The Opposite World

 

There is a spiritual reality above our world, which we do not feel and do not know, but we want to reach it. The difference is that in our world everything happens between egoistic desires, each of which pulls toward itself. But in the higher, spiritual world, the opposite is true and everyone tries to do something for the benefit of others. This is the opposite reality, the opposite world.

Try to feel what the light of faith is as if we are in its stream, it envelops us from all sides and transports us from state to state. In the light of faith, we begin to see other dimensions: not just top-bottom, right-left, front-back, that is, three-dimensional coordinates, but in an infinite number of dimensions, a round, integral world that has no end.

This is a world that exists above time and space. Even conventional science discovers that we do not exist simply in our galaxy but in a much more complex system. We need to develop our senses in order to experience the true reality.

In fact, we are eternal creatures! We just do not feel it now, trapped in a small, cramped cage called “this world.”
There is no place in the whole universe worse than this world where we live. So, let’s disagree with that, let’s wake up, look a little higher!

You just need to escape the ruling of the egoism, which seeks to snatch more and more for itself. By doing this, on the contrary, we steal the true life from ourselves.

It is said about this: “The dead are free.” If egoistic desire dies and I cease to demand for myself, then I become free. My eyes suddenly open, all sensations that were not there before because they were blocked open, and I feel the upper world. To do this, you just need to rise above your egoism through our unity, and from this unity ask the Creator to give us the power of bestowal so that we can unite with each other and merge with Him.

There is no need to try to overcome your desire. We can never go against it. You just need to ask the Creator, and everything will happen. We want the Creator to reveal the property of bestowal within us—this means that He will reveal Himself. Then a person will become like the Creator.

There is no need to be afraid that we are distant and detached from the Creator because even now we are in adhesion with Him, and we simply do not feel it. The embryo in the mother’s womb does not understand that it is inside the mother. In exactly the same way, a person is inside the Creator, but does not realize it. Studying Kabbalah and joining the ten brings us to an awareness of where we exist.

Even now, we are all inside the Creator, and we must, first of all, calm down. Whatever happens, we are inside Him. And from this state, let us continue to develop the feeling of closeness to the Creator, the desire to merge with Him, with our soul and heart, with all our thoughts. Nothing changes in reality except for the awareness of a person who gradually learns where he is.
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From the Lesson for Women 10/24/20

“Are Coronavirus Masks REALLY Effective?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Are coronavirus masks REALLY effective?“

Masks are a very interesting phenomenon in this pandemic. Common health guidelines consistent worldwide include keeping our distance from each other, maintaining personal hygiene and wearing masks, and masks in particular serve mostly in order to stop our spreading the virus to others.

Why are masks so interesting?

It is because many people wear masks as a protective measure to not catch the virus from others, but masks work mostly in the opposite direction: they prevent the virus’ spread from the person wearing the mask to others.

If we view the coronavirus pandemic as nature sending us a lesson in human relations, then the long-term mask wearing conditions worldwide can be seen as a lesson for humanity in mutual responsibility and consideration. It is similar to how we raise children by telling them to behave fairly and kindly because it is ultimately good for them to do so, but in a broader context, they learn how to relate positively to each other.

Humanity has yet to become aware of how nature is operating behind the scenes: that it is raising us to become increasingly connected, and that it ultimately wants us to realize our connection harmoniously. For the time being, we feel this tightening connection as intensifying pressure and stress, and we suffer a lot from it. If we, however, enable a fundamental shift in our attitude to our increasing connection—from intending to benefit ourselves alone to intending to benefit others—then we will literally experience a new world. We will feel how our tightening connection is an opportunity for us to undergo this fateful egoistic-to-altruistic attitude shift, and by doing so, we will feel ourselves exit our narrow self-serving individual corners, and enter into a great new harmonious world of peace, love, unity and perfect connection among us all.

Mask wearing can also illustrate a filtered-down example in our current lives of four stages of attitude shift that the wisdom of Kabbalah describes; stages we traverse in order to discover our perfect connection to each other.

Receiving in order to receive: I wear a mask solely with the thought of protecting my own health. This is the most egoistic of the four stages.

Bestowing in order to receive: I wear a mask with the understanding that I protect others from myself—for instance, if I am an asymptomatic carrier—but by doing so, I also hold the intention that I will ultimately protect myself by doing so. In other words, I care about others because I care about myself. This is still egoistic, but it has an element of altruism laced within.

Bestowing in order to bestow: I wear a mask purely with the thought that I do not want to infect others with the virus. In other words, “bestowing in order to bestow” is an intention to not want to do any kind of harm to others.

