Midwest Book Review published a review on one of Dr. Michael Laitman’s latest books, Self Interest vs. Altruism in the Global Era: How Society Can Turn Self Interests into Mutual Benefit. The following is an excerpt from the review:

Stating that society’s future relies on cooperation of people to work together for society, stating that much of society’s degradation in recent decades has been the result of narcissism and greed, “Self Interest vs. Altruism” is a curious and recommended read for those who believe that optimism in human nature is not entirely lost.

Source: MidwestBookReview.com

Review by Peter Croatto, Foreword Reviews. Original is here.

With America’s education system in a state of disrepair—as evidenced in 2010′s critically acclaimed documentary Waiting for Superman—it’s clear that significant change is required in order for conditions to improve.

One radical plan comes from Dr. Michael Laitman, the founder and president of the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute. According to him, education must be tailored to the concept of a society where every aspect of the world is connected. Those who understand that and go along will survive. “The adults are still in a transition phase, while the children are already ripe for it,” Laitman writes.

This book is structured as a series of conversations between Laitman and co-author Ulianov, a professor of psychology at Aesthetic Education Institute in Moscow. Ulianov asks the questions and Laitman provides the answers, which illuminate his philosophy and the steps instructors, parents, and students can take. Though the material gets a little dense—after all, we are talking about rebuilding society—readers will leave with some significant matters to consider.

Laitman proposes a complete overhaul regarding how kids are currently prepared for the adult world. According to him, children need to build a relationship with real life, instead of just sitting behind a desk from ages six to eighteen—when they’re suddenly expected to be on their own. Students should also be exposed to life’s negative aspects, with examples such as touring prisons and rehabilitation centers, which will steer them toward an early adulthood with more perspective. That bit is essential, since Laitman advises that students start college at age thirteen. “A child has to be taught to self-develop, to observe himself and others, and how to communicate with others,” the author explains. “But the most important thing is to teach him to understand the world he lives in. A person has to understand his essence and his goal in life.”

It goes without saying that Laitman’s master plan will not satisfy everyone. However, what’s expressed in The Psychology of the Integral Society should also get people thinking about other possibilities. In solving any difficult problem, all perspectives need to be explored. As a society, we spend so much time competing and trying to get a leg up that the concept of simply working together sounds groundbreaking in itself—since Superman is still nowhere in sight.

This video animates the following quote from the book Bail Yourself Out: How You Can Emerge Strong from the World Crisis by Dr. Michael Laitman:

“Humanity, like the universe, is a perfect system comprised of myriad elements that interact with each other. Just as billions of galaxies make up the universe, billions of people combine to make up humanity. And just as there are stars, within each galaxy, there are people within nations and states. And the organs, tissue, and cells within each person’s body are like the planets, comets and asteroids orbiting their suns.

Expansion and contraction form the endless ebb and flow of life, propelled at one moment by the desire to give, and at the next moment by the desire to receive. Whether it is galaxies, suns, and planets merging to form our universe or cells, tissue, and organs combining to form a human being, this interplay of desires is at the heart of creation

As with the stars, Planet Earth evolved by expansion and contraction through the interaction of desires. When Earth was first formed, its surface reflected the flow of expansion and the ebb of contraction. Every time the desire to give prevailed, Earth’s sweltering interior would burst into rivers of malted lava. And every time the receiving force prevailed, the lava would cool and form new swaths of land. Eventually, a strong enough crust was formed over the Earth to allow for the emergence of life as we know it

If we search deep enough, we will find the same two forces—giving and receiving—within every being ever created, weaving their magnificent garment of life. In the weaving process, the desire to give first creates matter, as with the Big Bang or a newborn baby, and the desire to receive gives the matter shape, as with the stars and the differentiating cells in organism.”

Special Offer! Sign up for the upcoming Kabbalah fundamentals course & get the eBook Bail Youself Out: How You Can Emerge Strong from the World Crisis for free immediately upon sign up.

Now is a special time for the wisdom of Kabbalah. Never, throughout history, has there been such a widespread interest in the wisdom, creating an extraordinary opportunity to share Kabbalists’ insights with others.

In an age of a growing desire to discover life’s truth and the reasons behind all things, the wisdom of Kabbalah emerges to light the path to that reason. Its books connect people to the force that can lead us from the darkness of scarceness to the Light of Wisdom and the ability to confidently and successfully choose every step in life.

Kabbalah books allow us to reveal nature’s complete picture. With them, we can perceive eternity and unbounded fulfillment while living in this world.

Dedicated to sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah in this special time, KabbalahBooks.info is offering a 20% discount onbooks, CD, and DVD*.

“No one was ever granted the personal right of owning Nature. Quite the opposite: every person has to reveal Nature for him- or herself. Authentic texts explain the real meaning, and …this comes to the person from the genuine source.”

— Dr. Michael Laitman

Coupon code: LIGHT. To redeem the coupon enter this code into the promotional box at check out. Offer is not valid with other discounts.

*Sale applies to all books, CDs& DVDsin English & Russian only

Kabbalah Bookstore – August Specials

Until August 30, you have the opportunity to get two book packages at the cheapest prices ever:

1) Wisdom Gift Package – 7 books for Kabbalah beginners by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD

Contains:
1. From Chaos to Harmony: The Solution to the Global Crisis According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah
2. Bail Yourself Out: How You Can Emerge Strong from the World Crisis
3. Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life
4. Kabbalah for Beginners
5. A Guide to the Hidden Wisdom of Kabbalah
6. Kabbalah Revealed: A Guide to a More Peaceful Life
7. Together Forever: The Story About the Magician Who Didn’t Want to Be Alone

…for only $40. Click Here to Purchase.

2) Main Kabbalah Sources – 3 books that every regular Kabbalah student should have

Contains:
1. Kabbalah for the Student
2. Shamati (I Heard)
3. The Zohar: Annotations to the Ashlag Commentary

…for only $65. Click Here to Purchase.

Among all the texts and notes of Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag (the Rabash), there was one special notebook he always carried. This notebook contained the transcripts of his conversations with his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar and of many other works on Kabbalah.

Not feeling well on the Jewish New Year in September 1991, the Rabash summoned his prime disciple and personal assistant, Michael Laitman, to his bedside and handed him that notebook. Its cover contained only one word, Shamati (I Heard). As he handed the notebook, he said to Laitman, “Take it and learn from it.” The following morning, he perished in his student’s arms, leaving him and many of his other disciples without guidance in this world.

Committed to Rabash’s legacy to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah, Laitman published the notebook just as it was written, thus retaining the text’s transforming powers. Among all the books of Kabbalah, Shamati is a unique and compelling composition whose power persists long after the reading is through.

Shamati (I Heard):
* Free Download (PDF)
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* Read at Kabbalah Library

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Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute and the ARI Online Kabbalah Education Center is taking part in a book fair at Second Life, which finishes today, April 27. Visit the Bnei Baruch bookstand at the book fair today. Click here for more information about the book fair

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Rediscovering Our Unity

Originally, all people were internally connected. We felt and thought of ourselves as a single human being, and this is exactly how Nature treats us. However, despite our initial oneness, as our egoism grew we gradually lost the sensation of unity and became increasingly distant from each other.

Kabbalah books write that Nature’s plan is for our egoism to keep growing until we realize that we have become separated and hateful to one another. The logic behind the plan is that we must first feel as a single entity, and then become separated into egoistic and detached individuals. Only then will we realize that we are completely opposite from the Creator, and utterly selfish.

Moreover, this is the only way for us to realize that egoism is negative, unfulfilling, and ultimately hopeless. Our egoism separates us from each other and from Nature. But to change that, we must first realize that this is the case. This will bring us to want to change, and to independently find a way to transform ourselves into altruists, reconnected with all of humanity and with Nature—the Creator.

Read/Download the Book – Kabbalah Revealed: The Ordinary Person’s Guide to a More Peaceful Life:
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Kabbalah Explains the Bible

What does it take to author the greatest bestseller of all time? Apparently, it takes as much as discovering a world where there are no words at all, and finding words from our world to describe it. more…

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The Creator and The Creation

The inspirations contained in this book are derived from the works of authentic Kabbalists. Meaning, only Kabbalists who actually attained the spiritual levels of which they speak. The truth in these inspirations is clearly evident to those seeking the answer to the question, “What is my purpose?”

The Creator and The Creation: A Collection of Authentic Kabbalah Inspirations – compiled by Rob Taylor
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Together Forever

In Together Forever, the author tells us that if we are patient and endure the trials we encounter along our life’s path, we will become stronger, braver, and wiser. Instead of growing weaker, we will learn to create our own magic and our own wonders as only a magician can.

In this warm, tender tale, Michael Laitman shares with children and parents alike some of the gems and charms of the spiritual world. The wisdom of Kabbalah is filled with spellbinding stories. Together Forever is yet another gift from this ageless source of wisdom, whose lessons make our lives richer, easier, and far more fulfilling.

Together Forever by Michael Laitman
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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

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- Audio Version

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Kabbalah, Science & the Meaning of Life traces the milestones of the evolution of science with which we are familiar, such as Newton’s and Einstein’s theories but goes further to present the science of Kabbalah as the basis for understanding the hidden parts of reality which scientists are now discovering. While other sciences research the definable world around us, Kabbalah teaches us how the spontaneous changes occurring within us affect our surrounding reality. The wisdom of Kabbalah enables us to monitor those changes and control them, and in so doing change our world for the better.

Audio Files (MP3) – Every Link Is One of the Book’s Chapters:

* Foreword

Part I: Kabbalah Meets Quantum Physics

* Attendees of the San Francisco Conference
* Presenting Kabbalah
* The Nature of Matter
* The Giving Force and the Receiving Force
* Between Kabbalah and Science
* Quantum Theory
* The Credibility of Quantum Theory

Part II: The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah

* Striving for Balance
* The Structure of Reality

Part III: Perception of Reality

* Building the Spiritual Kli (Vessel/Tool)
* Perception Patterns
* Regaining Consciousness
* Picturing Reality

Part IV: Realizing the Spiritual Gene

* The Reshimo
* Revealed and Concealed
* Nature’s Laws
* Kabbalah – the Modern Science

Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life: Because Your Life Has Meaning
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A Video Clip About the Book Shamati (I Heard)

Shamati, the personal notebook of Rabbi Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (Rabash) who transcribed what he heard from talks by his teacher and father, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), has been fully translated into English and is downloadable as an MS Word file.

Click Here to Download the Full English Text Translation of Shamati (I Heard)

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Kabbalah for Beginners is a book for everyone who is seeking answers to life’s essential questions. We all have problems; we want to know why we are here, why there is pain and how we can make life more enjoyable.

The four parts of this book tell us exactly how the wisdom of Kabbalah came about, who discovered and developed it, and what they discovered. Afterwards, the book tells us about the world we live in and finally, it explains how we can make our lives better for ourselves and for our children.

Part One discusses the discovery of the wisdom of Kabbalah, and how it was developed, and finally concealed until our time.

Part Two introduces the gist of the wisdom of Kabbalah, using 10 easy drawings to help us understand the structure of the spiritual worlds, and how they relate to our world. These drawings are accompanied by explanatory texts that make understanding Kabbalah very easy.

Part Three reveals Kabbalistic concepts that are largely unknown to the public. For example: the Creator exists nowhere but within us; our senses reveal what they sense, not what is really out there; and reality is nothing but a reflection of our perception, and hence changes when we change.

Part Four elaborates on practical means you and I can take in order to make our lives here better and more enjoyable for us and for our children. It explains how we can implement Kabbalistic principles such as freedom of choice and the power of society, and thus become more whole and fulfilled individuals.

View/Download/Purchase Kabbalah for Beginners:
- PDF version
- MS Word version
- Purchase the Book from our Bookstore for only $7.00

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PART OF AN ENTRY SENT BY MARY DARE: I thought the Kabbalah had something to do with Numerology. Since I had never been good with numbers, I stayed away from it…

Numerology and Kabbalah

FROM THE BOOK: The term numerology did not exist in authentic Kabbalah; contemporary scholars linked the two. Although numerology is not an accurate term to describe Kabbalah’s treatment of numbers, there is probably no better word to use if you want to translate the Hebrew term Gimatria into English.

Gimatria, in simple terms, describes a Kabbalist’s experience of the divine. In Kabbalah, the ego performs Yihudim (unifications) with the Creator. The shape of Hebrew letters depicts such unifications through dots and lines over a white background. The dots and the lines symbolize the states of the Kabbalist, who perceives the Creator. The white background symbolizes the divine light, the Creator.

In Hebrew, each letter of the 22-letter alphabet is assigned a specific number… The correlation between letters and numbers created a way for Kabbalists to describe to each other what they experienced in a concise and accurate manner. For example, the word Nega (affliction) and the word Oneg (pleasure) have the exact same letters (in a different order) and, therefore, the same numeric value. The inversion in the order of letters indicates that when affliction is corrected (from egoism to giving), a person experiences pleasure.

p. 11 in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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A person can be old or young, have all sorts of qualities, be smart or foolish – this is not important. His soul operates beyond all these properties and its functioning does not depend on them. A person may not have a sharp mind, and still be a great Kabbalist, yet he also can be very successful, clever, but at the same time be an angry and rude person. more…

Happiness

Happiness does not always mean some event that puts a big smile on our faces. It means moving toward goals that help us live the kind of life we think is in our best interest at the time. So that is the sense in which our actions are always aimed at making ourselves “happy.” (p. 35, “The Pleasure and Pain Principle” from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah)

Do You Really Want Spirituality?

A famous story about the Ari’s students demonstrates just how ripe the Ari believed the time was. One day he said to his students, “If we all go to Jerusalem [they were in a different city then], we will bring the end of correction, and reach the highest degree. We need only do it together.” Alas, most people couldn’t come: one had a sick child, another couldn’t come to terms with his wife and she wouldn’t let him go, and another just didn’t have the energy for such a long walk. They stayed in their town, and the end of correction stayed away from us. But the Ari believed that it was possible. (p. 55, “Debunking the Myths” from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah)

Self-Examination

Kabbalists explain that all creations are sensing beings. In other words, all we have are our feelings and emotions. This is because the purpose of creation is for us to feel pleasure. Even our rationale exists only to justify, to rationalize our feelings. Therefore, if you want to study yourself, examine your emotions. See what gives you pleasure – you’ll be surprised, and not always pleasantly. (p. 160, “Kabbalah and Your Life” from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah)

Body and Soul

It’s not the body that needs correction. It’s the soul. (p. 181, “Praying with Results” from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah)

Altruism – Rising to the Challenge

In all this havoc of egoism, we are forgetting the roots of creation. We are one soul. It doesn’t matter how many innocent people die; we will still be one soul.

In writings that were given the name “The Last Generation,” Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag wrote that if we don’t change the course of events, we will experience a third and a fourth world war. The relics, he wrote, will still have to do the job and correct our egos. We must realize that there is a crisis, and we must deal with it in the only way possible: through rising to the level of nature’s altruism. (p. 245, “The Malady: Trapped in the Ego Cage” from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah)

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Following are some quotes of prominent Kabbalists to help inspire you during your day or before you go to sleep. Read them one at a time, then contemplate. There is no rush; these quotes work best when you think about them for a while.

“All of man’s engagements are guided by a single, intrinsic premise, and the internality dresses within all people. It is what they referred to as “Nature,” whose numeric count is the same as Elokim (God). And this is the truth that the Creator concealed from the philosophers.”
—Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lutzato (The Ramchal) (1707—1747), The Book of the War of Moses

“Man’s future will indeed come, in which he will evolve to such a sound spiritual state, that not only will every profession not hide another, but every science and every sentiment will reflect the entire scientific sea and the entire emotional depth, as this matter really is in the actual reality.”
—Rabbi Abraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (1865—1935), Orot Kodesh, A (Holy Lights, A)

“One who feels within, after several attempts, that one’s soul within is in peace only when engaging in the secrets of Torah, should know for certain that this is what one has been made for. Let no preventions—corporeal or spiritual—stop one from running to the source of one’s life and true wholeness.”
—Rabbi Abraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (1865—1935), Orot Kodesh, A (Holy Lights, A)

“The Torah was given to learn and to teach so that all will know the Lord, from least to greatest. We also find many books of Kabbalists alerting of the importance of the study of the wisdom that everyone must learn.”
—Rabbi Yitzhak Ben Tzvi Ashkenazi (???—1807), The Purity of Sanctity

“Indeed, if we set our hearts to answer but one very famous question, I am certain that all these questions and doubts will vanish from the horizon, and you will look unto their place to find them gone. This indignant question is a question that the whole world asks, namely, ‘What is the meaning of my life?’”
—Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) (1884—1954), The Study of the Ten Sefirot

“Even when one does not have the vessels, when one engages in this wisdom, mentioning the names of the Lights and the vessels related to one’s soul, they immediately shine upon us to a certain measure. However, they shine for him without clothing the interior of his soul for lack of the able vessels to receive them. Despite that, the illumination one receives time after time during the engagement draws upon one grace from above, imparting one with abundance of sanctity and purity, which bring one much closer to reaching perfection.”
—Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) (1884—1954), The Study of the Ten Sefirot

pp. 193-4, part “Kabbalah and Your Life,” chapter “Correction Is a Matter of Intention” in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD with Collin Canright.

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We are continuing to post responses to the “Misconceptions of Kabbalah” competition…

ENTRY SENT BY JANNET: My encounter with Kabbalah was when I went to the library and out of curiosity borrowed the book entitled “Qabbalah Magic.” It told of what magic you can achieve and things you can acquire by performing all these rituals. However I didn’t finish the book as I felt it wasn’t what I was looking for.

Myth: Kabbalah Is All About Magic

FROM THE BOOK: It is a common mistake for people to think that Kabbalah deals with fortune telling, revelations of the past, and the study of the present. The definition of Kabbalah is the revelation of the Creator to people in this world today, not after death. Perhaps some draw this parallel as a result of the perception of secrecy that surrounds Kabbalah.

Either way, Kabbalah has no connection to magic. In fact, Kabbalah forbids fortune telling or any attempt to find out about the destiny of the physical body. The body is temporary, negligible, and, thus, insignificant. It is not worthy of attention beyond the question of how it serves the soul.

pp. 55/6 in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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We will continue featuring various entries in the daily Kabbalah Blog posts (Click here to receive them in your e-mail) and in the newsletter (subscribe on the right of this screen).

The following entry, sent by David D. Garcia of New York, was chosen to receive the free copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah because it most closely fits the Jewish themes of this week’s newsletter and the new issue of Kabbalah Today.

WINNING COMPETITION ENTRY: As a Jew, my biggest misconception of Kabbalah before encountering Bnei Baruch was that I had to be fully ‘Torah Observant’ before being able study Kabbalah. I was always taught that one must have an extensive background in Torah and Talmud before even contemplating Kabbalah. I always accepted this because I had always assumed Kabbalah was ‘only for Jews’, and further, only for ‘observant’ Jews.

Once I learned through Bnei Baruch that it is essential for all people to study Kabbalah, this discovery made me begin to question my preconceived ideas of prerequisites to Kabbalah study. And it was through Bnei Baruch that I came to understand that Torah, and perhaps to a ‘lesser’ extent, Talmud, can only be properly understood through a Kabbalistic lens. This allowed me to dispel all my previously held ideas and begin to Kabbalah study in earnest. Thank you!

Myth: Kabbalah Is a Religion

FROM THE BOOK: This is a common misunderstanding, and one worth addressing from the start. The wisdom of Kabbalah is related to no other religion or belief. It does not deal with meditations, prophecies, questions of religion, or even one’s mental state. Religions, however, are combinations of rituals designed by humans to support them in their earthly existence. While religions such as Judaism and Christianity have similar concepts of the Upper World (heaven, the afterlife, etc.), much of religion teaches how humans should exist in this temporal world.

Kabbalah, however, is better thought of as a science, not a religion. As such, Kabbalah studies and provides a way of understanding of the essential core of humanity, the Higher World, the entire universe, and the Creator. The outcome of that study is the discovery that humankind wishes to become like the Creator. The wisdom of Kabbalah is the science of the system of creation and its management.

pp. 53/54 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah, by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD and Collin Canright.

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