Haaretz: “The Fire of Hatred, the Fire of Love”

In my regular column in Haaretz, my new article: “The Fire of Hatred, the Fire of Love”

Lag BaOmer marks the emergence of the light of unity in The Book of Zohar. It is a call to unite “as one man with one heart.”

Every year there is the “Lag BaOmer craze,” when children and youth throughout the country collect any piece of wood they can lay their hands on, and not always wood that was meant to be trashed, and pile them up into huge mounds days before the festival. On Lag BaOmer night, the 33rd day of the omer count, which begins on the first day of Passover and ends in Shavuot, they set them all on fire.

Aside from the fires, on Lag BaOmer, tens of thousands of people perform a pilgrimage of sorts up to the grave of the author of The Book of Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, to pray and to celebrate the writing of this seminal book of the hidden wisdom, the wisdom of truth, also known as “the wisdom of Kabbalah.”

This may not be the most fundamental festival on the Jewish calendar, but like all Jewish festive days, Lag BaOmer marks a profound point in our evolution as a nation, and in our individual spiritual development.

In a Few Words

Around this time of the year, some 20 centuries ago, all but five of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students fell ill and died. According to the Talmud (Yevamot 62b), this happened to them because they did not follow Rabbi Akiva’s most fundamental law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The five students who survived stayed healthy because they followed their teacher’s guidance and stuck to the principle of love of others.

Of these five students, two in particular passed on their teacher’s tenets: Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah, and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), author of The Book of Zohar.

Thirteen Years in Hiding

Rashbi lived and taught in the period following the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire (circa 132–136 CE). He was among the most prominent dissidents against the Roman rule in the Land of Israel. The Roman emperor, Hadrian, sent men to find Rashbi and kill him.

According to legend, Rashbi and his son, Rabbi Elazar, hid in a cave in the Galilee for 13 years eating only carobs from a nearby tree and drinking water from a nearby spring. During that time, they delved into the wisdom of the hidden, the wisdom of Kabbalah, and revealed the secrets of creation. Through their efforts, they grasped nature’s deepest levels and perceived the underlying unity at the basis of existence.

After 13 years, Rashbi heard about the death of Emperor Hadrian and emerged from the cave. With eight more students, Rashbi and his son went into another cave in the Galilee, where he taught them the secrets of Torah he had revealed. With the help of his students, Rashbi wrote The Book of Zohar—an interpretation of the Pentateuch, parts of the Prophets and the Writings (Hagiographa), and the seminal book in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Contrary to popular belief, The Book of Zohar does not talk about mystical creatures and esoteric powers, but rather describes the natural relationships that exist among all people. It writes about us—the process we go through as we develop our spirituality through our relations with other people.

Through stories and allegories, Rashbi explains how we should construct our relationships correctly through love of others, and how love of others will bring peace to the entire world. In the portion, Aharei Mot, the book writes, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers sit together. These are the friends as they sit together, at first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then, they return to being in brotherly love. Henceforth, you will also not part … and by your merit there will be peace in the world.”

The brothers and friends that The Zohar mentions are regular people, much like you and me, but they have connected around one goal: the attainment of that underlying unity at the basis of existence that we mentioned earlier. By acknowledging their mutual hatred, as the quote above describes, and through their subsequent exertions to rise above it and unite, Rashbi and his students connected to that force of unity and established among them profound brotherly love. Their unity was so intense that even The Zohar fails to describe it and simply refers to it as “a burning flame of love” or “the light of The Zohar.”

Why the Fire

The omer count begins on the first day of Passover, and Lag BaOmer happens on the 33rd day of the count. On that day, Rashbi passed away, which is why it is also the day when The Book of Zohar was sealed and the wisdom of Kabbalah was given to the world.

We light fires on Lag BaOmer to symbolize the great light that appeared in our world when The Zohar was signed and delivered to humanity—a light that can establish among us connections of love.

In the Labyrinth

In recent decades, our egos have driven our world to the brink of collapse. This is the exact same malady that consumed Rabbi Akiva’s students. Just as the Temple was ruined and the students died only because of unfounded hatred among them, today’s alienation and aggression in society are wreaking havoc the world over.

To find our way out of the labyrinth, we must use the method of connection and unity that our ancestors used 20 centuries ago. If we implement it and connect above our isolation and mutual distrust, we will light up the same great flame that burned before and the light of The Zohar will be revealed.