Receiving in order to bestow: In addition to wearing a mask in order to not harm others, I think about what I can do in order to bring goodness and benefit to others.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, these four stages describe much higher states of spiritual attainment than the filtered-down examples presented here. However, they offer a small taste of a path toward positive connection that lies ahead of us. We can thus relate to mask wearing as an exercise in our positive attitudes to each other, and by doing so, improve our connections and the world we live in.

Photo by Pille-Riin Priske on Unsplash.

Filed under: Q&A, Quora | Add Comment / Ask Question →

“Disinfecting Our (Social) Environment” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “Disinfecting Our (Social) Environment”

It will take a while but in the end, we will understand that vaccines aren’t the cure for Covid. It is with good reason that the virus keeps changing, that it keeps affecting us in different ways, and that its impact is growing more severe. SARS-CoV-2, aka the “novel coronavirus,” is no ordinary virus. It is the first “spiritual virus” in the sense that it is created by, and feeds on the spirit among people. The more anger, struggles, and rejection thrive among us, the more virulent and violent the virus will become. It thrives in an atmosphere of hatred.

Since the emergence of the virus, tensions have increased throughout the world. Social tensions within countries have become violent clashes; international tensions have intensified; and at least one war has already broken out—in the Balkans. These are treats for the virus. The hatred makes it impossible to beat.

The only way to disinfect the world from Covid-19 is by disinfecting our social environment from hatred. Hatred is the real pollution, and pollution creates diseases. Athletes often use the Latin phrase Mens sana in corpore sano, which means “a healthy mind in a healthy body.” What is true for an individual is just as true for society. If we want to be well physically, we must heal our bodies, as well as our environment, and that includes our social environment.

Just as we wouldn’t want to live in a dirty environment, in a city where the streets are filled with trash, we shouldn’t live in a dirty social environment, where people’s thoughts of one another are, well, trash. Currently, we pay no attention to the quality of our social environment. As a result, the trash comes back to haunt us. If we want to heal our bodies, we must heal our bodies, our environment, and our social environment equally.

Heart Or Money?

 

If we treat each other well, and especially if we love each other, then there can be no needy, poor, or sick people among us.

This means that the problem is only in the fact that there is no love between us. We shift the care for people in need to the government. We are ready to donate some money, but we do not put our heart into this, we cannot worry about people who are strangers to us.

This is why we will never be able to get rid of poverty and diseases! Even if we spend billions of dollars all over the world and organize all kinds of organizations and ministries that will take care of the needy, provide them with money and everything they need, there will still be poor, sick, and unfortunate people.

It is because we want to be free from caring for them. We ask: how much do I have to pay to avoid being asked to love? I am willing to pay a hundred dollars a month to be left alone. However, this is not what the Torah requires of us, it requires a heartfelt attitude.

Therefore, even in the richest countries poverty, crime, and human suffering will remain. Look what is happening to our world with all its progress and abundance. If we treated each other with love, we would live in paradise. Yet, we are not ready to be integrated with the others with our feelings, but only to pay money in order to be left alone. This does not solve the problem because the Torah requires a human heart.

Nature requires us to love each other. This is not someone’s idea and invention, after all, we are inside nature and its laws. These laws act on us more and more harshly, are driving us into a corner and demanding more and more stringently that this condition be fulfilled: complete connection between us, all the way up to love.

We will have to fulfill this condition anyway, if not now, then later. We will die and be born again until we fulfill the requirements of nature while living here in this world.

In fact, the goal is to achieve adhesion with the Creator and become like Him. Yet, it can only be realized through practical actions that are available to us, which are expressed in love for one’s neighbor as for oneself.

To the extent we hate each other, we are distancing from the Creator and do not feel Him. As soon as we begin to come closer and connect with each other, we will feel each other and feel the Creator between us. After all, this is all one single nature and everything depends only on our distancing or rapprochement.

The Creator wants us to know Him, and therefore we must go through all the states from complete separation to connection, in all possible forms. This is how we learn our own entire nature. Our egoism is so multifaceted that it generates an infinite number of different types of hatred. Yet, as we begin to get closer to the Creator, we begin to feel and understand Him and connect with Him.

Attainment always consists of two parts: mutual hatred and mutual love. According to the difference between love and hate, we begin to feel the Creator. One cannot be attained without the other because we are created beings and we attain everything only in the contrast of opposites.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/12/20

Movement Toward An Integral World

 

Question: Now the next wave of coronavirus is beginning all over the world. Many countries are getting ready for the second lockdown and for Israel it is already a fact. Economies are collapsing, the world is renewing itself. How can people survive in the new world?

