May 18, 2008
Archive for December, 2007
December 20, 2007 at 4:40 am · Filed under Daily Lessons
From Today’s Daily Lesson
In the preparations for the 2008 International Kabbalah Congress, for the last two months Bnei Baruch’s daily lessons have focused a lot on Baal HaSulam’s and Rabash’s articles about the society as a factor for spiritual attainment (see the Must-Read Sources section of the Kabbalah.info Congress 2008 section for abbreviated versions of these articles).
In addition to these articles, today’s 3rd part of the lesson was based on Rav Laitman’s recent arrangement of Baal HaSulam’s writings of the Last Generation.
Unlike the articles studied over the past two months, the writings of the Last Generation are a collection of Baal HaSulam’s unpublished handwritings on the subject of human society in its final, corrected state. These writings have already formed the basis for the book Dor HaAcharon (Hebrew for The Last Generation), which is currently available only in Hebrew.
Selected parts of these writings were arranged by Rav Laitman with the aim of spiritually preparing Bnei Baruch students for the 2008 International Kabbalah Congress.
Today’s lesson was the first in a daily series of lessons based on these writings.
Download Today’s Lesson: wmv video | mp3 audio [56:38]
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December 19, 2007 at 6:17 am · Filed under Events
The official site of the 2008 International Kabbalah Congress has been launched. This site provides:
* News & Updates - All the latest news, updates and opportunities to participate in preparation for the congress
* Your First Kabbalah Congress? - If this will be your first Bnei Baruch Kabbalah congress, then here you can find out what to expect
* Preparation Material - Material you need in order to prepare for the congress, constantly updating
* Information - All the details about location and schedule
* Registration - Everything you need in order to book yourself a place at the congress
What Is an International Kabbalah Congress?
An International Kabbalah Congress is a gathering of Kabbalah students who meet from all parts of the world to participate in mutual lessons with Kabbalist Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, discussions, seminars, workshops, Yeshivot Haverim (Friends’ Gatherings), meals, songs and other activities with the aim of increasing the spiritual connection between one another, and humanity at large. more…
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December 13, 2007 at 4:41 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
Ecology and Us
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 10
“We are facing a true planetary emergency. It is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity,” former Vice President Al Gore dramatically stated when he accepted his Noble Peace Prize.
But once the curtain came down on the glimmering award ceremony, a question arose: Will our increasing environmental awareness save us from the ecological crisis? more…
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December 10, 2007 at 8:53 am · Filed under Interviews
L. Novozhenov: You have said that a person, who is in balance with the laws of nature, does not get sick. This person doesn’t die either? If one doesn’t get sick, means that one doesn’t die?
M. Laitman: Death is not the consequence of an illness. Death is a natural period of time that exists for the purpose of limiting the carrying out of man’s mission on a certain stage of his egoistic development. There are different periods and types of death. Someday we will be able to speak about these states in more detail. But these periods do not depend on illnesses. One can be healthy, but gradually animalistic egoism burns out. Why does a person die? He exhausts his egoism. Man no longer wishes to keep fulfilling it.
L. Novozhenov: If you want to live a long life—be an egoist!
M. Laitman: Let’s say so. Old age comes when egoism burns out, it wants less and less. But why? It is a mistake to think that in order to continue to live it is necessary to have a large egoism. Man’s disappointment and decay happen because he no longer can fulfill himself egoistically and naturally. Egoistic desires cannot be satisfied through natural means. A person buys a car, an apartment, it doesn’t matter what—at most one week later his pleasure from the things that he has acquired disappears, everything becomes plain. Or a person was hungry, he finally reaches food, he swallows several pieces, and that’s it, his pleasure disappears. In order to extend the pleasure, man must switch to something else.
When pleasure enters the desire egoistically, it nullifies it, and pleasure stops being perceived as pleasure. Egoism deadens itself. This is the secret and the cause of our death. If, when acting this way, we would not draw death near, then we would experience immortality.
What does “immortality” mean? We would not perceive the death of our biological body as the death of our own “I.” Man would have a sensation of the eternal flow of information, matter, his own “I.” Even before the death of the body we would stop relating ourselves to it. Because “I” is not a biological body. “I” is a different, spiritual one. One can replace all of the organs of the body, but my “I” will remain my “I.” A body is nothing but a jacket, a machine. Once we used to think that the “I” is a person’s heart. Now we think that maybe it’s the mind, the consciousness. Soon we will be able to replace people’s heads, and it will be the same, we will not discover anything new. The person’s “I” remains.
When the desire becomes altruistic it will not fade away under the influence of the pleasure that is being received, and man will be able to perceive immortality. One who studies Kabbalah attains this state, he ascends to the level of the eternal flow of information, relates his “I” to this eternal flow. And the death of the body is like a change of shirt. more…
Society’s Approval Is the Greatest Award - Rav Michael Laitman, PhD interviewed by writer, journalist, and popular Russian TV anchor, Lev Novozhenov, Sept. 5, 2006.
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December 9, 2007 at 8:36 am · Filed under Kabbalah Today
Every autumn, flocks of storks fly on their way south. Their journey over land and sea covers a great distance.
They begin from cold northern lands and migrate south towards warm Africa. Next autumn, look up at the sky and you’ll see the V-shaped flock.
Why do they fly in a V? When a bird flaps its wings, it creates momentum that eases the flight of the bird behind it. This is why the V-shape lets the flock cover a much greater distance than one bird could ever do alone.
And another interesting fact: When one of the storks falls out of the flock because it is weak or hurt, two other storks immediately fly beside it to help and protect their fellow flyer.
They remain with the weak bird until it is strong enough to fly again, and only then do they rejoin the flock.
What can we learn from the storks’ flight?
People who have a common goal will reach it faster and more easily if they join together in a group. Each member will help another, and together they’ll move forward better than apart. This is why Kabbalists have always studied in groups.
- Read the Original Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 10
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December 7, 2007 at 7:46 am · Filed under Books
When Rabbi Nahum of Ruzhin, a Kabbalist of the last century, found his students playing checkers, he told them of the similarity between the rules of the game at hand and the rules of spirituality: first of all, you cannot make two moves simultaneously; secondly, you can move forward but not backward; thirdly, one who reaches the end can move as one likes, according to one’s desires.
If we believe that someone is talking about us, we become interested in what they are saying. That which is desired but is concealed is known as a “secret.” If we read the Bible and feel that it is talking about us, then we are considered to have begun studying the hidden wisdom of Kabbalah, where we will read about ourselves, although we are not yet aware of this.
As we progress on the spiritual path, we will realize that the Bible speaks about us, and then the Bible will transform from being concealed to being revealed. Those who read the Bible without posing questions about themselves cannot discern in the Bible either the hidden or the revealed parts; to those individuals, the Bible appears simply as a historical account or a collection of legal statutes.
pp. 270-1 of the book Attaining the Worlds Beyond by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD
- Free Download (PDF)
- Purchase
- Audio Version
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December 6, 2007 at 6:51 am · Filed under Daily Lessons, Einstein
From Today’s Daily Lesson
Albert Einstein as a Child
Schoolchildren love to hear the story (turned myth) about Albert Einstein getting bad grades at school, thinking that they can too sit back, get bad grades, and still be a genius afterwards. In today’s daily lesson on a section from Baal HaSulam’s article “Peace in the World,” called “Practical Difficulties in Determining the Truth,” Rav Michael Laitman, PhD used Einstein’s school grades as an example of how humanity does not have the scales of measurement to evaluate a person properly, because we ultimately do not know what a person is supposed to be.
The main problem is that we create our scales of measurement out of a lack of sensing a person’s soul, of who is a person, what is each person’s role within the system of souls, what particular condition is one currently in and what is one’s duty toward the interconnected system of souls. A proper scale of measurement for evaluating each person and oneself needs to take all these parameters into consideration.
Download the Full Lesson: wmv video | mp3 audio
Watch the Daily Lessons Live at Kabbalah TV
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December 6, 2007 at 12:23 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
The Consumer Effect
Feature Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 10
The globalization of economics means that any local market is inextricably tied to the global economy. The ongoing dollar decline, lately spurred by changes in China’s market, clearly demonstrates how interdependent the world’s markets have become. We have to discover the right way to act within an interconnected system—and what’s a better example to study than Nature, the mother of perfect, integral systems? more…
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December 4, 2007 at 9:07 am · Filed under Kabbalah Today
Kabbalah Today Issue 10
In this month’s issue of Kabbalah Today:
* The Consumer Effect - Learning from Nature to optimize our globalization of economics.
* Ecology and Us - Will our increasing environmental awareness save us from the ecological crisis?
* Storks and Teamwork - Why do storks fly in a V?
* I Saw a Reversed World - Does reality exist without us? Or is it a picture created within us, depending on our inner qualities?
* Kabbalah Is Not Philosophy - “My teacher, Pythagoras, the father of philosophy, took his teaching from Kabbalists…”
* After 5,000 Years, It’s About Time to Meet the Master Planner - Becoming equal with the Master Planner is the purpose of creation
* Interview with Rav Michael Laitman, PhD - Questions answered by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD–from an interview with New Jersey’s “Courier Post”
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December 2, 2007 at 7:48 am · Filed under Notices
Including 3 new courses starting in December
www.kab.tv/eng
All times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST) unless otherwise noted
Daily Lessons with Rav Michael Laitman, PhD
Sundays to Fridays - 6 Days a Week
8:20pm - 9:15pm - 1st Lesson
9:15pm - 10:00pm - 2nd Lesson
10:00pm - 11:00pm - 3rd Lesson
Sunday Beginner Virtual Lesson Series with Rav Michael Laitman, PhD
NEW Lesson Series starts December 9, 2007 based on articles of Baal HaSulam
Sundays
9:00am - 10:30am
World Assembly of Friends (Yeshivat Haverim)
Sundays
12:00 noon - 1:00pm
Beginner Lessons for Israelis in the U.S. East Coast
NEW Course Starts December 9, 2007 (no lessons until then)
Sundays
2:00pm - 3:30pm
Beginner Lessons for Israelis in the U.S. West Coast*
NEW Course Starts December 10, 2007 (no lessons until then)
Mondays
* 8:30pm - 11:00pm (PST)
11:30pm - 1:00am (EST)
Lectures with Rav Michael Laitman, PhD at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center, Israel
Tuesdays
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Fridays
2:00am - 4:00am
‘Ask the Kabbalist’ - Rav Michael Laitman, PhD answers questions from the public
Thursdays
1:30pm - 2:30pm
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