“How Do People Discover True Love?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do people discover true love?“

We first need to understand that we have no idea what true love is. Until we reach true love, we interpret love in all kinds of corporeal and egoistic ways, i.e., where we primarily benefit ourselves from whatever we picture as love.

True love, however, is completely different. True love is the ability to benefit others, to sense others’ desires and to enjoy via their fulfillment. The realization of true love is by nature contrary to how we define love in corporeal terms.

True love is ultimately the unification of humanity into a single common system. We currently experience this system in its opposite form, through egoistic lenses, where we constantly try to benefit ourselves at the expense of others and nature, and by doing so, feel a certain degree of separation and distance in our attitudes to each other. By aiming to unite above this egoistic state we find ourselves in, we discover our rejection to each other, and eventually arrive at the realization that we need to rise above our differences, and forms bonds of true love. The more that we feel growing distance between us, the more we will develop a sincere desire to bridge this distance with a genuine attitude of love and care.

True love is thus the unification of opposites, when hatred and rejection become covered in a common umbrella of love. The more that we move toward unification above our inborn egoistic distance, then the more we will begin to sense a new kind of atmosphere entering our lives, giving us a much fuller feeling of fulfillment than everything else we have enjoyed to date.

The discovery of true love entering our lives is thus an opening to discover the perfection and wholeness existing in reality. Instead of feeling a narrow and detached sensation of life in our inborn egoistic qualities, we would “click” into a perception and sensation of reality similar to how cells and organs function and feel the whole organism that they are parts of. In such a state, we would feel constant fluctuations between the negative-egoistic and positive-altruistic poles of reality as we would continually cover our differences and divisions with a much greater force of unification. As such, we would feel ourselves in an eternal world where life constantly ebbs and flows.

When we transition from our inborn egoistic mode of wishing to benefit ourselves at others’ expense, to an altruistic mode of wanting to benefit others, we feel our instinctive egoistic impulses as negative forces that we rise above. By rising above the ego, we sense forces of connection, giving and love—the positive and eternal forces dwelling in nature—and complement each other in a common tendency to make that shift.

This fateful shift depends solely on the extent of our unification, where we rise above our differences and divisions and start fulfilling one another. The feeling of mutual fulfillment gives us a sense of eternal life.

To discover this true love, we need only learn how to upgrade our connections, to mutually complement and fulfill one another, and to replace our egoistic lenses where we see flaws in others, to ones where we feel any egoistic impulse as an invitation to unite above the differences.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on December 22, 2020. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

“What Is Gratitude?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is gratitude?“

One of my students asked me, as a Kabbalist, what is gratitude according to the wisdom of Kabbalah? Kabbalah is a serious wisdom, and so when it discusses gratitude, it means spiritual gratitude. What, then, is spiritual gratitude?

Spiritual gratitude first and foremost relates to a person with a desire and goal to attain spirituality. Such a person has no knowledge of what spirituality is, but feels an inner need, and eventually starts studying the wisdom of Kabbalah.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, we learn that the purpose of creation is for all people to discover the harmony and bliss of connecting between the force of creation—reception—and its opposite spiritual force—bestowal. What does this mean?

On the way to discovering this sublime connection, we need to reveal how we are under the ego’s control, and that the ego is an evil and destructive force. Why is the ego evil and destructive? It is because it pits people up against each other, devours nature, our environment, and eventually, it also destroys itself, because it makes us want to enjoy things that provide short-term satisfaction, but which are ultimately bad for us in the long term. The revelation of the human ego as an evil and destructive force is called the “recognition of evil” in the wisdom of Kabbalah. “Kabbalah” in Hebrew means “reception,” and through this wisdom, we discover how we exist in a negative form of reception, where we want to receive and pull to ourselves, and that we do not ultimately benefit from trying to do so.

However, opposite this negative force of reception is a positive force of good, the force of bestowal. The force of bestowal can balance the receiving force, and then between these two forces we can exist in harmony by connecting between the positive and negative poles of reality.

The combination of these two forces is at the basis of everything we create, because specifically by the correct combination between these two poles of reality, we can discover how to live error-free and fix all the problems that emanate from relating to reality solely from its negative egoistic side.

By unconsciously letting the human ego drive our considerations and actions, we let the steamroller of evolution flatten us by delving deeper and deeper into seemingly irresolvable problems on personal, social, economic, ecological and global scales. The ego, without its balancing and regulating connection to the force of bestowal, stands behind every problem we experience in life.

We thus need to learn how to work with our ego in order to know how to balance it with its opposite positive force. When we succeed to invite the positive force into our lives, even in the tiniest amount, against the inborn negative force, we become grateful for having been given the negative force as our nature. In other words, by connecting to the positive force of bestowal above the negative egoistic force, we discover that the negative force is in fact a good force if we can use it as an impetus to increase our positive connection above it.

Balancing both positive and negative force is what King David describes in Psalms when he says, “You have saved my soul.” That is, before we receive the positive force, we only exist in the negative force, and we end up feeling terrible in that state. Then, after quite an extended period of time, we reach the state where we also receive the positive force, and when we do, we feel grateful. The gratitude we feel at that point is spiritual.

Based on “Spiritual Gratitude | New Life with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman | 1139,” February 4, 2020. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Watch the full talk here » [27:19]

“What Do You Believe Will Be The Next Big Innovations In Humanity?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you believe will be the next big innovations in humanity?“

There will be no more big innovations in humanity. The era of great discoveries is behind us.

The next major innovation will take place solely through self-transformation, i.e., by working on ourselves to transform our egoistic selves—where we want to benefit ourselves alone—to altruistic ones—where we wish to benefit others.

This egoistic-to-altruistic transformation of ourselves will be at the basis of innovation as we head into the future. On the contrary, if we fail to make such a transformation, then no matter what we do, human society will stagnate.

“Where Is the Business World Headed? | New Life 1255.” Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

“What Is Morality?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is morality?“

Morality is a clear realization of the principle, “Love your friend as yourself,” i.e., a state of absolute positive connection above the ego, where we perceive and sense a completely different reality to the one we feel in our inborn ego. Until we realize the principle of “Love your friend as yourself,” what we define as morality in our world changes the more we develop.

We live in a system of forces, and do not determine the egoistic qualities in each individual. Therefore, we cannot order or define our relations.

Our morals are thus based on the conditions we live in, and they are the outcome of human evolution. They arise from the human ego, which makes us think that how we live our lives is somehow incorrect, that we need to live differently, and by conducting ourselves a certain way, we will all live better lives. In other words, the human ego determines our morals with its control over us.

Based on the talk “Communication Skills: Moral Principles and Social Norms,” October 9, 2020. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Watch the full talk here » [54:02]

“Is There Such A Thing As A “Law Of Love”?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is there such a thing as a “law of love”?“

Love is a law of nature.

Everything is born and lives through love. However, hatred is necessary for love to exist because love needs to become established over another property, otherwise we would have no sense of it.

There are thus two contrasting properties in nature that mutually complement and designate one another.

Based on the talk “Communication Skills: Love as a Law of Nature,” given on October 22, 2020. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Watch the full talk here » [30:45]

“Does Multiculturalism Work?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Does multiculturalism work?“

Multiculturalism is necessary at a certain period of human development, but when we further develop, it will drift away.

We need to reach a state where we understand that we need to simply be human beings, as alike as possible, without any special distinctions. There will indeed be a great diversity of people, but we will not relate to this diversity as cultural. We were not born into cultures. They are acquired, and are thus not rigid truths.

Diversity should rather pertain to opportunities for progress in positive connection with others until complete unification is achieved. Our inborn diversity coupled with the similarity that we achieve through the realization of opportunities to positively connect to each other, will give rise to a whole new kind of fulfillment and harmony throughout human society. We will feel as if we all share a common language, and that we are all members of the same nation and family.

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“What Is Evil?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is evil?“

Evil is a thought that is completely aimed at benefiting oneself alone.

Such a thought also acts to the detriment of others because thinking how to benefit ourselves alone while living in an interdependent and interconnected society means that we aim to benefit ourselves at the expense of others.

Out of the thought to benefit ourselves alone, we can end up trying to bring others down and make them suffer, because while living in our corporeal egoistic nature, we feel an instinctive urge to be better than others. We thus feel that we benefit from harming others because it gives us the sensation of being better, higher, stronger and more successful than them.

While we live and breathe according to our egoistic desire to enjoy at the expense of others, rising above others gives us a sensation of livelihood, while feeling lesser than others gives us a sensation of death. Also, the more that we evolve, the bigger this ego-evil becomes, and thus the amount of negative phenomena and suffering in our world increases from one day to the next. Suffering is a necessary part of this process, because it pushes us to realize that by living according to egoistic desires alone, we cannot achieve true happiness, peace, love and harmony, and ultimately, we will need to rise above this evil nature in order to experience life positively.

In our evolution, we are coming closer a stage called “the recognition of evil.” It is a stage where we become aware of the true cause of evil in our lives—our egoistic human nature that wants to benefit itself at the expense of others—and that our desires to benefit ourselves alone bring none of us to any good place. Together with this revelation, there will emerge a sincere desire to improve our lives by prioritizing the benefit of others over self-benefit—to positively connect to each other above our egoistic impulses—and then we will willingly rearrange our world according to this new goal.

The question is whether we unconsciously let ourselves be run by our egoistic impulses to more and more suffering in order to ultimately feel helpless and wish for a positive transformation—a form of evolution called “the steamroller of development”—or whether we will run ahead of the steamroller and engage in connection-enriching education so that we learn about our true nature and how to rise above it without the need for suffering?

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“How Do You Experience Time?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do you experience time?“

Time does not exist.

It is like we live in a black hole where there is no time, and we each live out our own bubble. In that bubble, we feel our own time, and we imagine that there is a universe, people, and the planet, but it just appears that way to us. However, time and the world are nonexistent. All that exists is our sensation that depicts everything to us.

What is the purpose of this illusion? Why did nature create it this way?

It is so that we use the concept of time in order to rise above and control it. In our inborn nature, the desire to receive, where we constantly calculate how to fulfill ourselves, we exist underneath the concept of time. If we rise above our inborn nature and enter the opposite nature—a desire to give—then we rise above the concept of time.

Until then, we exist in a constant race against time. We try to manage ourselves in relation to a pressuring framework. Time that has passed does not come back. We cannot buy it back. If it were possible, I would give everyone a watch that would show how long a person has left to live, and then people would relate differently to life.

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“What Is A Dreidel And What Symbolism Does It Have?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is a dreidel and what symbolism does it have?“

A dreidel is a spinning top, which has an inscription of Hebrew letters around the sides. The letters signify, “a great miracle happened here.”

Spinning a dreidel is one of the Hanukkah customs.

The dreidel is spun in order to see what letter it lands on, and while spinning, the dreidel symbolizes our lives: we “spin” our lives around and around, and eventually reach the awareness that only when we all spin ourselves together around a common center—a common goal to unite as one—will we achieve true happiness, harmony and the purpose of our lives.

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“What Is The Menorah And What Does It Symbolize?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the Menorah and what does it symbolize?“

The Menorah (lamp) symbolizes the manifestation of the spiritual light, i.e., the quality of bestowal, which illuminates in the souls, i.e., in the human ego that has become corrected with an intention to bestow.

A Menorah is physically hard to make because it is traditionally a single piece of gold that has to be molded in order to support seven cups for the candles. Likewise, molding our ego—our human nature, which is a desire to enjoy at the expense of others—so that it assumes a form of bestowal upon others, is quite a complicated feat.

Each of the Menorah’s cups, i.e., each of the human egoistic qualities, have to assume a specific size and shape so that the Menorah’s features will form a worthy vessel upon which the spiritual light of bestowal can illuminate.

The seven cups represent seven kinds of illuminations, which in the wisdom of Kabbalah are called the Sefirot of Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod and Malchut. When the light reaches the final Sefira of Malchut, then Malchut becomes like the other seven qualities, assuming a form of bestowal. In other words, the human ego, represented by the Menorah’s gold metallic body, gains a certain level of equivalence of form with the spiritual quality of bestowal, and thus also becomes the means by which all the seven candles on the Menorah can light up.

Therefore, the Menorah symbolizes the human ego that has gained a certain level of resemblance to the spiritual light of bestowal and love. In addition to the Menorah, there is the oil and the wick necessary to create the candles in every cup, and all these qualities operate in tandem so that the human ego can acquire an intention to bestow, and thus form a spiritual vessel that can invite the spiritual light to illuminate from above.

Within this entire structure, the Menorah’s magnificence is in its manifestation of the most egoistic component—Malchut, the gold—attaining similarity with the most sublime spiritual quality of bestowal.

“What Are Some Hanukkah Symbols And Meanings?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are some Hanukkah symbols and meanings?“

The Candle, the Oil and the Wick

It is known that the candles cannot burn until three conditions are met 1) the candle, which is the vessel in which the oil is placed; 2) the oil; 3) the wick (a woven cord (in a candle or oil lamp) that draws fuel up into the flame). When those three are brought together we can enjoy their light. – Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash), Assorted Notes. Article No. 5, “The Meaning of Sins Becoming as Merits”

What is the spiritual significance of the candle, which was traditionally a cup or vessel that would contain the oil and the wick, and which forms a complete construction with the oil and the wick in order to create light?

The spiritual significance can be understood when we perceive this construction through the language of branches, where corporeal objects point to their spiritual phenomena and processes.

As such, this construction—candle, oil and wick—represents three discernments of a corrected spiritual vessel, i.e., a desire to receive pleasure that has been corrected with an intention to bestow. The light that emerges from this construction is the outcome of the spiritual vessel: the intention to bestow above the desire to receive.

The candle, the oil and the wick are all equally required in creating the spiritual vessel. That is, the oil in and of itself cannot light up, and the wick in and of itself also cannot light up. But the wick that absorbs the oil, which rises up the wick, can light up.

The spiritual significance of this candle-oil-wick construction is that these are three qualities positioned in opposition to each other: reception, bestowal, and the connection between them. We cannot light any of the qualities in and of themselves, but when one quality absorbs the other, i.e., the wick that absorbs the oil, then it can be lit.

Spiritually, the wick represents our egoistic reasoning that rejects the spiritual work of connecting positively with others.

Oil is the spiritual quality of bestowal (called “Ohr Hochma” [“Light of Wisdom”] in the wisdom of Kabbalah), which we cannot use or light in and of itself.

However, when we absorb the oil (quality of bestowal) in our wick (desire to receive), then we can light it, i.e., establish a connection between this world of reception and the spiritual world of bestowal.

In Hebrew, the word for “’Petillah’ (wick) [comes] from the word ‘Petaltol’ (winding) and from the word ‘Pesulah’ (flawed), since it is flawed to think such thoughts” (Rabash, “The Meaning of Sins Becoming as Merits“). In other words, our egoistic thoughts for self-benefit alone—considered “flawed” since they detach us from the sensation of eternal spiritual fulfillment—assume the form of a wick when we insert them into an environment that primarily values spiritual qualities of bestowal and positive connection, represented by the oil.

Then, by opposing the flaws in our egoistic nature by participating in an environment that primarily values bestowal and positive connection, we create a construction—a spiritual vessel—capable of becoming lit with the spiritual light.

Our positive connection to each other above our incomplete and flawed egoistic nature generates a miraculous flame—it sets the conditions by which the spiritual light of bestowal can become revealed, even if only slightly, upon our egoistic nature.

In the wisdom of Kabbalah, this action is called “the revelation of the Creator.” Our efforts to positively connect, with an intention to bestow above our flawed egoistic reasoning—which rejects making any movement without seeing personal benefit in return—becomes the candle (the spiritual vessel) that ultimately becomes lit by the Creator, i.e., in which we discover the Creator—the quality of pure bestowal.

The more we participate in an environment that prioritizes love, giving and positive connection above egoistic pursuits, the more we absorb the oil in the wick, even though the form of the wick is a flawed one, i.e., even though by nature we can only calculate egoistically, each for our personal benefit.

So we engage in a spiritual environment because we want to discover the secrets of the universe, to reach the ultimate level of knowledge and awareness of reality, and to feel nothing less than the eternal harmony of our soul. In other words, our ego drives us to a spiritual search with its own visions of what spiritual goodness is, which can only be an egoistic picture in the beginning of our journey.

But if we truly find ourselves in a spiritual environment—among people, books and teachers that value positive connection, love, bestowal, care, support and encouragement for one another—then our ego finds itself in a dilemma: it wants to receive spirituality for itself while the environment presents a constant example that spirituality is only in bestowal upon others.

The more we advance in our connection despite the ego’s complaints, then the more our wick absorbs the oil, and this process continues until we have absorbed enough oil within us, meeting all the conditions necessary for the flame to appear: the revelation of the Creator in the created beings, a new spiritual state that is called “Hanukkah,” the first pit stop on our spiritual journey to more and more harmonious states of love, bestowal and positive connection.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson of December 15, 2020. Watch the lesson here »

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“Why Did Hanukkah Start?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why did Hanukkah start?“

To understand why Hanukkah started, we need to first understand that the Jewish holidays describe special stages in our spiritual development, and also, that the Torah in general only discusses our spiritual development.

As such, Hanukkah is hardly mentioned in the Torah because it is a state we reach in our spiritual development which is still void of the reception of the light of the Torah. Rather, it is a state of preparation for spiritual corrections—the application of an intention to bestow upon our desire to receive—toward the state where we receive the upper light.

In terms of spiritual development, Hanukkah is the first Jewish holiday.

It expresses our development to the first spiritual level, which is called “Bina,” or “giving for the sake of giving,” a pure intention to give and bestow above the human ego that constantly wants to receive for personal benefit alone.

Achieving this state is possible if we surround ourselves with like-minded individuals who share a common spiritual aspiration, and who support and encourage each other to prioritize spiritual qualities of love, giving, bestowal and unity above our inborn egoistic reason, which constantly calculates in the opposite direction, i.e., how we can personally benefit from others.

Hanukkah is the initial level of unification we achieve by attaining a common intention to bestow above our egoistic desires. The word “Hanukkah” comes from two words, “Hanu Koh” (“park here”). It acts as the first pit stop of achieving the spiritual quality of bestowal above our corporeal egoism on our spiritual path to the attainment of greater and greater spiritual qualities upon the ego that also constantly grows.

By achieving the spiritual quality of bestowal and unity above our egoism, we gain the awareness that this is the way to attain the full revelation of the Creator—not just by applying an intention to bestow above our egoistic desire to receive, but that our desire acquires the nature of bestowal, and our reception of pleasure equates to our giving of pleasure.

This describes a very advanced spiritual state, which is called “reception for the sake of bestowal,” the reception of the spiritual light in order to give that light, through which we reveal the Creator via our equivalence of qualities, and enter into a mutual connection and dialog.

For the time being, we can focus on a target that is closer to us: that if we have a spiritual aspiration, we should seek a society of like-minded individuals with a common goal, and then in such a society, develop a new sense of bestowal and unification—”giving for the sake of giving”—above our inborn egoism, and by doing so, we will discover the state called “Hanukkah,” the first pit stop on the spiritual path.

Therefore, Hanukkah is our initial exit from a world of darkness—living in the confines of our narrow egoistic self-aimed interests—to a world of light—a world where the spiritual quality of bestowal and unification shines between us, in our common aspiration to unite above our ego.

Hanukkah is thus named “the festival of light.” It marks the start of our discovery of our spiritual state, how our soul lives and breathes according to qualities of bestowal that unify us all. It signifies the first spiritual correction of our desire: the transformation of our egoistic intention to receive for personal benefit alone to an altruistic intention to bestow and positively connect to others. This transformation is called “the Hanukkah miracle,” because of how we rise to a state opposite our inborn egoistic nature, which is all we know in our world, and which can only be conducted with help from a spiritual force that is outside our nature.

From this initial spiritual correction, we can continue our path of spiritual corrections, and advance to a state of full similarity with the spiritual quality of bestowal.

The custom of lighting candles on Hanukkah symbolizes these spiritual corrections that we carry out in our souls on the spiritual path.

The Greeks in the Hanukkah story are the egoistic reasons that calculate “What will I get out of it?” when confronted with an environment that encourages exiting our egos in order to give, bestow and unite with others. In other words, the Greeks symbolize egoistic desires to receive that awaken when we set ourselves up to rise to the first spiritual level of bestowal and unity.

On the contrary, the Maccabees in the Hanukkah story are the intentions to bestow, which require powerful unity in order to counter the war of the Greeks, i.e., to counter the egoistic reasoning that rejects the spiritual qualities of giving and uniting. The war between the Greeks and the Maccabees thus has nothing to do with nationalities, as it is an inner war between two opposed qualities of giving and receiving, or spirituality and corporeality.

Therefore, it is my hope that we will reach the understanding of how Hanukkah and the other Jewish holidays discuss spiritual corrections, our rising in unity above our inborn egoism. The more that we succeed in understanding, applying and spreading this awareness, the more we will see a positive human society blossom with harmonious connections of love and bestowal between people replacing the current egoistic and destructive ones.

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“What Is Chanukah?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is Chanukah?“

Chanukah (also spelled “Hanukkah,” Heb. “חנוכה”) signifies the beginning of our feeling the unified force of nature. It marks the initial penetration through the boundary between this world and the spiritual world.

The Hanukkah concepts and customs link to the crossing of this boundary between egoistic and altruistic perception, which requires rising above our inborn desires that prioritize self-benefit over benefiting others.

The Maccabees-Greeks war unfolds internally, within us, between our ego’s reasoning (the Greeks) and the tendency to unite by drawing the force of nature into our connections (the Maccabees).

But how can we possibly cross the boundary of our very human nature, which defines us as the egoistic beings we are?

In addition, our desires to unite, to love and to care about others is tiny compared to the ego, which constantly pressures us to enjoy at the expense of others.

It is on this dilemma that the miracle of Hanukkah comes into play.

Our persistence to unite above our desires for personal benefit attracts nature’s force of love, bestowal and connection, which is also called “light” in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Even though we have comparatively very small desires to unite, to love and to care about others compared to our self-aimed desires, i.e., materialistic pursuits for money, honor, respect, power, control, fame and knowledge, by creating a social atmosphere that supports and encourages us all to rise above our self-aimed desires, then we direct ourselves to unite above our egos.

Eventually, by participating in such a society that values uniting, loving and caring each other above our innate desires to enjoy personally at others’ expense, we then end up feeling incapable of rising above our ego, since it our very human nature. In the Hanukkah story, this is considered as the Maccabees feeling incapable of defeating the Greeks.

At that crucial juncture, a miraculous light appears—the unifying force of love, bestowal and connection that dwells in nature, which gives us the energy we need in order to overcome our egoistic desires with a unifying, loving and giving tendency. That is the meaning of the Maccabees winning the war against the Greeks.

We prosper when we, on one hand, feel a necessity to win the war, but on the other hand, find ourselves out of options and in despair, i.e., under the attack of the Greeks. While under attack, we feel like we need to keep fighting with all everything we have, however with no success in sight. In any case, due to sensing a responsibility to win the war, we do not throw in the towel, because it would be like agreeing to be locked away in the ego’s solitary confinement.

At that point, the miracle happens—the illumination of the light of unity, love and bestowal. It charges us with its omnipresent energy, and we win the war.

The Hanukkah war is internal, taking place on the boundary between egoistic desires versus those of unity, love and bestowal. Our egoistic desires and thoughts are what filters our perception of the boundless force of love and bestowal surrounding and permeating us, and we revel in the revelation of this force when we win the battle for unification above our egoistic desires.

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“When Is The Best Time To Wish Happy Hanukkah?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “When is the best time to wish Happy Hanukkah?“

There are always times for miracles.

Whenever we positively connect to each other, we draw the positive unifying force that dwells in nature, and it performs wondrous miracles. Moreover, we can evoke this force at any time of the year, on any day, and at any time of the day.

Miracles are supernatural phenomena, but we can help them emerge according to how we direct our desires. If we want to positively connect to each other above our egoistic desires for self-benefit, then we attract unifying forces in nature to manifest in the space between us, and with their support, we can bring peace and balance to our connections, to human society, and make the world a safe and harmonious place.

That is the essence of the process that takes place at Hanukkah.

In terms of the Hanukkah story, the Maccabees prioritized their unity and drew the light that granted them the ability to remain in the state of love, bestowal and positive connection, and then started drawing more and more people to themselves.

The oil represents people’s desires to connect as a single harmonious whole in society.

The wick represents people’s efforts to unite above the divisive reasoning of the human ego, which constantly calculates self-benefit over benefit of others.

The clash of people’s efforts to unite upon the egoistic rejection to unity generates a burning desire to come closer together, and then a certain “click” takes place, a miraculous light illuminates within that continuously fuels the blaze of their burning desires.

Then, by sustaining the efforts to love, give and positively connect to each other, and wishing for this tendency to spread outwardly to humanity at large, they gain a constant fuel for the lamp to stay alight.

The miracle is the manifestation of the light—the positive force of love, bestowal and connection dwelling in nature, also called “the Creator”—in people’s unity. Also, not only is this revelation of the Creator inside people’s unity the miracle, it is the essence of all miracles that the Torah describes. That is, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Hanukkah and Purim miracles all point to the revelation of the Creator in people’s unity. The method for attaining the Creator’s revelation through unity was first discovered, taught and spread by Abraham some 3,800 years ago, and it became further developed by key kabbalists throughout history.

While people can unite in a variety of ways, the essence of all these miracles is that we unite so that a new quality—love and bestowal—illuminates in us, and that it elevates us to another level of awareness, emotion, perception and sensation of reality.

Therefore, the best time to wish the miracle of unification upon the growing divisive ego would be sooner rather than later, as it would spare humanity much suffering going forth.

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“What Are Some Unusual Ways To Light The Hanukkah Menorah Candles?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are some unusual ways to light the Hanukkah menorah candles?“

Today, the most unusual way to light the Hanukkah candles could very well be the original way that these candles were lit.

A candle contains oil and a wick. The wick lets us alight and burn the oil, which rises up the wick. The oil and the wick will set ablaze only when the oil seeps into the wick, which then lights up the candle.

This depiction of lighting a Hanukkah candle is not unusual in and of itself. However, if we look at what this process represents, then it would appear unusual to anyone who was raised thinking that lighting a candle begins and ends with an external action alone.

Rather, the process is an internal one.

The wick represents the rejection of light, i.e., the rejection of receiving pleasure for self-benefit.

The oil represents the fuel that we have to reject self-aimed pleasure. However, the oil cannot burn by itself. We thus need to understand that we change our growing desire to enjoy for self-benefit by working to invert it into its opposite form: a desire to love and bestow. It is written about this change: “The evil angel becomes the good one,” and “The angel of death becomes the angel of life.”

The Maccabees found a cruse of oil because they had been trying to positively connect to each other in order to attain the quality of love and bestowal. They could light that oil because they had great resistance to those who bowed before Greek idols and constructed Greek temples in Jerusalem. The Greeks represent the will to control our desires, i.e., that we reason first and foremost that we personally benefit from a certain effort.

The war of the Maccabees is a war that we conduct within. When we overcome our resistance to love, bestow and positively connect to others, we change the hatred that fuels our conflict into a wick in the oil, which we can light.

Therefore, the cruse of oil with a wick represents a person’s inner spiritual work of rising above desires for self-benefit, and entering into a new desire to love, bestow and positively connect to others.

When the Maccabees overcame the resistance of their reason, which dictates that self-benefit should always prioritize and justify benefiting others, and they unified, then they found the cruse of oil where they were able to insert the wick into and light. In other words, they changed their desire for self-benefit into a desire for love, bestowal and positive connection, and the upper light—the quality of love and bestowal—illuminated their souls.

That is the Hanukkah miracle.

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“What Is Happiness?” (Quora)

 

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is happiness?“

There are different definitions of happiness according to a person’s level, i.e., the kinds of desires a person has, and whether or not such a person has a desire to seek a higher purpose in life, and to what extent. (For instance, in another Quora thread that has asked this same question, you’ll see how I answer it differently.)

However, in principle, happiness is experienced when a person’s desires are on the brink of being fulfilled, but have not yet been quenched.

In such a state, a person is in a high state of anticipation, like a child who is about to have a birthday.

Therefore, happiness takes place in the anticipation of a reward from life, when we feel as if we are about to be given something very positive and good, like on our birthday. Also, the form that this happiness assumes is different for each person.

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