Answer: First, we have to understand that we really are living in a new world, which in the end will be drastically different from the previous one. After all, we are transferring from the physical world to the virtual world. There are technical, moral, ethical, and other prerequisites for this.

In the future, everything will depend on the moral efforts of people, how much they will understand and realize their good attitude toward each other. It may seem impossible, but this is exactly the world we must come to.

We are talking about the correction of our egoism, about an aspiration of a person to be closer to others and act for the benefit of all. From the former divided world, humanity is moving toward becoming an integral, unified whole. Nature makes us that way. We must understand this tendency and correspond to it to some extent.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 9/27/20

In The New School Year

Question: In the new school year, hundreds of millions of children went to school like in “battle” conditions: they have to sit with masks, separate from each other, not play with each other, and not get close to each other.

It is the same tragedy both for teachers who have to restrain the children and for the parents.

What would you wish for teachers?

Answer: To learn from children how it is incomprehensible to children that they cannot get close to each other, it is so incomprehensible to us how to relate to each other correctly. We do not have these properties, these sensations. How can I feel the other so that I can approach him correctly, so that by my correct approach I destroy this virus?

Question: What else would you wish for teachers?

Answer: To understand the nature of this virus, where it comes from, and accordingly, to educate children to have the right attitude toward each other, and the virus will disappear. Explain to children that we can fight this virus only by our good relations.

We do not lose anything by this! We win for sure! Let us try!

Teachers have always taught children to be good, to be close to each other, to interact with each other correctly. So, explain to them that the virus comes as a result of improper interaction, distancing,  and harming each other.

Let’s try to make the virus go away. Let’s eradicate it.

Question: What would you wish for parents?

Answer: In this case, I would like to wish parents to learn from their children.

Question: That is, children come from school and teach their parents?

Answer: At least they could tell their parents what is going on. First, in their relationship with each other. How the virus trains them to act this way. And then, as a result of this, perhaps we will indeed see good statistics.

Question: What else can you wish for parents?

Answer: To undergo the same education as the children. Everyone needs to be trained. Everybody is the same.

Question: That is, a parent should feel almost equal to the child?

Answer: Of course.

Question: What would you wish for children?

Answer: I do not know what can be asked of children at all. To listen to what their elders tell them, at least in this respect because otherwise, there will be still bigger problems, still bigger restrictions in their playing with each other, in visiting each other, in getting close to each other, and so on.

That is, let’s make it so that we stop thinking about what distance should we keep between each other, stop walking around with muzzles like vicious dogs, shying away from each other.

To do this, we just need to change our attitude toward each other and make it good. Let’s start getting used to it. It’s not that hard. Let’s set an example for each other. And we will see how it goes.

Question: Do you want this message to be heard in the classroom, in the teacher’s room, and at home?

Answer: And in the world.

The message is very simple: Everyone should be friendly to everyone like they are to themselves. After all, it is written: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Take an example from this.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 8/31/20

New Life 1284 – Family Connection Above Any Disagreement

 

New Life 1284 – Family Connection Above Any Disagreement
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

It is impossible to grow unless we embrace conflicts, ascend above our egos, make mutual concessions, and feel love for others. Love has to be more important to me than my own opinion and any competition between us. I concede my truth and do not demand the same from others; I only set a good example. It is impossible to demand love. If we touch delicate issues, it is only an opportunity for me to show the extent to which I am ready to pay for the connection. The outcome is that I feel a warm embrace, a sense of giving and closeness. If we do so, no disease will break out.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 1284 – Family Connection Above Any Disagreement,” 10/16/20

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Dialogue With Yourself

 

Question: It is no secret that 95–99% of the time we spend in internal dialogue with ourselves. Scientists claim that, on the one hand, this is bad because a person spends a huge amount of energy on it. On the other hand, without such reflection, it is impossible to absorb the experience that a person gains throughout his life.

How can one stop this internal dialogue?

Answer: There is no need to stop it. On the contrary, it is this internal dialogue that promotes the growth of a man in a human being. The only thing we need to do is to check from where we get additional fueling, from what sources, books, television, etc.

I am in favor of a person always rechecking what affects him, what sources of scientific, sensory, technical, or other information can ultimately form him and affect him in the correct way.

