Jerusalem—The Capital Of United Humanity

Jerusalem is the place of the Temple and at the same time the place of destruction. We need to reach a state when Jerusalem, which means “complete fear/respect” (Ira’a Shlema), will dwell in our hearts, in our desire, and with the acquired intention for bestowal, we will build a perfect spiritual vessel there called “the Temple.”

Both the first spiritual vessel—reception for the sake of bestowal—and the second one—bestowal for the sake of bestowal—belonged only to the head of the common soul. The third vessel will include both bestowal for the sake of bestowal and reception for the sake of bestowal for all the nations, as it is written: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Prophets, Isaiah 56:7). That is, for the entire desire to enjoy created on human level. Everyone will equally receive revelation of the upper force in common unity. Differences between people will disappear and this world will disappear at the end of correction, as Baal HaSulam writes. Only a common desire in which all unite in perfect unity will remain, fully filled with the upper Light.

Everyone will be in complete attainment of the upper force, as one heart, without any differences. On the contrary, the previous separation will work to strengthen the unity, as it is written: “Love will cover all transgressions.”

The restored Jerusalem must be like this. But for now, as we see, it is in a state of total destruction. There is no city in the world that is more divided, torn apart by every possible opposition and contradiction. It must all be revealed as material for correction.

Jerusalem Day reminds us of a needed correction. It turns out that it is not a celebration in honor of the city itself. It is a celebration in honor of the opportunity given to us for deliverance.

We celebrate the day of Jerusalem being given to us as a place of work and the place where correction will take place in the future. Then, the people of Israel and all the other nations as well as the land of Israel and the whole world will be revealed in adhesion with a single Creator.

Through this, Israel will fulfill its mission of being a Light unto nations. The mission of the people of Israel as the head of the spiritual Partzuf in relation to the body is to correct the whole of humanity. However, the correction should spread to all the nations, and the revelation of the Creator in all His might happens precisely in the body of the common soul, that is, in the nations of the world.

It is written that at the end of correction the land of Israel will spread to the whole world. That is, the desire to enjoy that relates to the attainment of the Creator will spread to the entire universe and everybody will unite together and will become one nation of the Creator, as it is written: “They shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.”

Jerusalem relates not only to the unification of Israel, but also to the unification of all of humanity. This particular point, this city, existed even before our forefathers came to the land of Israel; they did not create it from scratch.

The fact that the nations of the world, for example the US and others, move their embassies to Jerusalem is kind of a symbol. However, this does not perform the correction itself—the correction is incumbent upon the people of Israel. The time has come for all those who are at the degree of Israel (Yashar-Kel), that is, striving to reveal the Creator, to unite with each other and with the Creator, and to become the head of the spiritual Partzuf. Our unity, and nothing else, is what’s most important.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/13/18, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “One Commandment”

Shavuot

The holiday of Shavuot is not just a date on the calendar—it is a spiritual state. That is why everything depends on whether or not we achieve this state of the giving of the Torah. To do this, we must unite, connect with each other, become as one man with one heart, and stand at the foot of the mountain; in other words, we must understand that we were given very important conditions upon which we must work with ever increasing diligence and unity.

Only by constantly increasing our connection will we climb the mountain ever higher. To rise means to continually increase our connection above all problems, difficulties, and disturbances that the Creator places before us on our path in order to help us connect more and more, and to create a vessel in which the Light of NRNHY will gradually be revealed.¹

The connection must be spiritual. However, at that point, tremendous egoism is revealed, real armor, and at the same time, an intention to bestow. To the degree that we unite among each other and with the Creator, we convert the power of each person’s egoism into thick armor. By itself, it is a terrible thing without a drop of goodness, but through unifying means, we bring it the force of vitality, the force of the Light, and it turns into armor against the evil powers.

This is how we convert the evil force into a force of good. These two forces stand against each other. The entire thickness of the egoistic armor is our initial evil inclination above which we build an intention to bestow, bestowal for the sake of bestowal. We unite between us in mutual bestowal and thanks to this, the individual egos of each one of us unite and turn into a resisting power, into defense.

The enemies provide us with this armor, forcing us to turn to the Creator for the strength to unite, and that is why they work to our advantage. If we know how to utilize this correctly, then thanks to it we will achieve restriction, a defensive screen, and reflected Light, by building our own Kli.

The spiritual vessel is built specifically on the basis of tremendous egoism being revealed in each of us. We unite above these egoistic, distant, disconnected desires that hate each other. We do not want to use them in this manner, but we unite through the means of a screen, connecting all these desires to the single upper source, to the Creator.

Below is the pit with writhing snakes—our Malchut. Yet, we do not use this egoism in the usual manner, but only in order to bestow to the Creator, and that is why we unite. Thus, above us appears a screen, and all the snakes’ venom is turned from poison to medicine. It all depends only on how it is used.²
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/14/18, Lesson on the Topic: “Shavuot”

Concealment That Gives Freedom

Question: You say that I can receive strength through the group. Is the group a transmitter from the Creator, or a source of spiritual strength?

Answer: Both. The fact is that, with respect to me, the group is the Creator’s manifestation. Therefore, I try to adhere to the Creator to the extent that I try to merge with the group. By bestowing to the group, I bestow to the Creator. But I neither see nor know this.

If I saw the Creator instead of the group, I would be obliged to incessantly bestow to Him, like a slave. I would automatically be in the form of an angel. However, this is how I have freewill, by not seeing the Creator. He is concealed behind this world.

Therefore, “Olam” (World) comes from the word “Alama” (Concealment). It turns out that concealment is a great blessing that gives us freewill. Only to the extent that I can remain free from attaining the Creator can I reveal this great force that controls everything: past, present and future.

Question: Let’s say I am acquainted with a rich person who is respected around the world. Since I do not want to use him for my own benefit, I always hide my acquaintance with him from everybody and even from myself. Is it possible to imagine our relationship with the Creator as such?

Answer: I do not use my acquaintance with the Creator for my sake, although He is fully revealed to me. It is written, “He is faithful in all My house” (Numbers 12:7). He trusts you and you must create a screen within yourself in order to make a restriction (Tzimtzum) on your desires—to not accept anything from the Creator and to work only for bestowal.

Question: Is He constantly trying to reveal Himself to me and I by myself constantly conceal Him?

Answer: He is revealed only once you learn to conceal Him.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 12/3/17

New Life #994 – Collective Memory, Part 1

New Life #994 – Collective Memory, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Summary:

The field of collective memory is the secret of nature; all creatures are connected in a single collective memory field. This is like a very large computer and is managed by a higher power. Each nation has its own Reshimot or spiritual genes, which are recorded impressions of everything that has been written in their collective desire to receive. The fate of every nation is determined by this spiritual root, which is only revealed to Kabbalists. Kabbalists are those who can use it correctly, for the benefit of everyone. The only nation that has access to this collective memory field is Israel since its role is to connect everyone to the higher power.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #994 – Collective Memory,” Part 1, 4/10/18

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The Work In Between

All the main work is not at the conventions but in between them.And every day can be like a convention, like a big ascent or descent—everything accumulates together.

Every day has to be like a new beginning, and even several times a day. We do not have to wait until the previous degree disappears from our feelings. Although, in any case, it is registered for eternity as already corrected by us because we have advanced few steps forward and have achieved a new connection in both quantity and quality. But then this state disappears so that we continue our work further.

The concealment can be caused by two reasons: either we simply allowed the achieved state to disappear or we started to engage in a new kind of connection, in new goals, and therefore the previous degree has already exhausted itself.¹

The upcoming convention in Italy is special in a sense that it will bring together many different groups that belong to the united European group. This is the real shattered Babylon that we need to unite.

Europe is the center of all modern civilization, the place that has greatly influenced the history of humanity. Therefore, we must try to unite above all the differences this whole Babylon, which has as if moved from
Mesopotamia to Europe.

With today’s European nations and modern conditions, an entirely new kind of work is required in both quality and quantity. We need to overcome such difficulties as different languages and cultures. Europe is like a miniature world.²

No matter what state we are in, either greatness or smallness, our concern should be only to never leave our root. There is no need to try to keep the same type of connection and even the same intensity—let them change and disappear. The most important thing is to keep the connection itself, hold on to the same Creator, to the same principle: “There is none else besides Him.” It is in relation to Him that we want to renew our unity by reaching a new state, a new deficiency.³
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/9/18, Lesson on the topic of “Continuing the Congress With an Ascent”

Why Isn’t The Creator An Egoist?

Question: Is the Creator developing and changing?

Answer: The Creator is not changing. We are the ones who are changing relative to Him and we can ascribe these changes to Him. But in fact, there are no changes in Him. It is an absolutely pure and unchanging upper Light.

We can compare this to the sun we are looking at alternately with and without sunglasses, but the Light does not change when you do this.

Question: Why isn’t the Creator an egoist?

Answer: It is because He is perfect. It is a force that consists of the property of bestowaland love because it is its nature. Since it does not have a desire to receive or enjoy at the expense of someone or something, it cannot be negative.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/21/18

New Life #991 – The Circle Of Life, Part 2

New Life #991 – The Circle Of Life, Part 2
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

The circle of life exists so that we will transcend this life for a spiritual, complete, and eternal life in a higher dimension. Correction of the general soul requires an emotional connection between a person and the generations that preceded him. One goes from love of people to love of the Creator. Ultimately, all of us need to be connected as one person with one heart. Then, power and information about our entire existence and a new life on a higher level will be discovered.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #991 – The Circle Of Life”, Part 2, 4/3/18

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Arming Teachers

Question: The Florida Senate passed a law, backed by the majority vote, allowing teachers to bear arms. Where will this lead? What if a teacher decides to start shooting?

Answer: Nothing can be done about that. There is nothing that can replace a proper upbringing. We could build a thousand more prisons, but it won’t help. The only effective thing is upbringing, and no one is doing that. It is a universal problem.

Question: What has to happen for the necessity for proper upbringing to pierce the heart like a splinter, forcing people to start doing something about it?

Answer: Only the realization that without the proper upbringing, a person only brings evil upon himself and others. It has to be realized to such an extent, taking into account how much suffering, money and everything else it costs us, that we would be ready to get re-educated.

The first requirement for correct education is the study of human nature. We have to familiarize people with it through mass media, in schools, everywhere.

Question: How can we overcome a mountain of misunderstandings?

Answer: This is the wall that stands in humanity’s way. But there is no way around it.

Question: Can the Creator suddenly change a person’s thinking?

Answer: He cannot. He has no right to! The entire creation would be meaningless. There is a method of correction inside you—act on it. If you do not search for it yourself, seriously realize it within yourself, and adjust yourself and society, you will not achieve the next educational level.

A person has to understand that if he does not change, neither he nor the world will have a good future, and life will be full of suffering for his children and everyone else.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 3/13/18

Connection With The Creator Annihilates Stress

Question: The outside world puts the modern person into a state of constant stress. How do you cope with it?

Answer: I cannot imagine what constant stress is because everything that occurs I connect with the Creator. What kind of stress can there be if we are in His power, in His constant influence on us? We need nothing more than to relax and swim with the current of His action upon us.

I recommend regularly reading articles by Baal HaSulam and Rabash. They will quickly remove all stress from you. You will understand that the world is ruled by one benevolent power and all we need is to be in constant connection with it, to bring everything to the Creator.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/7/18

New Life #990 – The Circle Of Life, Part 1

New Life #990 – The Circle Of Life, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches us how to attain a spiritual life through the language of roots and branches. What happens in the spiritual root is copied in the physical branch. The process of embryonic development, for example, is a copy of the process of spiritual conception in which there is an integration of the power of bestowaland the power of reception. All life is created by merging these two powers into a single body called a soul.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #990 – The Circle Of Life”, Part 1, 4/3/18

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A Soul Similar To The System Of Creation

The common soul that was one and connected was divided into many parts after the shattering; we need to assemble and connect these parts in order to reveal the Creator through them.

The difference between the original vessel and the one reconstructed after the shattering is that the shattering revealed new qualities that previously were not apparent. It is because of them that the soul shattered, and through their correction additional qualities of the Light are revealed against these broken desires. And in this way we scrutinize the internality of the Creator that created this soul and corrects with His Light.

If not for the shattering and correction, we would not feel more than the first man, Adam, felt before the sin, meaning just a state of smallness (Katnut) Nefesh/Ruach de Ruach. And after the shattering and the correction, we reveal the complete Light of NRNHY, that is, we adhere to the Creator Himself, reach equivalence of form with Him, understand His way and wisdom embedded in the creation.

Therefore, it is impossible to avoid the shattering and the correction. The end of correction is a point initially included in the plan of creation.

The soul has to correct itself according to the entire system of creation that includes in itself all the worlds of Adam Kadmon and ABYA. The soul is the most internal part of the entire system of creation, therefore, through our correction it must acquire the same form as all the upper worlds, consisting of three parts: head-body-extremities (Rosh-Toch-Sof), then of three lines, and a large number of complex forms.

When they connect together, the differences do not disappear because “love covers all transgressions.” The corrected soul keeps the whole great egoism within itself, all the immense desires and contradictions. Everything that existed before is preserved, nothing is erased. Even, on the contrary, negative manifestations help us reveal the Light, the advantage of which is revealed from the darkness.

There is a great work ahead of us; after all, Adam had no head, body, and extremities—there was simply one body positioned on one level that was filled with the Light of Hassadim. He was born circumcised like an angel, in the state of smallness (Katnut). An infant has no intelligence and cannot stand but can only lie down, that is, his head is on the same level with the body.

And we need to place this broken soul on its feet, in the upright position of a person. Therefore, in our work, we select parts of the soul that belong to the head and the body and we clarify the role of each of them. All the parts of the soul after the shattering are already prepared for correction, but we have to invite the upper Light, find out the locations of breakage, and correct them.

Those who will be drawn to spiritual work will be called the head of Adam, the common soul. And the rest are parts of his body. That is why Israel, meaning “those who yearn straight to the Creator,” are called “My head” (Li-Rosh).

Chosen to Work Without a Reward

The virtuous people are those who work in three lines, are in the head of the soul, and can perform scrutinies and corrections by passing the Light through themselves to the broken desires so that they become corrected, connected, and joined to it, thus creating a complete Partzuf.

We need to agree to be the virtuous people because there is no coercion in spirituality. Therefore, we will get blows from above until we give our consent to do this work, and we should agree wholeheartedly. Through the blows we begin to understand what is good and what is bad for us and therefore we agree.

To be a high priest (Kohen) means not to receive any reward for one’s work: he corrects the entire world and brings everyone closer to the Creator so that everybody is connected to Him and filled with the Light of infinity, and he gets nothing for it. This is called work of a high priest, Kohen.

The Kohen does not have any land, any estate, only pure work for the Creator from which nothing is left for him. His reward is only in having strength for the work in order to continue working and giving contentment to the Creator. This is the pure bestowal.

Each person in the world in whom the Creator awakened a spiritual spark belongs to the virtuous people and must work for the correction of the world. Due to the fact that we connect with each other and come to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” we come to the love for the Creator, and we must pull humanity after us. This is our mission; after all, we have received a desire for this work and there is no choice—we have to realize this desire.

The world is divided into those to whom the Creator gave this desire and to whom He did not give it. Why this desire is given to us, we do not know. It will become clear later, but it will not be important because all who fulfill their mission are absolutely equal—everything rounds up into a circle and each one attains all the degrees up to the height of our forefather Moses.¹
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/9/18, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Mutual Guarantee,” Item 28
1 Minute 3:30

In The Initial Thought

We can never truly unite our desires and our intentions. We can connect only within the Creator. There we interconnect and become a ten. That is why it is necessary to constantly speak about the greatness of the Creator, without Whom we will not complete our construction of the ten. We can talk endlessly about unity, but nothing will happen.

The end of the action must already be laid in the initial thought, that is, in adhesion with the Creator; therefore, it must be involved in the beginning of each action.¹
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/10/18, Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 4,Chapter 1, Item5

New Life #983 – Feeling Others

New Life #983 – Feeling Others
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Summary

We are social creatures and our future depends on our ability to build mutual relationships where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Warm and connected families provide an example of how we need to organize the entire world. We become insecure, empty, isolated, and suspicious when we are disconnected from family. The educational challenge before us is to build a society in which everyone will feel as they would in a warm, loving family.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #983 – Feeling Others”, 3/20/18

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Continuing The Convention With An Ascent

How exactly is spiritual advancement expressed? It is in a greater attainment of the Creator, in the unity of friends, in the comprehension of the teachings of Kabbalah, in the growth of our strength, or conversely, in the realization of our own helplessness and dependence? If we examine it closer, then it becomes clear that our entire advancement depends solely on experiencing the greatness of the Creator.

The degree to which we attain this greatness, or even better, increase it with faith above reason, will determine our whole advancement along the spiritual path, our readiness to direct all our efforts, thoughts, and desires, each one individually and everyone together, toward bringing contentment to the Creator.

It does not matter what advancement or understanding was received, how much effort was exerted, or what obstacles needed to be overcome. Our calculations must only be carried out in terms of how to bring contentment to the Creator. There is no greatness of me as an individual, or of a friend, or a teacher—there is only the greatness of the Creator, which needs to be widened, enlarged, and experienced to the degree to which it is more important than my own well-being. That is what is meant by continuing the convention with an ascent.

The recent convention in America was very successful because a tremendous importance of the Creator was revealed in it; it governed all our efforts, thoughts, and desires. This is the height of the convention.

Everything is measured by raising the importance of the Creator between us, thanks to whom we distance ourselves from personal gain and move toward the group’s benefit, to the extent in which we value it as a means of bestowal to the Creator.

That is why, to continue the convention with an ascent is to constantly check: have we reached a greater level of importance of the Creator without seeking personal benefit in it, but only from the desire to bring Him contentment.

To continue advancing, we don’t need to wait for the next convention, but between the conventions we need to try to build the greatness of the Creator between us, without reverting to asking for ourselves.¹
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/10/18, Lesson on the Topic: “Continuing the Congress with an Ascent”

Love For Love

Question: Love is the strongest feeling and it is worth living for. What do you think about it?

Answer: I agree. It satisfies a person for a while.

Question: Does it mean that love cannot be an eternal meaning of life?

Answer: Of course not. Life ends and love ends. Hormones change and the object of love changes. Each person during a lifetime can have many such infatuations.

Question: Is love the greatest pleasure, above power, money, and so on?

Answer: It depends on the person. Some people like money, for others love for love prevails, which is love for hormones, some like music, and so on. It is a matter of the inner need of a person.

Question: Does a person want to be loved even more that he wants to love?

Answer: In our world, satisfying hormonal needs is called love. Everything begins and ends within a person himself. It is not about somebody external. If I have some kind of hormonal need in relation to this external one, then I am attracted to him, and if I do not have this need, then I am not attracted.

Therefore, love on the corporeal level has nothing to do with spirituality. In Kabbalah, the uppermost pleasure is the love for the Creator.

Question: If, according to Kabbalah, the meaning of life is in attaining the love for others, does it mean that love is the meaning of life?

Answer: No. The meaning of life is in attaining your root through love, that is, in attaining your maker. And this is achieved through the love for others, and from the love for others to the love for the Creator.

To love the Creator means to enjoy the fact that He fills you.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/28/18

How Many Names Does The Creator Have?

Question: What does “the names of the Creator” mean? How many names does the Creator have?

Answer: Everything existing in the universe are the Creator’s names because everything we experience comes from Him. Whether we are talking about colors, sounds, shapes, and so on, these are all manifestations of the Creator.

Question: Then why is it written in the Kabbalistic books that the Creator has 72 names?

Answer: This is different. Depending on the readiness of your desire to be similar to the Creator, in proportion to this similarity, you can begin feeling Him. The greatest sensation of the Creator is expressed in 72 names, which is His general manifestation on the high level.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/21/18