unhappy, duped.

Today in the network where the majority are entangled, most engage with everything except what is most important—themselves! A person is captivated and mesmerized by the flickering screen and doesn’t desire anything higher, the next level.

It’s time to use the same system differently, for ascent, to benefit all people.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/13/18

New Lifestyle

There are already people among us who use their singularity in forms of bestowal upon others. But they are still few, as we are still in the midst of the path of development. When we come to the Highest point of the degrees, we will all be using our singularity only in a form of bestowal upon others, and there will never be any case of any person using it in a form of self-reception. By those words, we find the opportunity to examine the conditions of life in the last generation—the time of world peace, when the whole of humanity achieves the level of the first side and will use their singularity only in the form of bestowal upon others, and not at all in the form of reception for self. And it is good to copy here the above-mentioned form of life so it will serve to us as a lesson and as a role model to settle our minds under the flood of the waves of our lives. Perhaps it is worthwhile and possible in our generation, too, to experiment in resembling this above form of life. (Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World“)

We have to create small communities that can demonstrate individual principles of the future generation. We need to advertise them so that people come, study, take courses, and try to put these principles in practice by moving with their families to such communities for at least a couple of months.

All forces that are manifested in the person, nature, and the world around us push us to rise above our egoism and to exist on a completely different level—the level of the Creator, the total power of nature and altruism. The problem is in how to do it.

For this, there is a special group of people in our world called Kabbalists who, due to their unique internal development, which was independent of them, they received a push to a new lifestyle.

They study how the system managing our world is organized, how we can come to it, adapt it to ourselves, and change ourselves for it.

Therefore, the masses have someone to learn and adapt this method from, because Kabbalists realize it in their own experience.

Most people, however, know nothing about it, nor do they understand it, and are egoistically against it. After all, we are talking about a special inverse change within our nature—a change from someone who desires to receive and enjoy at expense of others to one who gives, where another becomes closer than himself, or at least like his only beloved child who he constantly thinks about.

It is almost unbelievable and imperceptible in a person. But nature will pressure us with great suffering if we do not voluntarily move toward it.

Kabbalah explains how one can make small steps to the biblical principle of “love your neighbor as yourself” so that although not by your own choice, but still not very restrained, one can learn these principles in advance, try to absorb them, and even begin to translate some elements of the main commandments of the Torah “love your neighbor as yourself” and “the unity of all people.”
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 10/23/17

The General And The Particular Are Equal

Question: Baal HaSulam, in his article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” writes that “the general and the particular are equal.” What does that mean?

Answer: The spiritual cannot be divided into parts and that is why any small part of the spiritual system has absolutely the same value as the entire system.

By removing even the smallest, microscopic particle from the system, we destroy it completely because each grain of the spiritual system exists in absolutely all of its parts! In this manner, the absence of a tiny particle carries with it the disruption of the correct functioning of the entire system.

From this comes the principle that the general and the particular are equal. In other words, if there is a small gap, an omission, a disturbance, or a breakdown, it manifests in the entire system!

Question: How is this principle applied in practice?

Answer: In spirituality we must always strive toward wholeness. The difference between the 125 levels lies in that we increasingly come to more completely encompassing our connection to the general system.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 11/26/17

New Life #963 – The Israeli National Identity

New Life #963 – The Israeli National Identity
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Summary

The original Israeli identity centered on the discovery and sharing of the essence of life. Jews are not connected to this original Israeli identity these days and each one invents his or her own identity. Nevertheless, the world disallows the State of Israel to forget its unique purpose even while the rest of the countries become global and connected. The task of the people of Israel is to discover their shared identity and teach all human beings how to love each other and the upper force. When this occurs, each person will feel the other as he feels himself, above all the differences and disagreements.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #963 – The Israeli National Identity,” 2/11/18

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International Mother-Earth Day (Earth Day)

From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 4/22/18

Today is International Mother-Earth Day (Earth Day).
The Earth and its ecosystems are our home. Human beings must use the Earth’s resources carefully, taking into account future generations as well. The problem can only be solved by correcting the egoistic nature of man.

To better understand our relationship with nature,
read my article on Hurricanes from last year

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Degrees Of Independence

Achieving independence is in essence the entire work of a person on this earth. The whole process—from the moment of our birth in this world and before entering the spiritual world and the subsequent development of the soul until the end of its correction—is advancement toward independence.

Independence is realized in achieving similarity with the upper force, the Creator, nothing more or less than that. Until a person reaches the Creator’s degree, power, and similarity with Him in all qualities, he won’t complete his development and won’t gain independence.

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” “It is written in The Zohar: “With this composition, the Children of Israel will be redeemed from exile.” Also, in many other places, only through the expansion of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the masses will we obtain complete redemption. They also said, “The Light in it reforms him.” They were intentionally meticulous about it, to show us that only the Light enclosed within it is the cure that reforms a person.

Hence, it is clear that only in this way is it possible to reach the independence that we want so badly and to become free, even in the material sense. Only in this way will we be able to free ourselves from the external threat that doesn’t leave us even for a moment, each time forcing us to fight for our survival.

After all, the opportunity to return to their land was given to the people of Israel as an opportunity for a limited period of time, precisely in order to achieve independence that depends on the revelation of the wisdom of Kabbalah among the masses.

We exist inside the system of nature, in a special network that acts according to its laws. It is possible to study particular forms of the manifestation of these laws on inanimate, vegetative, and animate degrees, as does physics (the inanimate level), botany (the vegetative), biology, zoology, and genetics (the animate, that is, everything relating to living organisms).

There is also a part that relates to a person’s inner world. Psychology and psychiatry dabble in it, but their abilities are very limited, and, in fact, this area remains practically unknown.

The only science that really deals with the person’s inner world is the wisdom of Kabbalah. It studies a person as an internal system acting according to certain prescribed laws, and it lets you understand these laws and use them in order to change human nature and bring the person to the good form of existence.

We can improve our environment and make it comfortable by knowing the laws of physics, chemistry, and other sciences. We can also improve a person’s inner qualities by knowing the laws that the wisdom of Kabbalah explains to us.

These laws remain unchanged and absolute from generation to generation. They are ready for our use, unlike the laws of psychology that constantly change, with declarations that something considered harmful yesterday is today considered useful.

The person’s inner nature is subject to absolute and immutable laws. These laws come from the Creator, nature’s highest force we comprehend to creation’s very depths, the nature of which is opposite to the Creator.

Therefore, Baal HaSulam writes that only through the disclosure of the wisdom of Kabbalah can the entire world shift from exile to redemption. The people of Israel must do it first and show an example to all other nations. This is called “to be a Light unto nations.”

In this way we exit all of this world’s limitations. We are compelled to exist in this world in order to support our body, trying every moment to provide to it the most comfortable conditions. We spend our entire life servicing the body, which eventually dies, turning all our efforts to ashes.

However, we can start working on ourselves in order to achieve true, eternal degrees of existence that are above the care for our animalistic body. When we do so, our main concern becomes attaining the upper force and similarity of qualities with it.

To the extent we become similar to the Creator, we receive an opportunity to be as eternal as He is. Then we begin to climb the degrees, reaching an ever-greater force of eternity and perfection.

Of utmost importance is rising above our body that is given to us only in order to accompany us for some time, until we exit it. If I dedicate myself to the care for it, meaning place myself inside it, then I am engaged in a losing business from the beginning.

It turns out that I invest all my strength and my entire life in developing and filling something that will inevitably die. It means that all my efforts are completely useless. Therefore, we simply are obligated to realize opportunities that the wisdom of Kabbalah gives us.
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A Zero From Ten Sefirot

The Creator is revealed inside the connection of ten people, each of which has annulled himself to zero. But how does this connection become equal if each one makes his own annulment toward the group that he views in his personal way? Everyone has his own desire, which is different from all others, so all our zeroes turn out to be different. How do they then become a single zero?

Every one of us is different and unique. There is not a single form where we would be equal. But since we all annul ourselves, we are reduced to a single zero that contains ten zeroes within it that differ from each other like ten Sefirot.

Thus, a Partzuf is created, which has ten completely annulled parts in it connected with each other like ten Sefirot. After all, they are different, but they have annulled themselves to zero, and through this they have connected into single point. This point, however, is complex, consisting of ten points connected through their annulment toward one principle.

Each of us annuls himself and no one is similar to the other in his annulment because each one perceives this principle in his own way. Yet these ten turn into a single system because a single Creator becomes revealed in them and fills them. The Creator summarizes all these ten desires into a single whole.

Each of the ten desires is filled with Light in its individual form in proportion to its self-annulment. They very much differ in their character and strength, but they are considered to be one point: a drop of spiritual semen that begins to develop.

It is a point, but a very complex one. There is no difference between this drop and the entire immense system of the world of Ein Sof (infinity).

The very first self-annulment is not yet enough to reveal the Creator, which requires more advanced forms. With each self-annulment, they absorb the desire to enjoy inside the Klipot above which they annul themselves for the sake of the general principle of unity, and in the contrast between the Light and the darkness, they reveal the Creator.¹
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/13/18, Lesson on the Topic: “Revealing the Necessity for the Ten” (Preparation for the Convention “All As One” in New Jersey 2018)

Israel Is 70!

70 years—for a country this is a young age. However, it is a time for taking a look into results. I am very glad that we have something to be proud of on our 70th anniversary. Today’s Israel is an advanced country. Science, high tech, medicine, military technology, agriculture…, in many areas we are recognized world leaders.

However, most of all, I am happy about another one of Israel’s achievements: the fact that today the wisdom of Kabbalah is being revealed more and more. We can openly talk about it, spread its knowledge, and people listen to us. They already understand that Kabbalah is neither mysticism nor witchcraft, but a science that builds strong bridges of love among all people, regardless of their race and place of residence.

We can see how people from numerous countries come to our conventions in Israel. At the last convention there were representatives from 75 countries. They come at the call of the soul, and we see how warmly they speak about our country, with such gratitude and love!

And this is against the background of extremely negative attitudes toward us from many countries of the world. This does not stop them. They feel that “love your neighbor as yourself,” which is the basis of our nation, is the only true direction in life.

Happy holiday, dear friends!
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When Kabbalah Captures A Person

Question: If the method of Kabbalah elevates us above problems, then does a person while breaking away from earth and hovering in the clouds, stop solving his problems on the corporeal level?

Answer: No, this can happen only at the beginning when a person first discovers the method.

Suddenly, he encounters science, people, books, and the teaching—the entire system that explains how everything is arranged in our world. Some people are attracted specifically to this, others are attracted to the opportunity to rise above their problems and enter into different states, a third group want to understand what life and death are, a fourth group want to find out what happens to the souls and their reincarnations, and so on.

In other words, ordinary people have a lot of questions that are solved when they encounter Kabbalah. When this captures a person, he can even abandon his family, work, or anything else. It is necessary to act very cautiously here since the discovery of such a system astonishes people.

Therefore, Kabbalah is not revealed in every generation or without a reason. However, in our generation, it can be revealed because humanity has been through many different states, and in practice, humanity can hardly be surprised by anything.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 12/17/17

New Life #976 – Can We Control Our Urges?

New Life #976 – Can We Control Our Urges?
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

Like animals, we feel forced to realize our urges. Our impulses operate in two directions: we love what does something good for us and hate what does something that feels bad for us. Control over our urges becomes possible if we are aware of what urges are liable to awaken in us, if we prepare a system for dealing with them, if we acquire a negative attitude toward them, and if we adhere to a greater goal. The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to acquire a higher, spiritual emotion and intellect that will dominate us instead of the urges, according to the principle “habit becomes second nature.”
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From KabTV’s “New Life #976 – Can We Control Our Urges?” 3/11/18

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Do Kabbalistic Amulets Exist?

Question: Do Kabbalistic amulets exist? Do red strings help?

Answer: Nothing helps! Absolutely nothing! Believe me. Try to tie a red string on yourself and wrap yourself in red rags. Nothing will help!

Question: Yet, can it help psychologically?

Answer: Anything can help psychologically. You can make a toga and wear it like in Ancient Rome. But then what?

Spiritual psychology comes only from the mutual influence of each other within the group. Although friends exist solely in the corporeal world and everyone is an egoist, they can influence one another.

Question: Have you come across in any sources the mention of red strings?

Answer: No. Even if it is mentioned somewhere, it absolutely would not mean any corporeal manifestation. Neither Baal HaSulam nor Rabash have written anything about it.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 11/19/17

In The World Of Complicated Relationships

Question: Why is it that in our world people that are not similar, but are opposite, while complementary to each other, unite?

Answer: The thing is that we are very confused in our world, so it is hard to tell how exactly we unite: in likeliness or not. It depends on which qualities keep us connected with each other.

When I aim to reach the highest spiritual goal, our animal qualities lose their importance to me.

I do not pay attention to the qualities that are opposite of mine in my friend, but treat them as necessary for my internal work, for overcoming various antagonisms and problems between us. I care about the intent toward the main goal.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 11/26/17