And the most important thing is the environment: friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. One needs to check out well with whom one communicates so that he can develop under the right influence that shows him the way to good connection with others. Whatever it is, this is what wins.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 9/27/20

How Can You Force Yourself To Listen To Another Person?

 

Question: What advice can you give about how to force oneself to listen to someone else? Let us say that as a boss, I understand that I have to listen to my subordinate, but I do not want to. Can I force myself to do this?

Answer: Only if you love him or are afraid of him.You must receive either positive or negative feelings from him, but positive ones are best. In other words, either you are afraid of him and it is more profitable for you to listen to him, or you love him and listen to him because it is agreeable to you.

Question: Psychologists advise managers to listen to their subordinates for a few minutes a day. A worker needs to be listened to; this is even more important to him than the salary. But to listen to someone for a long time is against our nature. What is the solution here?

Answer: We must correct ourselves and then it will work out. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the general correction of all of mankind and of each of us. If we yearn for this, then we will naturally feel it in all relations between us.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 8/14/20

Man’s Inner World And Development

 

Question: It is believed that the inner world of a person includes his thoughts and experiences as well as various feelings and emotions. These make each person an individual and define his character. What does our inner world include from your point of view?

Answer: Everything that originates inside of a person. Once he becomes a part of the world around him or has a connection to a higher source, everything that he absorbs and generalizes within himself is his inner world.

Question: The development of feelings is a conscious process. What should we do with emotions that arise unconsciously as reactions when interacting with other people? Can they be managed?

Answer: I believe that the most important thing is to stick to the right society that studies our inner world and its development, and to advance along with it. Otherwise, a person has no basis for moving forward.

Question: Do you think that there is a technique by which a person can control their own qualities and feelings, and change themselves?

Answer: No. No way! A person cannot develop correctly on his own.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 8/7/20

“The Latest Scheme To Divide Israel – Cantonize It” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “The Latest Scheme to Divide Israel – Cantonize It”

The latest whim among those who want to see Israel disintegrated is to split it into cantons. “It makes perfect sense,” they exclaim, “We will be like Switzerland!” And why not? Those who want a liberal lifestyle will live in the Tel-Aviv canton, those who want an Orthodox lifestyle will live in the Bnei Brak canton, and so on and so forth. Everyone will have their way and we will all be happy.

The divisions between us will not vanish; we will never agree. But they must not deter us from striving for unity despite them. If we strive for unity as a value in itself, a worthy goal we must achieve, even if only so as to serve as an example, we will find that our rejection of each other is but the reason and the impetus to form unity and solidarity. Without the hate, we’d have no need to build love. Without rejection, we’d have no need to forge connections. And without connection, we are not a nation.

If we do that, we might as well pack up and leave now. We didn’t come to Israel to live in separate tribes; we came here to reunite the Jewish people. We can’t expect 2,000 years of exile not to leave its marks on all of us, but if we don’t want to revive our common identity, we might as well leave now because it defies the purpose of our coming here, and the meaning of being Jewish.

Jews have never been similar to one another. Our forefathers were outcasts from various tribes, and believed that only when we rise above our differences we can achieve true unity. King Solomon called this motto, “Love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 12:10), and RASHI explained that Rabbi Akiva’s motto, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” is the great rule of the Torah.

In other words, we weren’t meant to let our separateness remain, but to rise above it and unite. The whole world consists of separate nations that have no idea how to unite. They fight each other to death; they’ve been through two world wars; they are well on their way to another one, and no one knows how to prevent it. The only way this can be stopped is if people find a way to unite above their inherent and immutable differences.

We, the Jews, were the only ones who ever attempted it, when we first formed the nation, and the only ones who succeeded, albeit for very short periods and with countless clashes in between. Nevertheless, that successful attempt, or perhaps better defined as “effort,” has earned us the mission to be “a light unto nations,” to show the way to forge unity among different and hostile peoples.

Subconsciously, this is why the nations voted in favor of establishing a Jewish state in the land of Israel in 1947. The Holocaust was certainly an impetus, but we shouldn’t be so naïve as to believe that countries that wouldn’t let in pleading Jewish refugees before and during World War II had suddenly become philo-Semites when it ended.

Despite its innate dislike of Jews, the world has given us a sovereign state, a chance to reestablish our nationhood. And since our forefathers were aliens who united, when we are not united, we are aliens. If we embrace our alienation and divide the country into cantons, we will admit that we are unable to connect, the nations will feel that we have given up on the effort to unite and set the example of unity above hate they so desperately need, and that will be the end of the State of Israel.

