Robert

Robert

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

Why Do Friendships Formed in the Military Often Feel Deeper and More Lasting Than Relationships Formed in Civilian Life?

Why do army friends hold such a special place in our hearts? What changes in our mindset when we are called up for reserve duty in the middle of our everyday routines? Also, what principle from military life should we bring into our daily lives and society?

Let us start from the beginning. When we enlist in the army, we essentially stop thinking about the countless things that used to occupy our minds nonstop. What will we eat? What will we wear? What will we buy? What will we do? Where will we go for entertainment? In the army, what you are given is what you have. The ego is freed from its endless chase. It seems to shrink. The burden and pressure of the things people want to push on us and sell to us fall away, and we already begin to feel different.

In addition, we find ourselves living alongside people we did not choose. We learn to fight together and face challenges and dangers together. Mutual dependence requires us to constantly feel each other and operate as a single body. In the end, we become so close that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for each other.

Later, in civilian life, the codes are completely different. People step on one another, disregard one another, and fail to see beyond themselves. The person considered successful is the one who stands independently, dominates everyone else, and comes out on top. Likewise, behaviors such as making concessions and giving space to someone beside oneself are often viewed as signs of weakness.

When people return for reserve duty, that spirit of camaraderie awakens again. They stop thinking in terms of "I" and begin thinking in terms of "we." What are we eating? What are we drinking? How can we make everyone happy? When someone makes coffee, everyone sits together, even those who do not drink it. There is no destructive competition, no showing off. When there is a mission, it is taken on as a team.

If you ask reservists, "Would you like to live this way all the time?" the answer would undoubtedly be yes. But the general atmosphere in society is highly egoistic and unsupportive.

So what actually happens to us in the army? Where does this elevated feeling come from?

In general, the substance from which we are made is the desire to receive pleasure and enjoyment. We perceive everything through this desire. We constantly evaluate what might benefit and harm our ego. This is how our picture of the world is formed. We are each drawn to different things according to our ego. When the desire for pleasure changes, i.e., when our ego begins wanting something different, we perceive a different reality.

By nature, the ego directs us to care for our self-benefit, drawing pleasure and fulfillment from the environment into ourselves. It constantly examines how every situation can be used for personal gain. In such a state, a particular reality is perceived. However, when we begin to make room in our heart for others, caring about them instead of ourselves, valuing their desires more than our own, and placing ourselves in service to others, then our perception of reality expands. The pleasure and fulfillment experienced through such connection with others belong to a completely different level. A glimpse of this is sometimes felt in the army, which is why it can often felt as a unique and unforgettable experience.

If we take this concern for others to its ultimate conclusion, we might say the following: Imagine that you worked on yourself until all human beings became close to you, i.e., very close, beloved, as if they were your own children. What kind of reality would you experience then? The same reality you experience now? Not at all.

A new reality would open before you, a higher stage of development that is not naturally present in human beings. The sages who attained it call it a "spiritual degree," and they developed an entire method that can be learned and practiced in a group setting. At this level of perception, we discover that a single all-encompassing force operates in the greater system of nature, a force the qualities of which are benevolence, love, and giving. This force increasingly fills us according to the level of love we have developed.

From a broader perspective, our evolution as a human species is pushing us toward such relationships between people. The world is becoming increasingly interconnected; everyone depends on everyone else, yet we are unable to get along in the same boat. The ego’s games are bringing us toward the danger of sinking. This is true globally, and it is especially true in Israel.

Our survival depends on learning to live like one large family, with a spirit of friendship, mutual responsibility, assistance, and support between us. This process is inevitable, and we, the people of Israel, must lead it. We need to provide an example of a more advanced and connected way of life that is suited to the conditions of our environment. The longer we delay, the worse things will become, for the world in general and especially for us. Hatred toward Israel will spread throughout the world, and we will find ourselves completely alone.

Whether or not we are aware of it, Abraham initiated the revolution of kindness and love for others. He sought to create peace and unity among all people. Although we later fell into unfounded hatred, and although the ego in Israel might be stronger than anywhere else in the world, each of us still carries a spark of self-sacrifice within. If we learn to connect these sparks through the same method of connection that Abraham established, a fire of love will ignite among us. Israel will become an educational, cultural, and spiritual powerhouse, and the world will come to learn and adopt this next form of human existence.

We are all one family.

#IDF #relationships #sustainabledevelopment

Based on “New Life 145 – IDF as an Example of Connection” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Full episode available here >> https://t.co/ckdUju3UZZ

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

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No one knows the root of their soul or where their spiritual path will lead. We all begin with a small spark—a desire for something higher. Our task is to nurture that desire, listening to it and helping it grow through the right environment.

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

Discover the meaning behind life’s deepest questions:
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What if this world is only the first layer of reality?
Kabbalah is the method for rising beyond our lowest level of perception and discovering what lies beyond.

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

What Is the Fifth Commandment?

The fifth commandment, “Honor Your Father and Your Mother,” is one of the most well known. On the literal level, it instructs us to honor our parents. Before exploring its deeper meaning, let us consider what honoring one’s parents entails. A child who honors their parents recognizes and appreciates the care and upbringing they have received. They treat their parents with respect and reverence and do not disregard their guidance. They are also confident that when they need support, their parents will be there for them.

The deeper, inner meaning of this commandment can be explained through the following example. When we wish to connect with others through relations of bestowal and love, yet feel powerless, directionless, and lacking the strength to do so, we realize that we need guidance. When we feel this deficiency, while at the same time honoring and valuing the qualities of bestowal and love as the highest of all qualities, we begin to discover that there is a spiritual system above us, and it is designed to correct our egoistic nature and help us connect with each other.

This is a special system from which I can receive assistance. In the language of Kabbalah, this spiritual system is called “Father and Mother” (Abba ve Ima)

#SpiritualGrowth
Based on “New Life 159 – The Ten Commandments, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Full episode available here >> https://t.co/rI28DVGZcn

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

What Does the Fourth Commandment Really Mean?

The fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep It Holy,” means that we need to undergo a process of correction in order to reach a state of perfect connection. A correction takes place when we use our ego for the benefit of others instead of for self-benefit. By nature, we constantly think about ourselves. Now, however, we accept upon ourselves a new condition: that in all of our possibilities, i.e., in thought, feeling, and action, we work for the sake of others. We place ourselves at the service of the collective. This is what it means to correct ourselves.

We achieve such corrections gradually through stages called the “six weekdays.” Step by step, we become more connected to each other. Accordingly, as the ego continues growing, we need to strengthen our connection. Every time new “transgressions” or divisions are revealed between us, we cover them with love, as it is written, “Love covers all transgressions” (Proverbs 10:12).

This is how we eventually reach a state in which we have fully utilized our egoistic desires, and they become transformed into qualities of bestowal, love, and connection. At that point, we discover the force of bestowal and love in its fullness. This state is called “the Sabbath day.”

In short, the commandment “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” teaches us to always keep the state of Sabbath, which is a state of perfect connection, as our ultimate goal.

Based on “New Life 159 – The Ten Commandments, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Full episode available here >> https://t.co/rI28DVGZcn

#SpiritualGrowth #Love

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

What Does It Mean to Break the Third Commandment?

To “take the name of the Lord in vain” means engaging in various actions that are unrelated to building connection between us, while expecting them somehow to bring us into contact with the Creator, i.e., the upper force of love and bestowal. In other words, if we direct our efforts at anything other than positive human connection, our actions will ultimately be in vain.

Taking the name of the Lord in vain also means misunderstanding the concept of prayer. True prayer is the work of the heart. It is the effort to direct our hearts at connection with everyone and to cultivate love for all people. When we strive to do this and discover that we are incapable of it, a deficiency is formed within us, i.e., a gap between what we wish for and what we are actually able to achieve.

From this deficiency arises a genuine request: the desire to become capable of bestowal and love, the plea to acquire a “second nature” above our original egoistic nature.
#SpiritualGrowth

Based on “New Life 159 – The Ten Commandments, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Full episode available here >> https://t.co/rI28DVGZcn

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

What Is the Second Commandment in the Ten Commandments?

The second commandment states: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” This is the second law, teaching that we should not imagine the upper force in various forms or figures.

Instead, only what we attain in practice, through connections between people, can be considered the upper force that dwells within our connections.

In other words, it is only through mutual connection that we attain God, the higher force that has a nature of bestowal and love.

The general formula for spiritual development is: “From the love of others to the love of the Creator.” Only through love of others can we attain the highest form of love in reality, which is also called “love of the Creator.” Such is the attainment of the quality of pure love and bestowal.
#relationships

Based on “New Life 159 – The Ten Commandments, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Full episode available here >> https://t.co/rI28DVGZcn

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

Is “There Is None Else Besides Him” practical? We feel separate. We believe we are in control. But what if every desire, challenge, and joy is guiding us toward one discovery: there is a single force behind all of reality?

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

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In Kabbalah, the screen (Masach) is the inner force that allows us to receive—not for ourselves alone, but for the sake of bestowal. It transforms desire into an act of love.

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

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Imagine a society where warmth replaces division, responsibility replaces indifference, and care for one another becomes the norm. According to Kabbalah, that's the society of the future.

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

What if the greatest force in the universe isn’t what you do—but what you think? According to Kabbalah, reality begins with desire. Desire shapes thought, and thought guides action.

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

https://t.co/qey1g0Tqqk

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

Tisha B'Av: A Call to Unity in the People of Israel’s Final Exile

As we approach Tisha B’Av, the day commemorating the ruin of the Holy Temple and the shattering of our unity as a single entity, we face existential threats and witness a growing trend of Israelis wanting to leave the country. However, the people of Israel cannot go into exile again; we are in our last exile. This desire to leave Israel is not just a national issue but part of a more global yearning, with more and more people around the world wishing to escape the futile existence we have created for ourselves.

Rather than seeking to relocate, we should recognize the need to come together "as one man with one heart." We must understand that we are all parts of a single, integral system, and improving our lives requires enhancing our human connections.

Where do we see the preparation for the construction of the Third Temple in this picture? The preparation is that we have arrived in the physical Land of Israel, which is now essentially under our control, and we have the power to defend ourselves. While we now have this physical foundation, we should thus gradually develop the need to unite, to elevate our spiritual unity according to the tenet, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and we will then also merit the spiritual Land of Israel.

Today, Tisha B'Av should remind us that we must correct the shattered spiritual vessels—our divisions and hatred—by cultivating a sincere desire for unity. Recognizing our nation's shattered state is the first step toward its correction. According to the principle that good only emerges from evil, negative waves of hatred and internal conflicts must surface before they can be resolved.

Our correction lies in achieving unity at all levels. We, the people of Israel, must strengthen our unity above our divisive drives and inspire one another with positive examples of the unity that defines us as a nation. Today, more people and groups are open to the idea of unity above division and are willing to participate in this movement. By increasingly striving to unite, the force that desires unity and the positive force dwelling in nature that connects us will ultimately overcome the myriad forces of separation.

#Israel #Unity #SocialDiscord
Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on August 12, 2024. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

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In Kabbalah, music is more than sound—it's a spiritual language.
Melodies composed by Kabbalists arise from genuine spiritual attainment, carrying the power to awaken a deeper connection within ourselves and with one another.

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

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[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

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The vessel is the desire to receive pleasure. The Light is the fulfillment of that desire. Spiritual growth isn't about destroying the vessel—it's about transforming how we receive.

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

What Is God? Who Is God?

God is the nature we exist in, a force of love and bestowal. Kabbalists write about it, "There is none else besides Him," due to it being the single force within which we exist, and this force wants us to become like itself.

We can somewhat compare it to the dough. Imagine God, or the Creator, as the dough, and we are in the dough, like raisins. These raisins need to dissolve into the dough, to become like it, even though they remain as raisins throughout the process.

What does this transformation signify? The raisins represent our egoistic nature, i.e., that we are tiny egoistic dots that wish for self-benefit at every moment within the nature of the dough, which represents the nature of God or the Creator, an opposite nature of bestowal. Therefore, if we perform an act of bestowal toward our surroundings, toward each other, and eventually toward the Creator, it means that we are as one.

We then reach the state of oneness with God, adhesion with the Creator, balance with nature: by reaching "love your neighbor as yourself" among each other, we also arrive at the state of "love the Creator, your God." That is, both the dough and the raisins become as one. This is what we need to do.

It is the purpose of creation. We are constantly evolving to that final point, and we will need to either voluntarily wake up to align ourselves with nature’s goal and plan, or experience our further development under the so-called “evolutionary steamroller.” The force of the dough—God, the Creator, Nature—presses the raisins so that they feel bad if they do not start the process of connecting among themselves and with the dough, requesting and inviting its force of love and bestowal into their connection.
#Nature

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

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[Kabbalah Wisdom @Kabbalahinfo]

Want to learn more? Join our free Kabbalah course:
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The group holds you up when your own thoughts pull you down. Connection keeps you aligned with the path.

[Michael Laitman @laitman]

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