By Raising Ourselves, We Raise The World

 

After the lesson, we go out into the wide world, and the whole world, all of humanity, the whole Kli of Adam HaRishon, enters between us, the ten friends. The world begins to flow inside the ten, between the friends with whom I have connected, and brings its thoughts and desires to us.

We must feel the desires of the world; otherwise, we will not be able to achieve general correction. We must understand that this is not politics, not economics, but that the huge desire of the common soul of Adam HaRishon enters between us and influences us so that we return to unity over these obstacles. Despite the added egoism, we connect again with even greater strength.

The impressions from the big world should not push us apart. We absorb from the world only those impressions with which we can then work to correct.

If we do not break the connection with each other, then the whole big world, which influences us during the day, will properly connect to us, and we will be able to correct it. And by correcting the world within ourselves, we cause its changes outside because a connection has already emerged between the internal and the external.

If the world cannot divide us and tear us apart from each other in the ten during the day, then we transmit our union to it and thereby correct the world. It gradually turns into a part of our spiritual Partzuf, its ending (Sof). We cannot yet actively work with it, but it is already becoming a useful part of the Partzuf.

So day by day, we absorb new desires from the world and transmit the power of unity to it. All humanity belongs to one Kli, one soul. By trying to unite in the ten, we thereby build the inner part of the spiritual vessel and the head (Toch and Rosh). And all other people who have not yet come to unity are the end of the Partzuf (Sof). Therefore, we must unite these desires.

We live in the time of general correction, and we must think about the whole world. Therefore, we are among people, in contrast to the Kabbalists of the past who lived in a cave as hermits, in small settlements. Kabbalists have always strived for solitude because there was still no requirement to work to correct the world.

But we live in a different time and whether we like it or not, we get impressions from the whole world. During the day, we absorb its desires and must process them. And when we then unite in the ten, we must take into account that our unification also includes the desires received from the world. And when we go back to the wide world, we influence it with corrected desires, and the world changes and moves toward the realization of correction and unification.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

Criteria For Spiritual Advancement

 

True spiritual sensation depends only on the extent of our closeness and connection in the ten. Only by the force of our connection do we come closer to the Creator and receive from this action a spiritual result, a feeling of spirituality.

The difference between the connection we had before and the connection that we achieve now gives a sense of spiritual advancement. Therefore, we should care only about this and focus only on this. If I did not advance to a stronger connection with my friends in the ten, I did not fulfill my duty in correction. In other words, I did not live in the spiritual world, but only in the corporeal world.

The difference between corporeality and spirituality is determined by what exactly I want to promote in my existence: either my current mind and feelings or our connection in order to rise to the spiritual mind and feelings, that is, to faith above reason.

We cannot ascend to spirituality at the expense of corporeality but only above it by faith above reason. We do not need to take anything from this world except disturbances that we turn into spiritual Kelim by rising above them. And if I cling to this world and break away from the group, then I did not have the right connection with my friends. After all, when I come to the group, I forget about this world for a while.

I need to constantly feel connected to the group and let the corporeal world invade my spiritual world, the group, only when I allow it. I should not fall under its power so that it absorbs me and controls me. I set priorities in such a way that spiritual development is more important than corporeal existence.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

“You Have Made Me”

 

If you connect two electrical wires one with positive and the other with negative voltage, you get a short circuit. It is impossible to connect plus and minus with each other. Therefore, you need to give them work by putting a load, a resistor between them.

If we work together above our nature, then we accumulate efforts between us in trying to cleave to each other. By the fact that each person wants to adjust himself to the other, we build a mini-system of the Creator between us. After all, I treat you with love, and you treat me the same. Each of us takes the power of bestowal from the Creator, turning with it to another, building between us a small Creator, a small system of loyal connections and then even love.

This is how mini-systems are built between all: I am in bestowal toward you, and you are in bestowal toward me. But bestowal is already the force of the Creator, that is, we build the Creator between us in this way, as it is said: “You have made Me.”

We build such passages between each and every one—the property of the Creator that binds us. When everyone unites with everyone in this way, it turns out that we have built the Creator and revealed Him.