The divisions between us will not vanish; we will never agree. But they must not deter us from striving for unity despite them. If we strive for unity as a value in itself, a worthy goal we must achieve, even if only so as to serve as an example, we will find that our rejection of each other is but the reason and the impetus to form unity and solidarity. Without the hate, we’d have no need to build love. Without rejection, we’d have no need to forge connections. And without connection, we are not a nation.

“Why Did Anti-Semitism ‘Switch Sides’ Politically In The US?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why did anti-Semitism ‘switch sides’ politically in the US?“

In the U.S., anti-Semitism was commonly considered as emanating from the far-right, yet today, it is tilted more to the left. However, the phenomenon of anti-Semitism itself is beyond political affiliation, and in the future, I expect both sides to unify around their common hatred of Jews.

Today, American Jews are a lot more aware about the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S. However, the thought of an impending Holocaust is still mostly elusive. They still do not see that anti-Semitism could reach such levels where it can all overturn on them very severely. Indeed, leading up to the Holocaust in Europe, most Jews also disagreed that it could happen, denouncing and mocking those who, in advance of the Holocaust, warned of Jewish genocide.

The past decade served to normalize anti-Semitism in the U.S. as well as in other parts of the world, with regular accounts of anti-Semtitic vandalism, distribution of anti-Semitic flyers and posters, anti-Semitism entering various musicians’ songs and social media posts as well as artists’ artworks, anti-Semitic attractions at carnivals, as well as an increasing amount of people questioning the Holocaust’s occurrence and not knowing about the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. In addition, last year (2019) marked the previous decade’s yearly peak in the amount of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S.

If last decade represented anti-Semitism increasingly seeping into the mainstream, then I expect anti-Semitism to become an all-out trend this decade. At the moment, both political sides still use the mainstream condemnation of anti-Semitism as a tool to blame each other for the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S., but the more their conflict intensifies together with more acceptance of the idea that Jews stand behind their polarization, then they could indeed reach a point of agreement to unite against the Jews.

This is also why American Jews can expect to see dropping support from the government, because if they can be scapegoated as the cause of the country’s problems, then it serves to shift half of the American population’s negative focus away from the government and onto the Jews. In such a state, since the Jews are vastly outnumbered in America, the idea of their ostracization would also become increasingly popular, until one morning it could very well become the reality of the day. History is rich with examples of leaders who capitalized on growing anti-Semitic sentiment in the public at times of various crises to direct the public’s negativity onto the Jews.

Also, while the horrid past experience of the Holocaust spurs many Jews today to combat anti-Semitism in many different ways like no other time in history, we can already clearly see how the increased efforts to counter anti-Semitism fall short of stopping the forceful anti-Semitic tide, which rapidly outpaces the numerous efforts to fight it.

In short, we need to see that a grave disaster lies ahead for American Jews. However, we also need to see that it can be stopped and even inverted into a positive, supportive and even loving attitude toward Jews, on one condition.

What is that condition?

It is that a dramatic shift in attitude toward Jews should be sought in no place other than the unification of the Jewish people. In other words, the disaster is laid out on a path that we walk without making any strides to change to a different and more unifying path. If we unite above our differences and divisions, then we will be a conduit for unity to spread to others. Then, when the public feels the increased happiness and other benefits that stem from Jewish unity, they will herald the Jews as those who initiated the process. If we fail to take any step toward our unification, then hatred will continue rising against us, and we can experience that hatred to erupt in a terrible way.

Photo by Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash.

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Q&A, Quora | Add Comment / Ask Question →

“Is It Too Late For American Jewry?” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “Is It Too Late for American Jewry?”

American Jews used to think that antisemitism in America existed only on the fringes of the Right. But currently, you find more of it in the mainstream Left. In all likelihood, however, the Left and the Right will unite around the one thing they have in common: hatred for Jews. American Jews are waking up, but by the time they realize that they are reliving the pre-Holocaust days, it just might be too late.

A recent AJC survey highlighted two points indicating that Jews are finally waking up from the illusion of safety. 1) “More than 93% of Democrats, 87% of independents, and 75% of Republicans say antisemitism infects the nation. At least 80% of Jews of all denominations … point to the uptick, as do at least 86% of Jews of all ages.” 2) 31% of American Jews “say they have tucked their Star of David pendant into their blouse, removed their kippot [yarmulke], and avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying other things that might help people identify then [sic] as Jewish.” Additionally, “A quarter of respondents say they avoid certain places, events, or situations out of concern for their safety.”