My teacher, Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag (RABASH), wrote, “In each one there is a spark of love of others. However, the spark cannot ignite the light of love. Therefore, by bonding together, the sparks becomes a big flame” (The Writings of RABASH, vol. 2, “What Is the Degree One Should Achieve”).

Selfish, But Not Hopeless

Today, it is becoming clear that our society requires a fundamental and sustainable solution to the problems we face. We must establish among us the great rule of the Torah: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” However, this will happen only if we choose together to install it among us. We are indeed selfish to the core and our “inclination is evil from our youth,” as the Torah tells us. Yet, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. Now we must take that step and begin to march on a new path—toward unity, connection, and brotherhood.

Lag BaOmer celebrates the appearance of the immense light of unity in our world through The Book of Zohar. It is a great opportunity for us to begin this journey toward mutual responsibility, toward being “as one man with one heart,” toward being what the nation of Israel is all about—love of others—and toward sharing that light with the nations, just as we have been commanded to be, “a light unto nations.”
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Mysteries Of The Birth Of A Spiritual Level

Deuteronomy, 23:10 – 23:11: When a camp goes out against your enemies, you shall beware of everything evil. If there is among you a man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come within the camp.

During the night a person cannot be in spiritual union with the Light, a screen, and a desire because there is no Zivug (coupling) of Light and screen. In our world, sexual coupling usually happens at night. But here we are saying that it should happen only during the light of day.

Question: Does it mean that a person is unclean because this coupling happened at night?

Answer: Not only because of that, but also because this ejection of the Light is happening without a screen and without the Kelim (vessels) that are necessary if there is to be reception in order to bestow. In other words, there is no receiving, feminine part here and the ejection of the seed occurs without a vessel, and the vessel is necessary in order to then birth the next state, the next level. This is considered unclean.

Question: If, as you say, coupling must take place in the light, then why does it say that it happens in darkness?

Answer: Precisely when it is dark, when there is absence of the upper Light, contact between the male and the female aspects occurs. This symbolizes preparation for the union between a screen, a desire, and the upper Light. That’s why this happens only at night and only on specific days and in specific states.

As a rule, it must be during the day, especially on a Saturday. After the meal entering Shabbat, from Friday to Saturday, when Saturday comes, a man must be with a woman. And then again on Mincha, that is, before the end of Shabbat. This corresponds with the Light which, at this particular time, shines in the spiritual world.

Naturally, in our world there is no Light whatsoever. Everything simply happens as an analogy to spiritual actions, as they say, “a pale copy.”

The birth of the next level during the day on Saturday is the most auspicious time for correcting the Kli. This is the time when all the conditions are positive for the feminine part (desire) and masculine part (intention and union with the upper Light) to create the proper action of bestowal.

This is a very complex system of forces that subsequently materialize in our world in the form of male and female organs, which then interact in a way that produces the continuation of life. With respect to this, there are days (seven unclean days), when it is forbidden to touch a woman. After this, another seven days are counted; fourteen days in total. Finally, there are only two weeks remaining, which are appropriate for insemination.

All this was calculated during those times when all women had the same lunar cycle. The lunar month is twenty-eight days and corresponded exactly to the women’s cycle. There was a sense of one single woman because it was a time that was close to spiritual correction.

It is written in the Talmud Eser Sefirot that the first seven unclean days are Gevurot (screens), which must form within the woman in order for her to correctly receive the seed into herself, the seed, representing the upper Light. The second seven days are preparation, formalizing her desire together with the screen.

Afterward, the woman bathes in the Mikveh. This means that the desire is bathed in a certain light called Mikveh, water, the light of Bina. After this, she becomes completely ready to act in order to bestow because this is the quality Bina imparts to her. And then, within her, forms a desire that is able to receive the upper Light to its point in the heart and to begin to develop a soul from it. In this way, birth can occur only from the quality of Bina joined with Malchut.
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From KabTV’s “The Secrets Of The Eternal Book,” 10/19/2016

New Life #849 – The Ascent Of The Soul

New Life #849 – The Ascent Of The Soul
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

We are all parts of the general soul called Adam HaRishon (First Man), and each of us corrects his part in it.

When a person corrects his attitude to others into love, he discovers that everyone else is already corrected.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #849 – The Ascent Of The Soul,” 4/13/17

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A Kabbalist Is Not A Recluse

Question: Why does a Kabbalist need to work in this world?

Answer: A Kabbalist must be a part of and participate fully in everything in which humanity participates. He is a natural part of this world and therefore needs to exist in the same system in which everyone is found.

A Kabbalist cannot climb to a mountain peak and live there as a hermit. He must live together with everyone, have a family, have children, and earn money for his livelihood, etc.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 12/18/16

“When You Walk Into Your Neighbor’s Vineyard”

The Torah, Deuteronomy, 23:25: When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you desire, until you are sated, but you shall not put [any] into your vessel. 

Grapes symbolize desire. That’s why “you may eat as many grapes as you desire, …but you shall not put [any] into your vessel” for the desire is foreign. When you get included into that desire, meaning rise to the next level, there you can receive into yourself without descending back to your level.

This refers to two Partzufim, two souls: big and small. If a small soul rises to the big one and gets included into it, like an embryo into its mother’s womb, then it can feed on everything there is on the upper level. However, it cannot descend to its level since it would be like death, like bodily infection.

When you are able to ascend and descend freely, understanding that you may not use this desire on your own level, the inclusion in the upper level will gradually raise you, and you will begin to ascend yourself and build your own “vineyard.”

Interestingly enough, on the farming fields in Israel, one can pick and eat all the fruits and vegetables he wants, but if wants to take them away, he has to pay for it. Everything has its roots and branches. This is the law of the Torah.

You can enter any field, say the sunflower field, choose whatever you like, and the owner will not say a word about it. He probably would not even look at you, though he knows he will be stripped of. But it doesn’t matter, this is a commandment. It means that the Creator will allow to replenish the harvest.

When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pick the ears with your hand, but you shall not lift a sickle upon your neighbor’s standing grain (The Torah, Deuteronomy, 23:26).

You may take as many ears of wheat as you need at the given moment because you’re not producing anything from it. But you cannot cut the harvest of a friend with a blade since that is an entire production (egoistic reception).
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 10/26/16

Defeat The Enemy In Yourself

Torah, Deuteronomy, “Ki Titze,” 21:10: If you go out to war against your enemies…

When you go out to war you must know clearly that you are fighting with yourself, and if you don’t, you will eventually lose. Such is the program of nature, a war brings benefits only if you change yourself in this war.

Even in the corporeal world, a war with an external enemy doesn’t determine anything, we see that precisely losers become winners.

For example, when the Romans conquered Europe up to northern Scotland, they built roads, cities, installed communications, and brought civilization to the barbarian continent. As the result, barbarians came out of the woods and the Romans fell.

Therefore, we need to go out to the internal war with our egoism because the external war gives no results. He who conquers will himself become conquered.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 10/26/16

Haaretz: “Independence Means Independence From Mutual Hatred“

In my regular column in Haaretz, my new article: “Independence Means Independence From Mutual Hatred”

The only form of independence for Israel is when we lay down our arms against each other. Then we can truly celebrate.

Every Independence Day, I remember that special Shabbat knife that my teacher’s father, Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, kept in his cabinet. The knife had a special inscription on its handle that read, Medinat Ysrael (The State of Israel), and Baal HaSulam used it only to slice the challah as he blessed Hamotzi on the eve of Shabbat. He cherished Israel not because of what it is, but because of what he prayed for it to become.

69 years ago, Israel started as a poor, tiny country, and highly dependent on its allies. Today’s Israel, however, has a strong army, a robust economy, advanced technology, and modern medicine. Yet, for all its progress, one question remains, “Has Israel become independent?”

Far from Independent

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, being independent means that we are “not subject to control by others,” and are not “requiring or relying on something else.” By this definition, we are far from independent. As recent decisions in the UN General Assembly indicated, we are dependent on the positive view of the world in every aspect of our lives: economic, diplomatic, academic, cultural, and even in defense of our borders.

Israel is not the only country that is dependent on others for its survival. In truth, no country on the planet can claim independence. In an era of globalization, self-sufficiency is a fabrication of politicians and power-hungry rulers who flaunt the word before the crowd during mass festivities. They call out, “We will maintain our independence and our sovereignty today, tomorrow, and hereafter,” when in truth, no country can survive alone, especially not Israel whose very right to exist is questioned daily.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2334 states that Israel’s settlement activity constitutes a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity.” The resolution, which opens the door to economic, academic, and other forms of sanctions against Israel, indicates that Israel is not as independent as it sometimes claims it is. Were it not for the election of Donald Trump as President, Israel would be in a far worse international position than it is today. For the moment, Israel has been given a hiatus from international pressure, but unless it moves in the right direction, the pressure will return with vigor.

Unity as a Condition to Sovereignty

When I speak of moving in the right direction, I am referring to pursuing the role for which we have been given sovereignty. If we connect ourselves to our vocation, we will truly become the world’s favorite nation. Connecting ourselves to our vocation means living as is required of the Israeli nation.

Despite the constant threats against Israel, it is the only country in the world whose future is in its own hands. We were established as a nation on the basis of mutual responsibility and love of others. We were declared a nation only after we committed to unite “as one man with one heart.” Unity was our motto, and as long as we were able to maintain even a trace of it, we were able to maintain sovereignty over the land. Once we lost our union, we were exiled from the land.

Throughout the ages, our sages were keenly aware of the importance of unity. The Midrash (Tanhuma, Nitzavim) writes about Israel: “When it is dark for you, the everlasting light is destined to shine for you, as it was said (Isaiah 60), ‘And it shall be to you an everlasting light.’ When? When you are all one bundle, as it was said (Deuteronomy 4), ‘You are alive every one of you this day.’ Clearly, if a person takes a bundle of reeds, can he break them at once? But if taken one at a time, even an infant can break them. Thus, you find that Israel are not redeemed until they are all one bundle.”

The first leaders of the State of Israel were also keenly aware of the paramount importance of unity to the young country. David Ben Gurion wrote, “‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Leviticus, 19:18) is the superior commandment in Judaism. With these three words the eternal, human law of Judaism has been formed… The state of Israel will be worthy of its name only if its social, economic, political, and judicial structure are based upon these three eternal words.”

A.D. Gordon echoed Ben Gurion’s words when he wrote, “‘All of Israel are responsible for one another’ … [and] only where people are responsible for one another there is Israel.” And finally, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, reviver of the Hebrew language, added, “We have yet to open our eyes and see that only unity can save us. Only if we all unite … to work in favor of the entire nation, our labor will not be in vain.”

The Only Thing We Need to Do

Israel’s unity is not a goal in and of itself. We were intended to be the avant-garde, the bellwether, leading all of humanity toward unity. The commandment to be “a light unto nations” means that we must show the world the way to unity. The Book of Zohar writes (Aharei Mot), “‘How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to also sit together.’ …You, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, henceforth you will also not part … and by your merit there will be peace in the world.”

This sense of Jewish purpose to correct the world has pervaded the Jewish mindset throughout the ages. German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre: “Every Jew, no matter how insignificant, is engaged in some decisive and immediate pursuit of a goal.”

Regarding the pursuit of that goal, Martin Buber wrote about the State of Israel: “We want the State of Israel not for the Jews; we want it for humanity. The construction of the new humanity will not take place without the special power of Judaism.” And Rav Kook adds likewise: “Israel’s purpose is to unite the entire world into a single family.”

Today, wherever we turn the world is blaming us for some wrongdoing. The only thing we need to do about it is unite. Our sages and our scriptures were right; world peace depends on our unity, as Sefat Emet writes, “The children of Israel became responsible to correct the entire world.”

It turns out that our strength and independence, and the world’s strength and independence, depend entirely on our willingness to unite. If we choose unity, in order to convey it to the world, we will see a dramatic change for the better. This will be the beginning of our being “a light unto nations.”

If we unite, the burdensome interdependence we call “globalization” will turn into mutual support. We do not need to teach the nations how to unite; we simply need to set an example of it.

French pastor Charles Wagner was quoted in A Book of Jewish Thoughts: “Israel has given to mankind the category of holiness. Israel alone has known the thirst for social justice, and that inner saintliness which is the source of justice.” Just as now when we are disunited, the nations reject us, when we become a role model of unity they will embrace us.

So, this Independence Day, let us finally begin to be what we are meant to be. Let us be a country that is united in mutual responsibility, whose people strive to love their neighbors as themselves and wish to pass that unity on to the entire world.

Happy Independence Day to all!
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New Life #847 – Together And Alone

New Life #847 – Together And Alone
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Summary

By being finely integrated we can attain the internal system of nature, together as one.

In the past we used to connect to those who were like us. Today we have to learn how to connect above any differences, above the divisiveness, in order to attain the mutual force of giving.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #847 – Together And Alone,” 4/4/17

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