That is why the Creator broke our common soul, so that we would reveal Him, feel as if He did not create us but that we gave birth to the Creator. Thus, we become similar to the Creator and understand His plan, that is, we achieve complete adhesion to Him.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

“Looking Back At The Year Of The Covid” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “Looking Back at the Year of the Covid”

Looking back to the beginning of 2020, I see that people involuntarily accepted the Covid-forced changes in their lives. It is hard to call it a pandemic; it is more of a new force that has come into play, creating partitions between us and setting us apart. It sort of put us in our corners and forced us to behave in new ways. We may not want it, at least most of us, but it is nevertheless a compulsory force from above.

I am not surprised that Covid did this. When it just began, I said right away that it’s the beginning of something new that would be with us from now on. Accordingly, I suggested that we adapt our lives to this reality. I don’t think we should go back to the way we lived before, as it was unsustainable and actually facilitated the emergence of Covid-19. If I had a say in the matter, I would say the opposite—that I want Covid to pressure us to the point where we surrender and agree to change our hearts toward each other, and if not, let the virus keep separating us as it has been doing for the past year.

The world before Covid was a madhouse: people running around aimlessly, furiously fighting one another, competing for superiority and power, and increasingly depressed. Covid stopped all that because it changed the way we work, the way we socialize, and the way we treat our families. It changed our values, and I’m happy that it did because the old ones didn’t do us any good.

We felt free, but we were slaves to our egos. We felt entitled, but we used it to disenfranchise others. We felt powerful, but only because we humiliated others. And in the end, we were terrified that if we stopped bullying others, others would bully us. I’m glad that Covid stopped it, and I hope it never returns.

Now it’s time to find real freedom, the freedom to give, to support, and to make room for others. It is freedom to build a society of sharing and caring, solidarity and cohesion, mutual responsibility and trust in our neighbors. It’s time to build a new world.

Now that 2020 is ending, I hope we have learned what it came to teach us and spend the rest of the decade living out its lessons.

“Are There Any Positive Benefits Of Laziness And Procrastination?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Are there any positive benefits of laziness and procrastination?“

The more we evolve technologically and psychologically, the more we connect around the world and find ourselves working more and more.

Societies around the world today are completely different to how they used to be. In the past, we spent most of our time at home, in villages, participating in several different activities. We did not work from dawn to dusk, or all through the night, as many do today.

Today’s incessant work atmosphere is a chain reaction from industrial developments in the 19th century, such as the steam engine. The more inventions we make, the more we work. It is as if we latch ourselves onto a carriage, and then have to pull ourselves along.

However, this is incorrect.

We should indeed work less. We would be much better off if we would sit by a fireplace, like in the old days, take our time doing things, visit friends and relatives, and participant more in social events. Moreover, most work we invest so much time and effort into today is completely unnecessary, and exists only in order to increase profits as an end in and of itself.

Laziness is thus very beneficial.

Laziness gives us time and space to scrutinize our next moves very scrupulously, to check whether they are really necessary or not.

Laziness thus lets us act in more accordance with our needs, lessening our chances of finding ourselves running around in circles for the sake of “doing something with our lives,” which eventually leads to destructive outcomes.

Therefore, Kabbalistic sages have such saying as, “Sit instead of standing, and stand instead of walking,” and “Sit and do nothing—better.”

In short, the benefit of laziness is that the less we move, the less problems we encounter.

I further discuss this topic in episode 754 of “New Life”: Laziness and Effort. Watch the Video Here »

Appeal To The Hearts

 

Question: Charisma is a special endowment, an exceptional personality in intellectual, spiritual, or any other respect, an ability to literally appeal to hearts. You are a very charismatic person. Can you advise how to be like that?

Answer: I do not think I am fortunate enough to attract others. Not at all.

I rely on science, which speaks of the universe, of all the worlds combined, including the upper force that governs the entire universe. And I slightly open the way to this enormous knowledge for everyone that wants it.

I do not have any charisma, I do not want to command, I do not want to attract. Maybe sometimes I can be harsh or rude, but this refers to the desire to be understood correctly and to only follow the path I am walking.

It seems to me that if a person has a goal, then he can captivate others with it. In general, you need to do what is closest to you, what your soul desires. And then you will give a good example to others.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/6/20

External Barriers And Spiritual Communication

 

Question: A wide variety of people are trained in integral education courses. They may include a professor, a locksmith, or a millionaire. Everyone is used to a certain form of communication. For one person, some jokes can cause complete disgust, for another it is normal. What are we supposed to do in this situation?

Answer: I don’t see this as a particular problem since we are dealing with an area of communication that none of them are currently in, even because of their past activities and interests. So it doesn’t matter what sort of people will be in the group.

There are, of course, certain stages of development that help intellectually developed people quickly grasp what the science of Kabbalah says. But, in general, it doesn’t matter. If we are talking about the spiritual development of a person and the spiritual connection of people, then absolutely different people can take part in this.

Question: In other words, such external barriers as language, traditions, even, perhaps, the form of clothing, cannot interfere with communication?

Answer: No. This is completely out of the question.

Question: And if untidily dressed people who do not observe hygiene come to the courses, is it worth making a direct remark to the person? And who should do it?

Answer: The moderator. He should warn people to come in clean clothes even after work. It doesn’t matter if it’s a doctor or a worker from the workshop, a chemist or a mechanic from the garage. All of them should come to classes in such a way that others feel comfortable with them.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 10/14/20

Learn To Live Only In Thoughts

 

Question: Is virtual connection enough to develop an individual as a person?

Answer: In the future, virtual communication will be of a different quality. It will only be the basis for the development of sensory, internal connections that cannot be transmitted through verbal or physical communication.

It just seems to us that we are somehow in contact with each other. We need to establish contact with our hearts and thoughts rather than physically when we are opposite to one other and thus perceive and are impressed by each other.

Question: What new sensory organs would you recommend developing for better communication through virtual connection?

Answer: I would advise people to learn to live only in thoughts so that we would all try to be connected together in one thought called the “thought of creation.” In this thought, we would understand each other, merge with each other, and reach a connection with the thought that governs the entire universe, the entire creation, and in which we must all be included.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 10/7/20

A Sign Of Perceiving Information

 

Question: There are critical moments in life after which the amount of information that is left in our memory drops sharply. It is assumed that during the first minutes after information is perceived about 25% of it is forgotten, after a couple of hours about 50% is forgotten, and after a day 75% of the information is lost.

A teacher’s goal is to diminish this loss. Is it enough if everyone in the group sums up one or two sentences or writes down a short summary of the conclusions? Will that somehow help preserve the information in our memory?

Answer: No, the information will remain only if there is a constant use for it. If not, nothing will remain.

Comment: Many students say that during the lessons they understand everything, but they leave the lesson totally empty.

My Response: That’s great!

Question: What’s so good about it? A person sits for three hours, listens to a lecture, and the moment he leaves, nothing is left in his memory.

Answer: It means that the information has actually entered him, and is now inside him.

Question: Will I be able to retrieve this information and use it when I need it?

Answer: If you could remember all the information that you have absorbed during your lifetime, you would not be able to think, to decide, to discover anything. You would have no voids in your emotions and in your mind in order to work with the information objectively. Your memory would be like a computer, full of data.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 7/24/20

What Will Motivate People To Work Together?

 

Question: Economists today point to employee motivation as one of the biggest challenges. Workplace conditions, bonuses, and salary increases no longer work. The basis of motivation has changed recently, especially in the era of coronavirus. What advice can you give people who cannot find motivation in themselves?

Answer: I think we will soon come to such a state when people will start howling in anguish like wolves at the moon. Then they will understand that they need the most serious motivation, strength, and ability to get out of their absolute hopeless state. They will start looking for someone who can give them this motivation, and they will come to us.

Question: Research shows that a boss who has the skills to listen to a subordinate is 13 times more likely to motivate an employee to stay in their workplace than a salary is. Do you think this has a future? After all, for many, the pay is the only reason to work.

Answer: No. We will reach such a state when a person is satisfied with his material condition so much that he will not have the motivation to work like a slave. He will begin to look for only a creative component in his work. I think we’ll come to this soon.

Question: What, in your opinion, is the most effective way to motivate a work team?

Answer: Connection and the achievement of a special goal is precisely in unity, where huge layers of work on oneself and with others are being revealed. A person will begin to reveal such inner possibilities of his own and others that he will see what incredible events are taking place in and around him.

Question: So people doing collaborative work will get energy from the fact that they work well together?

Answer: Not only. If they are properly linked with each other, then they will find among themselves an emotional, spiritual, upper state that gives them a reward that they will not see in any profession. They will perceive everything directly from the desire for self-realization in a team.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 8/28/20

Toward A Higher Spiritual Life

 

Question: In our world a person feels fear, joy, security, etc. Are there such sensations in the spiritual world?

Answer: In the spiritual world, all the feelings that exist in our world are billions of times higher, deeper, and stronger, and a person can control them. If in our world we are born with certain sense organs and gradually develop them under the influence of our world, but insignificantly, then in the spiritual world we can develop them literally from scratch, when we simply do not have them, since they are in a rudimentary state, and we cannot use them.

Starting to develop the spiritual senses, we bring them to a state in which we reveal the entire upper world, all the forces that are in it, all the variations of the possibilities of their influence on us.

We feel how we influence them with feedback, enter into certain interactions with them, and start playing with them. We influence the spiritual world, and it affects us. This interaction with the upper world is called the highest spiritual life.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/12/18

“Dreaming Away Pandemic Nightmares” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “Dreaming Away Pandemic Nightmares”

Either awake or asleep, thoughts about the pandemic haunt all of humanity like no other event in the last century. Covid-19 nightmares around the world are one of the most recent subjects of study. Harvard University research confirmed that people worldwide are experiencing remarkable changes in the frequency and nature of their dreams as a result of the global health emergency. This further confirms that the virus impacts humanity as a single body, and therefore, it is high time that we start acting as such.

The repercussions from the coronavirus are not isolated incidents but global occurrences that affect the whole human race. Daytime fears and concerns about the pandemic remain trapped inside people’s minds at night while they sleep according to a Harvard Medical School study. The research evaluated thousands of responses to a global survey recounting similar bizarre dreams of swarms of killer bugs and other virus-related imagery, regardless of people’s location and occupation.

Dreams are constructed from a set of thoughts and desires that a person accumulates during the day. Even if he may not be aware of them, they remain below the surface in one’s subconscious. When a person puts his head on their pillow and falls asleep, he no longer has control over his thoughts and hidden desires. During sleep they are withdrawn from the individual’s memory and arise in the form of dreams.

When our emotions, ideas, sensations, and desires are free from limitations, free from the oppression of the outside world, and without physical boundaries, they connect and integrate into a dream, mixing up elements and experiences which many times manifest in an illogical and bizarre way. This process has given rise to all kinds of theories and speculation about their origin and interpretation. But dreams are nothing more than that, a psychosocial and physiological process. At the end of the day, what we are is flesh with an internal nervous system that awakens us all the time and does not let us rest even in our sleep when our brain is no longer working at full power.

Dreaming is an important mechanism that allows us to process images and get rid of them. Sometimes dreams are not simple, they can put us into unpleasant situations, stress, and fears. It is therefore advisable to read something soothing or even funny before bedtime. Reading Psalms can also help to channel the thoughts in a good direction. Sex can also ease stress and release the body from the tension it has accumulated during the day.

The stress of our daily life since the coronavirus outbreak has become a worldwide phenomena. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, this period is a time when humanity completes its stage of individual development and moves on to a higher and new stage in which all individuals connect as one body, to be as one family, one soul. Therefore, it is only natural that even nightmares are now globally similar as the world itself has become global and round.

We have all become connected, we share common challenges and experiences. We go through the same pandemic and face the same crises while we are awake. Although everyone thinks about their personal life, about their family and work, these individual thoughts are now merged in the world’s collective consciousness so our experiences are increasingly similar. These new conditions present a remarkable opportunity to transform our nightmare into the dream of a more pleasant world and vivid reality.

“The Russian Jewish Mind” (Linkedin)

 My new article on Linkedin “The Russian Jewish Mind”

There is life before and after the appearance of social media for the majority of the world’s population. The younger generation does not even know any different reality, but little is known that behind Silicon Valley’s technological explosion are Jews, particularly those from the former Soviet Union. State of the art inventions and software have transformed the world, but the most important Jewish contribution to humanity is yet to be revealed.

Google, WhatsApp, and PayPal, co-founded by Sergei Brin, Jan Com, and Max Lebchin, are only some of many tech giants created by Jews who emigrated from the former Soviet Union to the USA. Other Jewish pioneers from Russian-speaking countries are also part of the fast-paced innovation and tech revolution in the United States, Israel, and Europe.

What is the secret of Jewish success? It began with the destruction of the Second Temple when the Jewish community living in the Land of Israel was forced to abandon it and went into exile in different places including Europe where they also suffered persecution and discrimination. Job opportunities for Jews who lived in Russia and Poland were restricted by the non-Jewish society largely through legislation. Since their work options were highly restricted they sat and studied.

A small number of them nevertheless managed to do business, settle, and give financial help to those who wanted to study. This is how life was arranged. The rich believed that they should have people who would sit and study for them. Although they paid them pennies, at least they prevented them from starving.

The tradition of studying from morning to night was well suited for Kabbalists throughout the centuries like Baal Shem Tov, father of the Hasidic movement, and his successors. The appreciation for knowledge has become a basic tenet among all Jews. The approach to learning, patience, dedication, and diligence are imprinted in the fabric of the Jewish people, and were reflected in the fields of technology and medicine as soon as the anti-Jewish occupation restrictions were removed and Jews were allowed to work like any other citizen. Prominent Jews and scientists in various fields emerged from the same geographical area, Russia and Poland. This began in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Jews again were oppressed, fled, and scattered everywhere according to the occupation they chose. I, who was born and raised in the former Soviet Union, can tell that long after work restrictions were removed, Jews adhered to Yiddish, the language they learned. School subjects, including geography, history, and math, were taught to my parents in Yiddish. Their childhood passed without a word in Russian.

Only later around 1935 did Stalin pass a law requiring the study of the Russian language only. Imagine what a revolution this was for children! Parents had to move on and learn all subjects in a language new to them, according to a different curriculum. But they succeeded. Thanks to the same approach to learning that flowed from their ancestors, they overcame obstacles and were admitted to universities.

By the way, the same urge and importance for higher education is typical of every place in the world where Jews live, but especially in Russia, because since then the custom of studying all day had become an integral part of their being. They realized that learning was their most valuable asset, something they had at hand that no one could take from them. They realized that it was their unique quality when they wandered from country to country, thrown from one place to another like they experienced in the Middle Ages.

And there was something else special about Jews from this region, not just knowledge, but a kind of willpower, an impulse that made them pioneers in every field. Revolutionary winds always blew around them. Whether as pioneers who preceded their time by hundreds of years when they opened the then closed and forbidden wisdom of Kabbalah and offered it to the world when it was needed, or during the Russian Revolution when they were Marxist, Socialist, Trotskyist, and Kropotkinist activists, or as pioneer immigrants to Israel were they established kibbutzim, similarly they are pioneers of technology anywhere in the world.

Every part on earth, as it is written in the wisdom of Kabbalah, has a special force that acts on those who live on it. It’s really interesting, I also feel it about myself coming from the same Eastern European region where everyone from there has an urge for change, progress, revolution, new technologies, or economics. Eastern Europe is a kind of space that does not allow a person to sit in peace.

But today the same special and distinct identity that Judaism developed in all the countries of the Diaspora is no longer in Jews. Other than purely technical breakthroughs, there is not much left of that human spirit that aspires to be at the top of the world. As long as we, Jews, were scattered among the nations of the world that pressed us against the wall, we had to be good and united in order to survive. But as soon as the pressure dropped we became the toughest, most stubborn, and disunited. We are made of a kind of special material from which stress and torture bring out fine things and unity, and relaxation degenerates, corrupts, and alienates us.

We see today, when there is almost no external pressure on us, how Israeli society is becoming a wild, quarreling lot. A nation where everyone thinks only of how to succeed materially and escape from here, where each cares for nothing but himself. Although this is a gross generalization, in general, we should see that this is our situation; it is contagious and will continue to deteriorate if we do not find the pioneering and revolutionary spirit of the Jewish nation within us. If we re-acquire the knowledge and wisdom found in the connection between us, in our unity, we can give the world something really good, the breakthrough of lasting peace, tranquility, and fulfillment, the light humanity so desperately needs.

You Should Start With Love For People

 

We are moving from the love of creation to the love of the Creator. Love for the Creator is perfect love in the whole system, where the light and the vessel are revealed together, mutually supporting each other.

But we need to start with the love of creation, that is, to draw near each other in the tens until we no longer feel the difference between us, so that our desires and feelings merge into one common feeling. Everyone must complete the others in this. We are not talking about physical connection, which belongs to the animal level, but about a human one, that is, not on the physical, but on the sensory level.

This connection begins with unfounded hatred, which has no explanation other than it was created by the Creator. And from it we must come to brotherly love as one person with one heart.

Do not take the example of a world where there is struggle and everyone is merging their strength, like quarrelsome children. We must follow the advice of Kabbalists and see ourselves at the final stage of the correction process. We have passed through many cycles of life on this earth over thousands of years. And it is not by chance that we have now discovered the science of Kabbalah. In this world, nothing is random, everything is calculated from the system of the common soul.

Therefore, we must work together and achieve unity. If someone falls out, what should we do? Apparently this is his fate. But we will try to put together our system and come to a mutual connection based on equality and love. After all, love is the strongest bond possible.

“From the love of creatures to the love of the Creator,” because the Creator is a global system that is revealed to us. The Creator is a generalization, the sum of all souls and the reason for their creation, the source.

Love is a complete mutual connection in which each seeks only how to complete the others. This is the form of existence of the common soul.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

Don’t Wait, Start Building

 

We build the Creator from the desires of our friends connected together, as it is written: “as though you have made Me.” After all, the upper force does not exist on its own but only within our Kli, our desire.

This is why treating the friends as a Kli, as an instrument for revealing the Creator and establishing Him, is the only correct form that allows one to direct oneself to the Creator. This is why it is written: “And from love of friends, one can reach love of the Creator.”

When I assemble all the friends together, I begin to feel the force that includes us all. This inclusive force is a very special, integral force, which is above all the details and is the basis of the entire creation. Creation appears outside of this force and begins to divide, split, and take a discrete form.

However, if we connect in order to reveal between us in the center of the group one single force, then with the same precision that we can connect, with the same resolution, we will discover the Creator as Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida. Yechida is already the highest degree of revealing the “One, Unique, and Unified.”

Therefore, it is a big mistake to wait for the Creator to be revealed. We do not need to wait, we need to build Him. This is the difference between religion and Kabbalah. We do not wait for the revelation of the Creator that was not built by us. Only according to our practical participation in connection do we create a place of revelation, we create the Creator.

If we sit with folded hands and wait for the Messiah to come, he will never come. The Messiah is the force that finally pulls us out of the feeling of separation to the feeling of complete adhesion. It pulls us out of the last drop of egoism, which is so small that it is not even visible to the eye but still does not allow us to reveal our unity.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/28/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

“How Do I Love Myself?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do I love myself?“

Show people how to find happiness in their lives.

By focusing on the fulfillment of others, their happiness and fulfillment will become your own.

We cannot detach from society, so in order to make the best of our connection, we need to see our own happiness in helping and guiding others to achieve happiness.

By aiming to love others without regard for ourselves, we will come to understand that this is self-love.

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

“On Jewish Unity And Anti-Semitism – The Rise And Fall Of The First Temple” (Times Of Israel)

 

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “On Jewish Unity and Anti-Semitism – The Rise and Fall of the First Temple”

(Article No. 4 in a series) In the previous article, we described Israel’s formation into a nation and how they were given the task to be “a light unto nations” by becoming a model of unity above differences. This article is the first to explore Israel’s attempts to maintain their unity after establishing nationhood, their failure to do so, and the consequences of that failure.

Once they became a nation by vowing to unite “as one man with one heart,” the people of Israel set out to Canaan. Along the way, they had many internal struggles, as well as struggles with external foes. Their growing egos kept challenging them in new ways and they had to find new tactics to overcome them. However, as it is written in The Book of Zohar (BeShalach, item 252), “Anyone who wages a war in the Torah is rewarded with increased peace in the end.” In other words, the wars that the people of Israel fought were over keeping the vow of complete unity.

Still, soon after Israel conquered Canaan and made it the Land of Israel, the disputes grew so fierce that the nation divided into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judea). The Northern Kingdom was weaker spiritually and its people quickly abandoned their commitment to unity. The Talmud (Yoma 9b) describes the leaders of the Kingdom of Israel’s malevolence toward each other very poignantly: “Rabbi Elazar said, ‘Those people, who eat and drink with one another, stab each other with the swords in their tongues.’ Thus, even though they were close to one another, they were filled with hatred for each other.” With such relationships, it did not take long for the Kingdom of Israel to dissolve into obscurity to this day.

Meanwhile, in Judea, our forefathers did not behave much better than their now vanished relatives. The 1st century Jewish-turned-Roman historian Titus Flavius Josephus details the misconduct of our forefathers. While the list of misdeeds is far too long for the scope of this article-series, it is important to realize how brutal was the hatred of the Judeans for their brethren. In The Antiquities of the Jews (Book IX, Chap. 5), Josephus offers some gruesome details on the foul manner with which the kings of Israel treated one another. When writing about the anointing of King Jehoram, who ruled merely seventy years after King Solomon, who taught that “Hate stirs strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12), Josephus says that “As soon as [Jehoram] had taken the government upon him, he betook himself to the slaughter of his brethren and his father’s friends.”

King after king, the rulers of Judea murdered one another in an astonishing display of depravity. Josephus writes that King Manasseh “barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews. Nor would he spare the prophets, for he every day slew some of them, till Jerusalem was overflown with blood” (Book X, Chap. 3).

Clearly, this demeanor was not sustainable, and when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II invaded the land of Israel, Judea was far too weak to defend against him. Although we are taught that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judea and destroyed the First Temple, it is important to note that our sages and all the ancient texts do not attribute the fall of the Temple to Nebuchadnezzar, but to our own vices against each other.

Incidentally, this pattern of pointing the finger to our own sins as the cause of our misfortunes, rather than to external foes, was the predominant mindset in antiquity. This changed only in recent centuries, when our arrogance and self-righteousness grew to such levels that we could not see any fault in ourselves and blamed all our troubles on others, despite millennia of our own sages telling and writing otherwise.

The exile in the Babylonian captivity was short but eventful. We will cover the events that led to the threat of destruction and eventual liberation through the Cyrus Declaration in the next article, where once again, we will see that unity brings freedom and happiness, and separation brings misery to our people.

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For much more on this topic, please see my latest publication, The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism: Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord.
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“How Can I Become More Spiritual?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can I become more spiritual?“

Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) writes in his article “The Freedom” that our single means by which we can change our state is by choosing a suitable environment.

“There is freedom for the will to initially choose such an environment, such books, and such guides that impart to him good concepts. If one does not do that, but is willing to enter any environment that appears to him and read any book that falls into his hands, he is bound to fall into a bad environment or waste his time on worthless books, which are abundant and easier to come by. In consequence, he will be forced into foul concepts that make him sin and condemn. He will certainly be punished, not because of his evil thoughts or deeds, in which he has no choice, but because he did not choose to be in a good environment, for in that there is definitely a choice.

Therefore, he who strives to continually choose a better environment is worthy of praise and reward. But here, too, it is not because of his good thoughts and deeds, which come to him without his choice, but because of his effort to acquire a good environment, which brings him these good thoughts and deeds.”

If we continually choose a more powerful environmental influence that guides us to spirituality, then we become worthy of spiritual progress.

Choosing and strengthening a suitable environment for spiritual progress is primary to becoming more spiritual, and not performing what we usually consider as “good deeds.” This is because we are ultimately not in control of our behaviors. Rather, our environment determines how we think and behave, and so if we place ourselves into an environment that guides us spiritually, and increasingly strengthen our connection to that environment, then it moves us in such a direction and we become more spiritual.

Photo: World Kabbalah Convention at Ganei HaTa’arucha, Tel Aviv, Kabbalah.info.

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

“All Eyes Will Turn To The Jews” (Times Of Israel)

 

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “All Eyes Will Turn to the Jews”

Over the past week, two antisemitic incidents caught the attention of Jewish media in the US. Algemeiner reported that in New Jersey, “the carcass of a dead pig was left on the doorstep of a rabbi’s home in the town of Lakewood,” and Tablet Magazine released an intriguing story about a closed Facebook group of liberal women who expel anyone who expresses any support or understanding for Israel. Tablet quoted a Korean American Jewish woman named Skylar Cutler who said, “What I saw and experienced in that group was Jew-hatred cloaked in the veil of social justice. I had to speak out.”

The vast majority of American Jews were delighted that Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, and I have no doubt they cannot wait for him to take office. I, too, think it will be good for them, but for a different reason: They will have a very sobering experience. With Biden as president, they will have no one to blame. After all, they picked him themselves and did everything they could, and beyond, to get him elected. But the antisemitism that will come from the Left, from the liberals and progressives, will show them very clearly that antisemitism has nothing to do with the identity of the president.

The majority of American Jews espouse liberal and progressive values. When antisemitism hits them, as it did in that Facebook group, they will understand that they are not hated for supporting Israel or for being white and privileged, but for being Jewish. As that Korean American Jew said, it is “Jew-hatred cloaked in the veil of social justice.” When it comes to Jews, there is nothing progressive about the views of “Progressives,” and American Jewry is about to realize it, if it hasn’t already.

When the final outcome of the elections is declared, both sides will turn their anger to the Jews. The liberals and progressives already harbor deep anti-Jewish feelings, and conservatives, who aren’t inherently anti-Jewish, have been given far too many reasons in this campaign to come to the conclusion that all their troubles come from the Jews.

Currently, Left and Right cannot unite in America. But when both sides come to think that all their troubles come from the Jews, they’ll find the common grounds they need. Just as we saw fascists and Muslims demonstrating in concert against Israel in Europe, we will see Liberals and Progressives, White Supremacists and Black Americans finding new unity in their hatred for the Jews.

Then, when American Jews find that all this is eerily similar to what happened in Europe less than a century ago, it may well be too late.
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How To Get Rid Of Chronic Fatigue?

 

Question: In recent decades, many have developed chronic fatigue syndrome even after long rest and sleep. The causes of the disease are still unknown, and accordingly, there is no effective treatment. A number of researchers believe that viruses are the triggers of this disease.

Chronic fatigue syndrome causes enormous damage to people and the economy. In Britain alone, it affects 250,000 people and costs the economy billions of pounds.

People are literally bedridden in their place of residence in bed, and do not know what to do about it. Where do they get the strength to live?

Answer: This problem arises on purpose, so that we find the real meaning of life and not waste it on trifles.

Therefore, we feel that we have no reason to live without a purpose. Everyone can have their own, but we must find it. Our evolution is to develop egoism in us, which requires fulfillment. And there is no filling, we must look for it ourselves. Therefore, it turns out that on one hand, we are so selfish, and on the other hand, so empty. Thus the problem appears.

Along with the growth of egoism, we need to constantly look for something to fill it with, and something creative, really respected. Therefore, we should not feed people with sedatives. Apathy, detachment, and all kinds of problems today are very common in the world precisely because of the growth of egoism, and we, people, cannot give it the right saturation.

Selfishness requires only one thing from us: Give me the meaning of life! Otherwise, why should I live? This is the problem. We must find the meaning of life and offer it to everyone. Let everyone find it, not in the little things that make us forget our troubles but do not fill us.

I think that humanity will find the meaning of life. I personally found it. But I cannot offer this to everyone. Whoever wishes, I invite you.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/6/20

The Pursuit Of Excellence

 

Question: Perfectionism, as a rule, manifests in three forms: when a person demands perfection only from himself, when he demands perfection in everything and from everyone around him, and when he feels pressure from society for him to be perfect. Experts note that in quarantine, in these new conditions, a person constantly makes mistakes, and perfectionism or an aspiration for it can, on the contrary, harm him, literally bring him to a nervous breakdown.

To be a perfectionist now, is it good or bad?

Answer: I believe that a person should not limit himself. If he has a desire for something, he needs to realize it. You should not try to make yourself simpler, thinking that then it will be supposedly better. No.

Find your favorite thing to do, occupy yourself with it, try to add some greater note of interest in your work, invest yourself, and you’ll see that life begins to acquire additional colors. You can raise yourself on a very different tonality of life. It all depends only on you.

So, don’t look at this pandemic. It pushes you toward something new and you have to figure out what it is, as if the Creator, nature, asks you a riddle and you solve it.

And you will see that there could not be anything bad in the world. Everything is going only increasingly up toward education, upbringing, development. This is how we will move forward. In every case that nature presents us, on the contrary, I see an opportunity for something new.

Question: And if I want the maximum in every moment, is that good?

Answer: Why not? It is a human desire contrary to an animal. I want to live to the maximum, and it doesn’t matter to me whether there is a pandemic or not. I want to realize myself as much as possible in any condition that I receive from nature, I don’t have another opportunity and will not have it.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/6/20

I Am Used To Hugging Everyone

 

Question: A resident of the UK wrote in one of the social networks, “I think people should always hug each other. I love hugging people but I have not been able to do it for seven weeks. Being stuck alone in a small enclosed space without even being able to go outside is terrible! I have to put a lot of effort into maintaining my mental balance. Until last Thursday, I somehow was holding on, but then it got really bad.”

He is one of nine million Brits who admit that even in normal life outside of quarantine, they constantly feel lonely. How can we be alone but not be lonely?

Answer: He should get married, have children, a family, or at least pets. This is everything that a person needs in general. I know that some people during the pandemic began to take care of flowers and grow greenery. Others, on the contrary, spend more time with animals and so on. What can I tell him? Get married so you have someone to hug.

Question: In principle, can the immediate environment that a person forms save him from such problems?

Answer: Of course. What does it mean that he is used to hugging everyone? Did he stand in the middle of the street and hug people, especially considering he is British? It does not look like it. You can’t go anywhere, so find a partner and hug him or her.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/6/20