Antisemitism has been creeping from the fringes to the mainstream in America for several years, but the pace has picked up in the last year or two, and I anticipate that after the election it will become “in vogue” to hate Jews. When that happens, progressives and liberals from the Left will suddenly find common ground with Neo Nazis from the Right, and everyone will agree that they do not need to fight among them since the Jews are the source of all their troubles, Jews are the ones setting them apart, and from here on they’ll know what to do.

If the Jews expect the government, any government, to protect them, they’ve got another thing coming. There is no political sense in supporting Jews: If they restrain antisemitism, then the half of the nation that’s lost the election will turn against the government. But if they can pin the nation’s troubles on the Jews, then what better way is there to unite the nation? This is the exact same ploy that Hitler and numerous rulers before him used in order to unite the nation and divert criticism from the government to a vulnerable minority that everyone hates and envies anyway. The Jews, once more, will become expendable.

Unlike Germany in the 1930s, American Jews, remembering the Holocaust, are very active in resisting antisemitism. They protest, establish defense organizations, and lobby on Capitol Hill. But none of it will help. American Jewry has come to symbolize capitalism in its worst form, where money is all that matters, and when you’ve got it, you “make the world go round.” As long as this is the image of Jews in America, they don’t stand a chance against antisemitism.

Jews should engage in one thing and one thing only: connecting with each other. They have to connect among themselves in order to be an example for the rest of the world. Jews have given the world the most important motto of all, the epitome of altruism: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if they don’t exercise it, or even try to move in that direction, the world has no need for them and it will opt to carry on without them.

I have been warning American Jews for nearly two decades that their fate would be horrible unless they united and became an example of solidarity. I have written two books about the consequences of disunity and its essential role to the people of Israel, Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism. I published hundreds of articles and essays, and given dozens of lectures, live and through the internet, throughout the US and Canada. Despite all the historical evidence I had presented, and despite all the quotes where I had shown that our sages throughout the centuries cautioned that unity is our only hope, hardly anyone listened, much less embraced unity as a solution to our problems.

Now, finally, American Jews accept that there is antisemitism, but they still refuse to believe that they have a solution to it. They think that antisemites can choose not to hate Jews, and don’t realize that it’s their hatred of each other that excites the world’s hatred of them. By the time they realize that all they need is not to hate each other, the world might be too engrossed in accusing Jews, too excited about the discovery of the cause of its troubles. I pray that I am wrong, though history, I’m afraid, is on my side.

“Jews Can Be The Key To American Unity” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “Jews Can Be the Key to American Unity”

Could anyone imagine the day would come when Jews in America would need to hide their religion and cultural background? In America—the land of freedom and endless opportunities, the melting pot where people from all walks of life could converge and coexist in mutual respect—as the Founding Fathers conceived it. How can we now come to terms with the fact that 24% of American Jews say they avoid wearing a Star of David pendant, kippah, and any other Jewish symbol in public out of concern for their safety? This is the disturbing reality revealed by the most recent survey on attitudes of American Jews about antisemitism. Food for serious thought.

“Deep anxiety among US Jews & lack of awareness among the general public about the severity of antisemitism in the US” is revealed in this year’s report conducted by the American Jewish Committee. The survey’s release coincides with the second anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. The still-bleeding wounds of hatred against Jews are evident in the ongoing attacks on college campuses and hate crimes committed across the country. In fact, nearly nine out of ten respondents believe that the cancer of antisemitism is a worrying problem in the US.

Would trying to avoid being identified as Jewish help us escape from being the target of antisemites? No, because the number of haters is bound to multiply. Divisiveness, clashes, and increasing hostility within American society are the breeding ground of a deep crisis at all levels. America is a very dynamic nation. The effects of the pandemic have damaged and destabilized the economy. Public health and social instability are only some of the concerns afflicting the American public. The mass media in the US is powerful and very influential in heating up the environment. All these elements combine to create an unstable situation in which people’s nerves are so frayed and circumstances so volatile that any issue could ignite the powder keg in the blink of an eye.

In such uncertain conditions, it is entirely feasible that we will see in the near future, unanimous agreement in the entire American population that Jews are to blame for the severe blows the nation may suffer in both the political arena and in the socioeconomic spectrum. Current trends indicate that street protests and pogroms may not be a rare occurrence. It seems less and less farfetched that a new Holocaust is looming on the horizon. I say this in all seriousness. Certainly, some may be in a state of denial, just as it was in Germany when the majority of Jews refused to believe the Final Solution was imminent.

How could another Holocaust be possible? History has taught us the hard way that when things go wrong in society, sooner rather than later, Jews will be blamed and persecuted. However, before the situation comes to this, Jews have the ability and opportunity to apply a special preventive treatment: to rise above all differences and unite. And this must take place regardless of any political preference or other consideration. Instead of allowing politics to divide us, we must come together in solidarity and cohesion. As it is written in the book Maor VaShemesh, “The prime defense against calamity is love and unity. When there are love, unity, and friendship within Israel, no calamity can come upon them.”

American Jews from all sides of the political scene have become so alienated from one another that each faction feels that the other behaves against the interests of the Jewish people and against our core values. Ironically, the greatest of Jewish values is unity above differences! It is famously stated as the greatest law of Torah, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The inability of Jews to rise above differences of opinion plainly shows how distanced we have become from our true heritage. This colossal lapse must be mended quickly not only because it is our true goal as a people, but because our error in oversight puts us in grave and immediate danger. We may have different political opinions, but we are all Jews, and for antisemites, that is enough.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that it is the historical purpose of Jews to demonstrate unity and to model corrected societal relations for others. We became a nation at the foot of Mount Sinai only after every person present accepted the condition of being “as one man with one heart.” Jews practiced the method that allowed them to rise above their differences and lived under principles of true equality and mutual concern. But then unfounded hatred and disunity arose causing the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Since then, we have forgotten that unless we are in brotherly love and unity, afflictions will continue to fall upon us until we remember and carry out our mission.

Today, as antisemitism increases yet again, Jews must finally provide the model of social cohesion that only we can. Our ancient calling has become so pressing and relevant in these precarious times that ignoring it will have horrendous consequences.

The threats towards Jews signal an imperative change that needs to happen, a change that Jews must initiate and play the decisive role in it. We must see that our true Jewish power, both to protect our communities and to contribute to the world, lies in our ability to unite above all differences, and that the wisdom of how to do this is more than a simple mechanism for fending off threats and safeguarding our people. It is deeply ingrained in our core values and heritage.

The Future Of The World Depends On Women

 

We are born in this world, the worst of all worlds. Nothing is worse than it. Therefore, you can calm down—it will not be worse anywhere else than here. All other states are much better than this. And so, it is worth thinking about how to get out of the sensation of this world. To do this, you don’t need to die, you just need to change the sensation, sometimes a state of despair suddenly gives way to happiness and joy.

Let’s try to rise to a better state. The Creator wants us to rejoice so that through connection we would reach the world of absolute good, the upper world full of light, where there is not even a memory of evil left. We should try to establish this spirit in the group.

Otherwise, the Creator will not come close to us. He comes only where they try to establish joy and happiness in the group and a good attitude toward each other.

The world is entering difficult times. It gradually is descending lower and lower, into bigger problems and conflicts between everyone. But despite this, we must try to establish a connection between us around the globe. This will protect us, give us confidence and joy and increase our immunity against the coronavirus and all other diseases.

Not a single bug will be able to approach us because everything depends on our relationship. If there is a Klipa between us, a selfish desire, then viruses will get there. And if there is a place for sanctity between us, a good attitude toward each other, then not a single harmful virus can get there. This is against the law of nature.

If there are good relations between women in the group, it will affect the whole world because a woman is the foundation of the world. For the sake of a good future, for the sake of your family, for the sake of your children, try to treat each other well. Be the way you teach your children when you persuade them not to quarrel, not to fight, but to play together. This will affect everyone, and men depend on you too.

We want every heart to feel everyone else like they feel themselves. Let everyone enter my heart, it can contain the whole world. And then, I will feel that I live in the world of infinity.

The world is facing a difficult period. The Creator wants to push us toward the goal, and He pushes us harder and harder. It seems to us that everything happens around us; but in fact, it is all inside us. Let’s try to keep the connection between us as strong as possible and this will certainly help us move quickly and easily to the goal. All the evil and the good that will be revealed to us, we can use for proper advancement.
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From the Lesson for women 10/24/20

A New Perspective On The Horizon

 

The world is entering a new stage of the coronavirus epidemic. People are gradually beginning to realize that the virus and all the associated restrictions will remain with us for a long time, and gradually are changing us. We are starting to get tired and to despair because there is nowhere to strive to, nowhere to run to. There is no opportunity to earn and compete like before.

All of life seems to have fallen asleep, which has led to a feeling of general fatigue and discontent. In some strata of society, this manifests itself in an explosion of indignation, in others in a silent depression. Some destroy and plunder, some go to demonstrations, and the unrest threatens to escalate into civil wars, as it has happened in history.

If people do not have a clear perspective for the future and a goal for which it is worth living, they begin to degrade, not knowing what to do with themselves. The absence of a future takes away all strength from a person because he has nowhere to strive to, nothing to do. Therefore, in all countries, people will begin to feel themselves without strength, without purpose, without any interest in life, in a state of apathy, from which it is impossible to get out.

But maybe there is a way that the Creator wants to show people? Life has not been too purposeful before. We just made up goals for ourselves, like in a child’s game—if only there were something to play.

But now, when the Creator has taken this game from us and does not allow us to continue like we did before, can we understand where we actually ended up? What kind of life was it? A useless race from morning to night to earn and spend everything, and earn and spend again. We were spinning like a hamster on a wheel.

Perhaps, from hopelessness, a person will agree to change the principle, and if there is no strength to take care of himself, he will begin to care for others? Then others will take care of him, and we will receive the right fulfillment from life. The main thing is that I have strength, a reason to move and do something. We will begin to live for a common goal, support each other, and then the future will shine upon us and give everyone strength.

There will be something to live for! Moreover, we will gain an eternal goal, not such a fleeting one as we have today. We will reveal the perfect form of nature, a higher power and will be able to control our lives; this will be real life, and not a game as it was before.

We are facing a difficult winter and very serious states that can explain a lot to us if we are sensitive and try to understand the Creator’s intentions, what He wants.

Try to feel where the Creator leads all of humanity, how we can understand His play with us with the desire to enjoy that was created by Him. According to what the Creator awakens in people, it will become easier for us to assimilate new concepts in our life, in nature, and to come closer and closer to the Creator.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/25/20, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Study of the Ten Sefirot”

When We Will Get Second Wind

 

The main reason for the unrest is not that people are left without jobs and without means for living, but that they lost their future. This despair is spreading like an epidemic from family to family, from city to city, from country to country.

A sense of hopelessness, apathy, and loss of perspective for the future has already engulfed the entire globe, covering it from all sides. It is as if an engine has stopped because there is no need to spin, businesses are closing.

No one except us understands what is happening and how to deal with it. People should understand that it is impossible to work for their own fulfillment anymore; it is a deception because it does not provide fulfillment. Fulfillment disappears and I become disappointed in this work.

But here we find a new method of fulfilling ourselves from fulfilling others, and we get a second wind. We simply all together reconfigure ourselves and receive real infinite and limitless pleasure from being able to take care of each other. The purpose of creation is to give us pleasure, a true one, not temporary and disappearing.

We are now at this transition. It is difficult to say how long it will last, but apparently, it will last for an extended period of time, which humanity needs to understand this change and to implement it.

Today we live for the sake of fulfilling ourselves, and tomorrow we will live for the sake of fulfilling our friends and the ten. I will be devoted to the ten because only through it can I fulfill the Creator and humanity. Such internal transformation takes time.

Yet, it all depends on us. Maybe we can change that quickly. Look at the huge changes in human nature and its thoughts that the pandemic has made in a matter of months. I did not think it could happen so quickly.

Day by day there are changes in different places of the world as if waves are rolling across the ocean rising in one place, then in another. The upper light affects the entire depth of the desire of creation and changes it from the highest layers to the lowest ones, including the Klipot and desires that are not yet ripe for clarification and correction.

The process is very complex. However, the common despair and apathy and the unbearable feeling of emptiness that leads to an explosion show that the Creator is leading us to very serious steps.

The feeling of emptiness is the worst. A person is ready to do anything, even die, just not to feel empty. This is the structure of desire, Kli.

The Creator cannot do anything if we do not ask. The upper light is constantly approaching us like a meteorite approaching the Earth from the depths of the universe. It may take years for it to reach us and enter the layers of the atmosphere; however, already today scientists can say that in twenty years it will fall to Earth. For twenty years it will be approaching us, but what can we do?

This is how we need to understand that the Creator, the upper light, is approaching and wants to be revealed. He will be revealed either in the opposite form since He is opposite to the will to receive, and therefore will be accompanied by problems and troubles. Or He can be revealed according to the similarity of qualities, and then we will meet Him “face to face” and adhere to Him according to the good will of the receiver and the giver.

It all depends on us whether we can establish the correct connection between the vast desire of humanity and the Creator each time. We are responsible for this contact, and I hope we will be ready to do our work correctly. Otherwise, the contradiction between the Creator and the will to receive will become so great that it will lead to very serious consequences.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/25/20, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot”