what does it mean to be jewish - newbie · pdf filewhat does it mean to be jewish today?...

What Does it MEAN to Be

JEWISH

Today?

Selected Media Essays

by Michael Laitman

1 Free Online Course at bundleofreeds.com

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbundleofreeds.com&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHgxbBY7kLzwMeuJD1oKa1qXsbNgQ

About the Author

Michael Laitman is a Professor of Ontology, a PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah, and an MSc in Medical BioCybernetics. He was the prime disciple of Kabbalist, Rav Baruch Ashlag (the RABASH). Prof. Laitman has written over 40 books, translated into dozens of languages; he is the founder and president of the ARI Institute, and a sought after

speaker.

His latest book, Like A Bundle of Reeds, explains the root, cause and solution to antiSemitism. This ebook presents a collection of his online

essays which relate to material presented in his book.

He can be reached through: http://www.michaellaitman.com


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bundleofreeds.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEigUDSlohDPe-_RawziRC3lKbDPA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaellaitman.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGC-z88lCn4pGYZ9CLXZqrgjhzAtg



Table of contents

About the Author …………………………………………………………………………..2 Table of contents ………………………………………………………………………….3 Section 1: About Michael Laitman

Chapter 1 : Why I Am Driven To Awaken The Jews ……………………………...6 Chapter 2 : How I Found My Kabbalah Teacher One Rainy Night …………….11 In Bnei Brak Chapter 3 : The Struggle to Stop Fighting ………………………………………..18 Chapter 4: Who Wants to Be Elevated? …………………………………………. 22 Chapter 5 : Free Course About the Root of AntiSemitism ……………………..24

Section 2: What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today? Chapter 6 : 10 Things You Ought to Know About Being Jewish …………….....27 Chapter 7: Two Streams: Altruistic vs. SelfCentered …………………………...29 Chapter 8: Jews Must Set Example of Unity to the Nations …………………….31

Who Are You, People of Israel? Where We Are and Where We Come From Two Solutions to the Crisis The Basis of the People of Israel Israel Means Straight to the Creator Exile The Roots of AntiSemitism Mandatory Disclosure of the Wisdom Unity Is the Solution

Chapter 9: Why Jews Are Feeling the Heat ……………………………………....36 Chapter 10: What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today? .………………………..38 Chapter 11: We the Jews Ain’t Special, So Why Is Everybody ………………...39 Pointing the Finger at Us?

Section 3: Recent Trip to the USA Chapter 12 : My Visit to Los Angeles ……………………………………………...43 Chapter 13: What Churchill Has to Do with My Open Lecture in LA …………..45 Chapter 14: AntiSemitism Just the Tip of the Iceberg ………………………...47 Chapter 15: The World is Ready for the Message of Unity ……………………..50 Chapter 16: My Trip to Los Angeles and DC ……………………………………..52

Section 4: The Deeper Reasons Behind World Events Chapter 17 : If Every Day Were Black Friday …………………………………….54 Chapter 18: A Strategy for Peace in the Middle East …………………………....56



Chapter 19: Meeting of Minds at JTimes ………………………………………….58 Chapter 20: Ferguson Is Our Fault (Or Is It?) …………………………………….61 Chapter 21: ISIS's Search for Meaning …………………………………………...63 Chapter 22: What ISIS Offers Young Western Europeans, …………………….65 Which Europe Doesn’t Chapter 23: Jews and France—Where Do We Go from Here? ………………..67 Chapter 24: Terrorist Attacks in France Attempt on Its Foundations ………...69 Chapter 25: Beyond Charlie Hebdo ……………………………………………….70 Chapter 26 : We Don’t Need a Nation State Bill, We’ve Got One! …………….72 Chapter 27: Ebola Isn't a Disease; It's a Symptom ……………………………...73

Section 5: Things You Didn't Know about the Jewish Holidays Chapter 28: Let Us Be a Light unto the Nations This Hanukkah ……………....77 Chapter 29: A Holiday Full of Light ………………………………………………..78 Chapter 30: Five Things You Never Knew About Hanukkah …………………..80 Chapter 31: What is a Miracle? …………………………………………………...81 Chapter 32: Maccabees vs. Greeks, Round II …………………………………..84



Section 1: About Michael Laitman



Chapter 1 : Why I Am Driven To Awaken The Jews

I was born in August 1946 in the city of Vitebsk, Belarus. It was the second summer after the end of World War Two, and life was sluggish, hobbling back toward the affable monotony of normalcy. Being the firstborn of a dentist father and a gynecologist mother, I had a rather carefree childhood, conveniently growing up in a suburban neighborhood, untroubled by the material concerns that preoccupied most of my childhood friends. And yet, a shadow followed through my childhood years, and even through my teens. It was the specter of the Holocaust, that thing which many chose never to mention, though it was always there. Names of family members or of friends who perished were mentioned in a somber tone, giving them an uncanny presence, as though they were still with us, although I knew they weren’t. And odder still was the revulsion of my Russian peers toward Jews. Children I grew up with hated Jews simply because they were Jews. They knew what had happened to their Jewish neighbors just over a year ago, but they were as sardonic and unsympathetic as before the war, so I was told by elders. This, I could not understand. Why were they so hateful? What unforgivable wrong had Jews ever done to them? And where did they learn those libels and horror stories about the things that Jews might do? As would be expected from the son of parents in medical professions, I took up a medical profession as my career “of choice.” I studied medical biocybernetics, a science that explores the systems of the human body, and I became a scientist, a researcher at the St. Petersburg Blood Research Institute. And while fantasizing myself beaming with pride on the pulpit in Stockholm, Sweden, the winner of a Nobel Prize, a deeper passion I’d been harboring has been edging toward the surface of my consciousness. “I want to understand the system,” I began to think, “to know how everything works.” But most of all, I began to ponder why everything was the way it was. As a scientist at heart, I began to search for scientific answers that could explain everything, not just how to calculate the mass of an object or the acceleration of its fall, but what caused that object to exist in the first place.



And since I could not find an answer in science, I decided to move on. After being a refusenik (Soviet Jews who were denied permission to emigrate abroad) for two years, I finally got my permit and left for Israel in 1974. In Israel, I kept searching for the meaning and the reason behind everything. Two years after I arrived in Israel, I began to study Kabbalah. But it was not until February, 1979 that I had found my teacher, the Rabash, the firstborn son and successor of Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag, known as Baal HaSulam (Owner of the Ladder) for his Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. Finally, my prayers were answered. Each day, each hour new revelations dawned on me. The pieces of the puzzle of reality fell into place one at a time, and a coherent picture of the world began to form before me, as though the mist itself was taking shape before my awestruck eyes. My life had been transformed and I immersed myself in the study and in assisting the Rabash in any way I could. I was fortunate enough to be able to support my family with just a few hours of work each day, and dedicate the rest of my time to absorbing the wisdom as much as I could, and as deeply as I could. To me, it was a dream reality. I had a wonderful family, I lived in a country where I really felt free. I made a good living with ease, and I had found the answers to my lifelong questions. One of those persistent questions was the one about the hatred of the Jews. In Kabbalah I have discovered why it happens, why it is persisting, and most importantly, what must be done to heal it. Indeed, antiSemitism is a sore in the heart of humanity, an echo of an unhealed pain that the world has been carrying for almost 4,000 years, since Abraham, our Patriarch, left Babylon. Kabbalah has taught me that Abraham had proposed to his people to unite and be once more of “one language and of one speech” (Genesis 11:1) as they had been before, and that King Nimrod, Babylon’s ruler at the time, prevented Abraham from circulating his idea. Gradually, I came to see that what the world now needs is that same unity, that camaraderie and mutual guarantee that Abraham had developed with his group and progeny, and that King Nimrod had stopped him from endowing upon his Babylonian brothers and sisters.



One morning lesson, my teacher, the Rabash, taught me Baal HaSulam’s “Introduction to the Book of Zohar.” At the end of it, Baal HaSulam wrote that unless the Jews endow the world with the knowledge and the guidance toward unity, the nations of the world will loathe the Jews, humiliate them, drive them out from the land of Israel, and torment them wherever they are. I had read that unfathomable essay before, but that morning it made a deeper impact on my soul. I felt another stage in my development emerging from within. Later that day we went to Kfar Saba, a small town near Tel Aviv, to a Kolel (Jewish seminary) named after my esteemed mentor. In the basement, the Rabash showed me a medium size cardboard box filled to the brim with handwritten pieces of paper. He asked if I could take it to the car and bring it back to his house. I put the box in the trunk, and on the way back I asked him what were those papers in it. Unceremoniously, he muttered, “Some old manuscripts of Baal HaSulam.” I looked at him, but he looked straight at the road ahead and kept silent all the way back. That night, the lights were on in Baruch Ashlag’s kitchen all night long. I stayed there and meticulously read through every piece of paper until I found one that would let me search no more. It was the piece of the puzzle I was looking for without even knowing it. It was the capstone, the first step in the march I was to take henceforth. The paper I had found, which is now part of Baal HaSulam’s “The Writings of the Last Generation,” told a tale of agony and thirst, love and friendship, deliverance and commitment. Here are the words that I found: “There is an allegory about friends who were lost in the desert, hungry and thirsty. One of them had found a settlement filled abundantly with every delight. He remembered his poor brothers, but he had already drawn far off from them and did not know their place. …He began to shout out loud and blow the horn; perhaps his poor, hungry friends would hear his voice, approach and come to that abundant settlement filled with every delight. “So is the matter before us: we have been lost in the terrible desert along with all of humanity, and now we have found a great, abundant treasure, namely the books of Kabbalah. They fulfill our yearning souls and fill us abundantly with lushness and agreement. “We are satiated and there is more, but the memory of our friends left hopelessly in the terrible desert remains deep within our hearts. The distance is great, and words cannot



bridge between us. For this reason, we have set up this horn to blow loudly so that our brothers may hear and draw near and be as happy as we. “Know, our brothers, our flesh, that the essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah consists of the knowledge of how the world came down from its elevated, heavenly place, to our ignoble state. …It is therefore very easy to find in the wisdom of Kabbalah all the future corrections destined to come from the perfect worlds that preceded us. Through it we will know how to correct our ways henceforth. “Imagine, for example, that some historic book were to be found today, which depicts the last generations ten thousand years from now, describing the comportment of both individuals and society. Our leaders would seek out every counsel to arrange life here accordingly, and we would come to ‘no outcry in our broad places.’ Corruption and the terrible suffering would cease, and everything would come peacefully to its place. “Now, distinguished readers, this book lies here before you in a closet. It states explicitly the entire wisdom of statesmanship and the conducts of private and public life that will exist at the end of days. It is the books of Kabbalah, where the corrected worlds are set. …Open these books and you will find all the good comportments that will appear at the end of days, and you will find within them the good lessons by which to arrange mundane matters today as well. “…I can no longer restrain myself. I have resolved to disclose the conducts of correction of our definite future that I have found by observation and by reading in these books. I have decided to go out to the people of the world with this horn, and I believe and estimate that it shall suffice to gather all those deserving to begin to study and delve in the books. Thus they will sentence themselves and the entire world to a scale of merit.” About a year after finding these papers, I published my first three books with my teacher’s guidance and support. I have been publishing books ever since, and I have circulated Kabbalah by numerous other means, as well. Today’s reality is very harsh, and people often have no patience or desire to delve in books, as Baal HaSulam imagined it. But the essence of the wisdom, the love, and the unity that are the foundations of reality, and which Kabbalah installs in its practitioners, remain as valid as they have always been. Moreover, since approximately the turn of the century, antiSemitism has been rising once again, and this time the world over. The specter of the hatred of the Jews has



taken root worldwide. Spreading stealthily and venomously, it is threatening to infest entire nations with Judeophobia, and repeat the horrors of the past. But now we know it, and we know the cure. Whenever Jews unite, the serpent hides its head. The spirit of camaraderie and mutual responsibility has always been our “weapon,” our shield against adversities. Now we should muster it, cloak ourselves with it, and let its healing warmth surround us. And once we have done so, we must share that spirit with the rest of the world, as this is our vocation—the essence of our being “a light for the nations.”

Because we all need answers to our deepest questions, because deep inside all Jews want to know the cure for antiSemitism, and because it is the patrimony of my teacher and my teacher’s great teacher and father, I have decided to detail what I have learned from them. They taught me what it means to be a Jew, what it means to be committed, and what it means to share. But most of all, they taught me what it means to love like the Creator. “If a person takes a bundle of reeds, he cannot break them all at once. But taken one at a time, even an infant will break them. Just so, Israel will not be redeemed until they are all one bundle.” Midrash Tanhuma, Nitzavim, Chapter 1 This chapter was taken from the introduction

to my latest book that you can download for free at bundleofreeds.com This article originally appeared online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fbundleofreeds.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEsdWzq-dg3b-MuxjfPLuYFkQ9xbA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fwhy-i-am-driven-to-awaken-the-jews%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE1A1zZ8zKAK332xtjkfWj0V5YEYg


Chapter 2 : How I Found My Kabbalah Teacher One Rainy Night

In Bnei Brak

A few years ago I had the honor of being interviewed by bestselling author William Simon (view the clip) for an autobiography about my life. We never actually completed the book, but you can read an excerpt below about how I found my teacher: Michael and his family were now settled in Israel, living a penthouse lifestyle with a housekeeper, a garden fountain, and many enviable hightech conveniences. He and Olga had chosen the comfort of Rehovot, twenty miles south of Tel Aviv, where they could hear the sounds of the night and see the galaxies without shrill interferences from city lights or sirens. After two years of work with F4 Phantom fighter aircraft, Michael could breathe easily—he had completed his required military service. The dental clinic was successfully producing a dependable and attractive income. And he was wealthy enough to own an imported large black Buick sedan. Many people would have put their feet on a desk and said, “I’ve made it.” But not this man. In the silence of Rehovot, Michael was still in distress over the same questions that had kept his life in turmoil for so many years. Then came a day at the dental clinic in 1978 when a cleanshaven man showed up for an appointment. He arrived at a time when Michael was busy trying to repair one of the clinic’s machines. Chaim Malka had the chiseled bone structure of a European though he was from Morocco. Despite being collegeeducated, he held a job as a factory maintenance technician. Gentle and helpful, Chaim announced that his dental work could wait and pitched in to help Michael with the repair job. Talking while they worked, the two men discovered a shared interest in Kabbalah. Soon they started getting together in the evenings to read Kabbalah in each other’s company. By this time Michael could hold his own in conversational Hebrew but still struggled with the ancient, Biblical version of the language. Chaim began reading out loud so the two could keep pace. The nightly sessions quickly became their driving focus—five hours at a stretch, five nights a week.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kabbalah.info%2Fengkab%2Fkabbalah-video-clips%2Fthe-house-in-the-orchard%23.VDrOwVcxijQ&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGFBPKKJZepStVPPZWfKwWrxWRzlg


The pair of dedicated seekers examined the ancient Kabbalah texts, puzzling over every sentence. They asked each other questions and shared possible interpretations. They kept trying, hoping to find some small truths they could unravel. But only in popularized versions offering superficial observations could they grasp meaning. These simplistic writings didn’t provide the depth these seekers needed; the words were entirely lacking in anything scientific—like reading comicbook versions of classic literature. Yet whenever they went back to the classic Kabbalah, they hit another stone wall. There was a huge gap between where we were and where the books were. We couldn’t bridge it. Stunned from all sides, left feeling helpless, Michael haunted the bookstores of Israel buying everything on Kabbalah he could find. He went through periods of despair strong enough to make him feel like giving up. But the desire kept renewing, compelling him to continue the effort. For Chaim the compulsion wasn’t as strong but he loyally stuck it out. The two traveled together to visit various Kabbalah teachers, one after another. Michael saw that Chaim was more tolerant of the Kabbalah instructors they met. If a teacher was unable to provide proof, Chaim was soft in his criticism while Michael’s reactions were impatient and demanding. “My character hasn’t changed since I was a child. I’m extreme in focusing on obtaining my goal, hardly able to think about anything else. The rest of life is secondary. Even when I was with my family, I was thinking about the purpose of life. I could sense that the issue was about the forces that manage our world and I had a gut feeling that the answers were in Kabbalah.” They were frustrated at not being able to unlock those answers. In time Michael came to realize that when nature gives you such a desire to know the truth about life, it also provides the means to find the answer. This was the fuel that stoked his motivation to keep searching. Michael found a respected teacher of Kabbalah in Jerusalem. He and Chaim studied with this Kabbalist almost every evening for six months, even though it was an hour and



a half drive each way. Today Michael says of the experience, I gained nothing that stayed with me. He no longer remembers for certain how long the two friends wrestled with the Kabbalah texts on their own and sought help from teachers who had no valid answers to offer. At least two years, he thinks. Maybe three. One evening, on an impulse, Michael set his mind on the one thing he could think of that he and Chaim had not yet tried. Some twenty miles to the north was the town of Bnei Brak, known for its orthodox population. Perhaps there they could find someone able to explain Kabbalah in a rational manner. Chaim agreed and on the spot the two of them bundled themselves up and stepped out into the cold, blustery winter night. They got into Michael’s car, shared the hope that the heater would start working quickly, and began the thirty minute drive to their hopedfor enlightenment. Rain was pouring down as they drove past a handful of nondescript stores into a town so small it was marked by only two crossroads. Now eight o’clock at night, the streets were all but deserted in the frosty darkness. Would this trail lead nowhere? Just another useless drive? Another night wasted? A lone man was out on the street, one of the very orthodox, dressed all in black. Michael stopped the car, wound down a window, and called out a question mostly as a joke, a sour attempt at humor in a mood of desperation. “Where do you study Kabbalah around here?” It was an absurdist moment equivalent to asking a stranger in New York City, “Do you know my Uncle Max?” Even in an Orthodox Jewish setting, in Israel, the idea that some random stranger would have an answer to such a question was ridiculous. Worse, one simply doesn’t ask a question like this of an Orthodox stranger on the street. For the Orthodox, Kabbalah is the opposite of religion. But the man in black responded as if the request were an everyday thing. “Turn left and go all the way down,” the man said. “When you reach the orchard, you will see a house on your left.” Following the man’s directions, they arrived at an orchard of orange trees. And there was the house, situated just as the man had described, but tucked away and decrepit, looking like a scene from a horror movie.



“After one exerts in every possible way, he is ultimately brought to the right place,” Michael says. They parked and walked up to the house. All was dark inside. The place seemed vacant. Winddriven rain splattered in through broken windows. The two agreed the search was futile. Suddenly they spied a single beam of light coming from under one of the doors. Michael boldly threw open the door to reveal a half a dozen old men dressed in the traditional black suits of the Orthodox, each with an immaculate white beard. Against the bitter cold of the unheated room, all of the men were bundled into heavy sweaters, wearing black gloves, and with scarves wound round their necks. Old wooden chairs were pulled up to a battered table with cracks so big they could have propped a book in them to use as a bookstand. At one end of the table, in a solid armchair and with a carved pedestal for resting his book, sat a man to whom all the others deferred. No one seemed surprised at the sudden arrival of the two strangers. “We heard that we could study Kabbalah here,” Michael announced. Without a word, the leader gestured that they should take seats. The men continued to read by the light of a single overhead fluorescent lamp, exchanging very few words. It was not at all a kind of study that Michael had come to expect. The leader was not explaining, the others were not questioning, probing, or seeking. Just reading. When they did speak a few words, Michael recognized the tongues as Yiddish and the longunused language of ancient times, Aramaic. He spoke neither, nor did Chaim. After observing this curious scene for a few minutes, Michael gave in to his customary impatience, nudged Chaim, and gestured with his head: “Let’s go.” Chaim, ever the kind gentleman, whispered that it would be impolite to leave. Michael grumbled his agreement to wait. The session ended not long after. The leader, whom the others addressed as “Rabash,” asked Michael and Chaim where they were from, what work they did, and what they wanted. Their answers seemed to satisfy him. In Hebrew he said, “Give me your phone numbers, I will fix you up with a teacher.” Chaim gave his number but Michael was so disappointed and put off by what he had seen that he didn’t even bother.



The pair had not succeeded on their mission. On the way home, with the howling wind echoing their feelings of emptiness, Michael complained bitterly about this failed attempt, like so many others. One after another, the teachers had all proved to be just storytellers who had no answers for their questions. And this group was even worse. They were all so old—six ancient men, what could they offer? The next day at work Michael answered the phone to hear Chaim’s excited voice. The old man had called as he promised. He had decided on a teacher for them, someone who would speak to them in Hebrew. Michael said there was no point in going back. It was just another waste of time. But Chaim had been trained in a yeshiva, a religious school, and so had a natural reverence for religious people. He argued that they should try it at least for a while. When Michael held out, he begged. Against his better judgment but for the sake of their friendship, Michael gave in. They returned that same evening, driving the thirty minutes again in darkness though this time in better weather. Arriving at the house, they met the teacher who had been assigned to them. Michael was not reassured. As the man led them to another room, Michael took his measure. He was about sixtyfive or seventy, short and bent, illlooking, with red eyes and the obligatory white hair and beard. The man introduced himself as Hillel Gelbshtein and invited the pair to address him by his first name. Out of deference they called him “Rav Hillel,” using a traditional title of respect. Later Michael would learn that Gelbshtein was the modest grandson of the man who had started the Jewish religious movement, Chabbad. Hillel left the Chabbad movement at age eighteen after being introduced to Kabbalah and had since then dedicated his life to the study of it. Gelbshtein had brought copies of the Zohar and a companion book, volume one of The Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, for each of his two new students. He began teaching them from the Wisdom volume. Michael braced himself: he and Chaim had already been through this very book—not once but several times. They had not understood a thing. “But when Rav Hillel opened the book and started explaining, within the first paragraph or two I suddenly felt my eyes and heart opening. His vocabulary didn’t contain anything about “believing,” or what you “must do.” Instead, it was a precise, scientific explanation of the structure of reality, the laws that operate in this world and in the spiritual world.



Within two minutes, it was obvious that what he was telling us was logical and real. I felt within that nature was really operating the way he was describing, and that I and all humans were functioning that way. His words were without emotion, but because of the accuracy of his explanation of nature, I found them very, very moving. I was burning with excitement. Numerous contradictions I had not been able to reconcile suddenly came together. He was putting the pieces together. He was creating a colorful mosaic. My disappointment was transformed into delight. I felt washed with a joy unlike anything I had ever felt, a sense of relief and warm satisfaction. I became filled with fierce excitement. At last life felt like it was worth living. My attitude to life and to the world improved. I even became more tolerant of people I realized I had been difficult with. Every day I woke up with a feeling of joy, burning with desire to get to my lesson, listening to my recording of the lessons in the car on the way, thinking constantly about how the things I was hearing corresponded to everything that I had learned of science and medicine. I began to understand myself. I began to understand all the past years of my search. And I began to understand how this connected me with all of human history. With each step of becoming in touch with the wisdom of Kabbalah, I could see more clearly how the physical world follows spiritual laws and forces. And how Kabbalah even describes how the planets and galaxies of the entire universe behave. From early on, Michael had felt some intangible connection between the leader of his early morning group, and Baal HaSulam, author of the greatest modern books explaining and interpreting the Kabbalah’s most seminal works. Michael and Chaim had poured over his writings and studied them closely yet never managed to grasp the knowledge that they offered. In time Rav Hillel satisfied Michael’s curiosity; indeed there was a connection between the two men. The real name of the author revered as Baal HaSulam was Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, who had died some thirtyfive years earlier. The leader of their little study group, Rabash, was that man’s eldest son, Rabbi Baruch Ashlag. Michael’s mysterious sense of connection was finally explained. The man who spent his mornings and evenings teaching a handful of ancients in a rundown house in the orchard had been trained in Kabbalah by the greatest Kabbalist of the 20th century.



This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fhow-i-found-my-kabbalah-teacher-one-rainy-night-in-bnei-brak%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGPDhB5zmxZ8a-l0ztWUeJMk3EaUA


Chapter 3 : The Struggle to Stop Fighting

“If a person takes a bundle of reeds, he cannot break them all at once. But taken one at a time, even an infant will break them. Just so, Israel will not be redeemed until they are all one bundle.”

(Midrash Tanhuma, Nitzavim, Chapter 1) Even as a child I was troubled with deeper questions. As a child with a passion for knowledge and a penchant for research, I became intrigued with “life, the universe, and everything” (to paraphrase on Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). I was fascinated with nature, and intrigued with human nature. And one of the issues that touched me to the core was antiSemitism. As I wrote in my latest book, Like a Bundle of Reeds, a shadow followed through my childhood years, and even through my teens. It was the specter of the Holocaust, that thing which many chose to never mention, though it was always there. When I grew up the questions surrounding antiSemitism kept haunting me, and became a very tangible issue through my years as a refusenik (Soviet Jews denied permission to leave the USSR during the 1970s). But once outside of the Soviet Union, and being a new Oleh [immigrant] in Israel, more worldly challenges demanded my attention, such as learning a new language and providing for my family. It just so happened that in Israel I became a successful businessman and gained some wealth within a few years. With sustenance secured, I began to search deeper into the roots of Judaism, first through the orthodoxy, and subsequently through Kabbalah. In truth, however, I was not searching for the roots of Judaism, nor to understand antiSemitism. I was searching for the meaning of life. And when I found my teacher—Kabbalist Rav Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag, son of Rav Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag, known as Baal HaSulam (Owner of the Ladder) for his Sulam(Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar—I found the answer to the meaning of life (hint:




Adams got it wrong; it isn’t 42). But I also found the answer to the questions surrounding the roots, persistence, and ultimate solution to antiSemitism. In light of today’s resurgence of antiSemitism, this is the answer that I’d like to share with you in my first post, in a nutshell. In his 1933 essay, “Peace in the World,” Baal HaSulam wrote, “In our generation, each person is aided for his happiness by all the countries in the world. ...In our time, the countries are all linked in the satisfaction of their needs of life, as individuals were in their families in earlier times. Therefore, we can no longer speak or deal with just conducts that guarantee the wellbeing of one country or one nation, but only with the wellbeing of the whole world because the benefit or harm of each and every person in the world depends and is measured by the benefit of all the people in the world.” In the following sentence, he wrote, “And although this is known and felt, the people in the world have not yet grasped it properly.” More than eighty years later, have we? Our treatment of our fellow man and woman proves we haven’t. As a scientist whose expertise is biosystems, and as a Kabbalist reared on the lineage of Baal HaSulam, I cannot help but view humanity as a single system, or even a single organism. Therefore, the Kabbalists’ relentless insistence on unity as the means for the correction of the world is anything but a surprise. Because if we are dependent on each other for our happiness, that dependency ties us together, and without unity and cohesion, we cannot care for the wellbeing of the system. And if we don’t care for the system that supports our lives, what will become of our lives? This brings me to the Jewish point. Jews have been blamed, and are blamed still, for every misfortune and adversity in the world. True, it is only antiSemites who voice such thoughts, but there seems to be many more of them nowadays, and their numbers seem to grow by the day. Recently, Jewish students from select US and Canadian universities such as Harvard, Berkeley, Toronto, Oregon State University, Cincinnati, James Madison University, Florida State, and others, admitted in a chilling video that they fear for their lives, that being antiSemitic and against Israel “has become the cool thing to do” on college and university campuses. But antiSemitism isn’t the problem; it’s the symptom. For centuries we, Jews, have had the obligation to bring peace to the world through unity—first among ourselves, and


https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fvideo.php%3Fv%3D10153583543427316&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHm5rL-ooQ6trwDuDPYevqurqFJwg


then with all of humanity. We have been vehemently opposing it, arguing that it will only be used to fuel anti Jewish sentiments and propaganda. Whenever a Jew dares to call for unity among Jews, he or she is portrayed as conceited and ethnocentric. And yet, for centuries, our sages have been stressing unity as a cure for our trouble, and even the world’s troubles. “In Israel is the secret to the unity of the world” said Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (the Raiah), the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. “When Israel have unity, there is no end to their attainment” wrote Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk, Noam Elimelech[The Pleasantness of Elimelech]. Even more blatantly, “The prime defense against calamity is love and unity. When there are love, unity, and friendship between each other in Israel, no calamity can come over them. ...Even if they worship idols, but there is bonding among them, and no separation of hearts, they have peace and quiet” wrote Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein, Maor VaShemesh [Light and Sun]. Regarding the healing of the world from its troubles, the great Rav Moshe Chaim Lozzatto (Ramchal) wrote, “Moses wished to complete the correction of the world at that time. This is why he took the mixed multitude, as he thought that thus would be the correction of the world that will be done at the end of correction ... However, he did not succeed because of the corruptions that occurred along the way.” And Rav Yehuda Leib Arie Altar (ADMOR of Gur) wrote, “The children of Israel became responsible for the correction of the entire world... This is why it was said to them, ‘And you will be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ ...And it is to that that they replied, ‘That which the Lord has said, we shall do’—correct the whole of Creation. ...In truth, everything depends on the children of Israel. As much as they correct themselves, all creations follow them. As the students follow the rav [teacher] who corrects himself ... similarly, the whole of Creation follows the children of Israel.” So it isn’t for us that we have to unite. It is for the world! We have a task of being a role model of unity, and we are currently far from displaying it. I’m not saying it is easy, but I’m also not saying that we have to graze our differences to the point where we are all the same. Rather, we have to display unity above our differences. The more apparent our disputes, and the more we are united atop them, the better we do our task. The world is looking at us all the time. We may not like it; we may not want to admit it. But it’s true. To date, I have had numerous encounters with antiSemites. To all of them



I have explained our role as Jews; none of them is still today an antiSemite, and some are even fierce supporters of Israel (although admittedly, I did not intend this; it is more of an offshoot of acceptance of the role of Jews). In the system of humanity, Jews are at the epicenter, albeit inadvertently. Everything we do or say is examined with a magnifying glass. So when we show unity, the nations will see it, and will stop blaming us for spreading ill will across the globe. I know it from experience. I’d like to conclude with the words of my teacher’s great father, Baal HaSulam, “It is upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and all the people of the world ... to develop until they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of others, which is the ladder to the purpose of Creation.” This is why we must become like a bundle of reeds. This article was originally published online in the Jerusalem Post


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FBlogs%2FLike-a-Bundle-of-Reeds%2FThe-Struggle-to-Stop-Fighting-379554&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEos9xAAUOOdoqDsJ9FN5k9ijvoPA


Chapter 4: Who Wants to Be Elevated?

A student posted in his Twitter account a picture of his shelf at home, where some of the books we published stand. To the picture, he added a message: “There is a big focus on Jews and Israel lately that I don’t really find in your books. I’m uncomfortable with ethnic groups elevated.” Indeed, there is a big focus on Jews and Israel lately. Except the focus isn’t mine; it seems like the whole world is focused on us. The UN is hardly dealing with anything else, and has been doing so for years. AntiSemitism has become such an issue in Western countries that heads of state keep having to “reassure” their Jewish citizens that everything is alright, when the only reason they are saying it is that everything is not alright. But the reason I am focused on the Jewish issue lately is not that there is antiSemitism. I have been saying there is antiSemitism, and that it will only grow, for at least ten years now. What’s changed is that now people are willing to listen, as you clearly are. Quite honestly, I am using the current burst of antiSemitism as a tool to make the explanation about the role of the Jews more acceptable, especially to Jews. We can declare that Jews are like everyone else and shout it from the rooftops. No one will buy it. No one believes we’re like everyone else, and everyone is right, we’re not. We want to be like everyone else, but we are not. Just the fact that everyone is constantly pointing the finger at us makes us different. If people ignored the Jews, it would be easier for us to assimilate into oblivion. But people aren’t ignoring us. On the contrary, they’re blaming us for all that’s wrong with the world. And by doing so, they’re calling us to action, to stop being so noxious. But no one knows what we’re doing that’s so terrible, or at least, almost no one. I have been given some knowledge and insight into this issue from my teacher, the Rabash, who received it from his father and teacher, Baal HaSulam, author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. It is my duty and life’s mission to pass on this knowledge, especially now that the world is on the edge of the abyss. What I received has to do with changing human nature through unity, because the lack of it is causing the multifaceted crisis we are facing. Jews have had a method by which



to achieve that unique form of unity; it is their duty to implement it and share it with the world by way of example; and the Jews’ procrastination in doing so is the reason for antiSemitism. You wrote on Twitter that you don’t find the focus on Jews in my books. That was true until antiSemitism became overt enough for me to relate to it as a viable issue. But in the picture of your shelf I did not see a copy of Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour. I encourage you to purchase it and see why whether we want it or not, the world’s focus is not only going to remain on the Jews, but will keep growing until we do our job and convey unity to the world, by way of example. This is the meaning of being “a light for the nations.” Additionally, you can watch the online course, “What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today?” that the executive editor of the book, Chaim Ratz, is currently giving. Please go to bundleofreeds.com and register, it’s free. You will also find there a free eBook version of the book. I hope you will find there the answers to all your questions. This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bundleofreeds.com%2Fcourse%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFLk1MTQky7YQVkcmKyLbu3GT2juA



http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fwho-wants-to-be-elevated&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFKEwnr7TjL97eSHQjWNNohM3K4rg


Chapter 5 : Free Course About the Root of Anti-Semitism

One of the most discussed subjects here on Times of Israel is antiSemitism, especially each time there is another terrorist attack. Unfortunately, rarely do we actually try to get to the bottom of this issue. I have been teaching about the root of antiSemitism for over a decade. I have explained in numerous public lectures that we Jews must understand our unique role in the global scheme of things. I gave an open lecture about this on November 3, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, another lecture at the Israeli American Council (IAC) conference in Washington a few days later, and I will do so again at our annual One Europe convention this coming weekend in Verona, Italy. Everywhere I travel, I see the situation getting worse, so one can only wonder what has to happen for us to wake up and realize we have very similar conditions to those we had shortly prior to the Holocaust. I am aware that this is a very sensitive topic, and that human nature is programmed to try to avoid unpleasantness, but if we keep our heads in the sand, we will soon have to face the consequences. A few years ago I cofounded the ARI Institute, which is working to enhance unity and solidarity among individuals and nations, in congruence with the current, interconnected reality. Our mission is to promote a globally aware humanity for meeting the challenges of the 21st century. With the world at a crossroads, we are committed to promoting a proactive and optimistic approach, which demonstrates how humanity has a unique opportunity to achieve global transformation in a peaceful and pleasant manner. We are now offering a free online course, “What Does It Mean To Be Jewish Today?,” to explain why antiSemitism is spreading so quickly, its root cause, and solution. This is a free 10Lesson live course beginning Tuesday, November 18, 2014, at 8:00PM EST. The instructor for the live course will be Chaim Ratz, executive editor of Like A Bundle of Reeds: why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour, as well as executive editor and official translator of Prof. Michael Laitman, Laitman Kabbalah Publishers and the ARI Institute for over 10 years. The goal is to teach and share knowledge about the role of the Jewish people, and raise awareness about the causes of antiSemitism as a means to prevent further


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fanti-semitism-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE-E0E83gApJRPGcjRXa_zL8WmGBA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fanti-semitism-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE-E0E83gApJRPGcjRXa_zL8WmGBA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Feurocongress.info%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG9srAEWGnGvNyXAMnZYG4l-be5Tg



intensification of this phenomenon. The lesson outline is based on the chapter outline of the book Like A Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, which is provided upon signup to enable the book’s ideas and messages to take on a practical context in the participant’s life. Participants will have a platform for asking questions and receiving answers in real time. The live interactive course is one of many educational products created as part of our Bundle of Reeds project. Participants will gain access to the eBook version of my recently released book, Like A Bundle of Reeds, Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour; a series of recently published booklets concerning antiSemitism; two Infographics showing the sharp rising trend of antiSemitism since 2013; and Like A Bundle of Reeds TV series broadcast on JLTV. This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Ffree-course-about-the-root-of-anti-semitism%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHWLWIBTncMf362T4eSt2NmYYRHwA


Section 2: What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today?



Chapter 6 : 10 Things You Ought to Know About Being Jewish

1) Jews didn’t start out as a distinct tribe or a clan. According to Maimonides, the first Jews, which were then known as Hebrews, followed Abraham because they liked his ideas about mutual responsibility and “love your neighbor as yourself.” Gradually, the entourage grew and officially became the nation of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. 2) Unity among Jews. That thing which we don’t have was actually a prerequisite for the reception of the Torah (law). The great 11th century commentator, RASHI, wrote that at the foot of Mount Sinai the Hebrews stood “as one man with one heart,” and this is why they received the Torah. Also, they didn’t really have a choice, or as the Babylonian Talmud (Masechet Avoda Zarah) puts it, they were told, “If you receive the Torah, good; if you do not, there will it be your burial.” 3) Ever since we have taken it upon ourselves to unite, we’ve been busy fighting one another. The Bible describes all the internal disputes that the Israelis had among themselves and with God. But actually, these quarrels enhanced our unity and made us stronger. But when we finally lost it, we were exiled. In fact, numerous texts place the emergence of unfounded hatred as the single cause of the exile from the land of Israel. Many Jewish sources write explicitly that the first exile was due to idolworship, incest, and bloodshed, and the second exile was due only to unfounded hatred. 4) There are many debates around Isaiah’s prophecy that Jews will be “a light for the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prisonhouse.” How would we do that? And what does it mean “to open the blind eyes”? Looking at today’s chaotic world, and the culture of selfindulgence that aggravates the chaos each day, it becomes crystal clear. The only light we can bring to the world is the same principle that turned us from riffraff into a nation way back when: unity. 5) Jews can’t unite, that’s clear. Just look at today’s government, see why it’s declaring its own demise, and realize that unity and Jews just don’t go together. So what can unite us? Pressure from the outside. Even Hitler wrote that Jews unite only when they’re beaten up. But if this is what the world needs from us, then we’d better find a way to do it, or we will be beaten up once again just so we can unite. And by uniting we will set an example of unity for the rest of the world, and in so doing will be a light for the nations that will bring them out of the dungeon of selfindulgence.



6) The Jewish population worldwide is about .002 percent of the world’s population, but Jews have won between 2035 percent of all Nobel Prizes, especially in physics, medicine, literature, economics and other scientific and social areas. Nobody but us cares. No one but us is counting how many prizes we won because this isn’t what we’re supposed to bring to the world. What could heal the world’s problems, unity—which everyone agrees is a great idea but no one knows how to implement—is the one thing we aren’t giving to the world, but which we must. As long as we are not a model of unity, the nations will continue to blame us for everything that’s wrong with the world, and antiSemitism will flourish. As soon as we begin to even try to unite, antiSemitism will vanish into thin air. 7) Jews don’t like being told that they have a task, and that the whole world depends on their execution of that task. But then, if so many people tell you that all the wars are your fault, that everything that’s wrong with the world is your doing, and that it’s always been like that, shouldn’t we at least be asking ourselves if just maybe they have a point? AntiSemites always have a reason for picking on the Jews. But there are other minorities in the world besides us, so why are we always at the center of attention? 8) The word Yehudi (Jewish) has a less known meaning besides the usual origin we give it (descendants of the tribe of Judah). The word Yehudi comes from the Hebrew word Yehud (unity). That is, Jews are the ones who have united. 9) Jewish holidays are usually characterized by plenty of good food (with the notable exception of Yom Kippur, which is actually a holiday). But then, Jews have always had their peculiarities. But we should also know that each holiday and each event on the Jewish calendar signifies a specific stage in the people’s march toward unity. 10) And last, but not least, it’s a famous joke that for every two Jews you have three opinions. But this is why when Jews unite they create a bond like no other nation can. Let’s just hope that this coming election will be a turning point and we will say “Enough!” to divisiveness and “Welcome!” to unity. I mean, we can keep fighting ourselves and our enemies within and without, but really, what’s the point? In the next post I’ll detail just how we can unite above our differences and become a strong nation, worthy of its task. (This article origially appeared online in the Jewish Journal.)


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2F10_things_you_ought_to_know_about_being_jewish&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEW0niV2IDc-xCFRIdBVXPjSncjVA


Chapter 7: Two Streams: Altruistic vs Self-Centered

The world as we know it operates according to a very simple law: the stronger one wins and the weaker one loses. The universe we perceive seems egoistic, and balance is kept only by the fact that all creations are “programmed” to take only what they need for their sustenance. But on the human level, there is a “bug” in the program. In programming languages, a “flag” is a predefined bit (or several connected bits) that a program uses to remember something or to leave a sign. It seems that in humans, the flag that tells all other creatures to stop consuming is missing. So the bug is that we are programmed to eternal voraciousness. Or are we? In truth, the selfcentered stream that animals follow is constantly accompanied by another, parallel stream, which operates on the exact opposite paradigm—altruism. When an animal has satisfied its need, the other stream comes into play, and the animal instinctively stops eating or hunting. In humans, the altruistic stream is disconnected from the selfcentered one. So what we, humans, have to do is make that connection consciously! Otherwise, we’ll stay with only one, imbalanced stream, and will consume ourselves to extinction just as cancer consumes its host body until the body dies and the cancer goes with it. If you examine the crises engulfing the world around every corner and in every area of human engagement, it is easy to see that life on Earth will eventually become unsustainable. And that point, where humans must become active and balance themselves out, is where we Jews come in. Almost four millennia ago, Abraham discovered a method he described in a book titled,Sefer Yetzira (Book of Creation). Since then, the method for maintaining human nature in check has been a property of Abraham’s descendants, and finally that of the Jewish people. Approximately two millennia ago, all but a chosen few among the Jews lost their priceless knowledge, and became as oblivious to that other stream as the rest of the world. But the world has not forgotten that the Jews once held that knowledge, and whenever there is a crisis, the nations blame it on the Jews. They simply feel that the



Jews are doing harm, not realizing that even the Jews have no clue what it is they are supposedly hiding, and which is so priceless. This is why most Jews deny they have a role, and excuse themselves by saying that being “a light for the nations” was misunderstood, and that if it was ever relevant, that time has ended long ago. But the nations still blame us for everything that’s wrong with the world. So we need to understand that the fact that we don’t know about the other stream doesn’t exempt us from learning about it and teaching it to the rest of the nations. We may forget about it, but the nations keep reminding us through a unique kind of hatred to which no other nation has been exposed: antiSemitism. Because antiSemitism emerges from a profound need to restore balance and prosperity to life, whenever and wherever the two don’t exist, the Jews are held accountable. Hatred of Jews may cloak itself in hatred of the State of Israel (the most recent mask), but it may also wear the attire of racism, religious extremism, or envy at the Jews’ wealth. At the end of the day, the Jews must relearn the knowledge that Abraham bequeathed them, and they must pass it on to the nations. This is the meaning of being “a light for the nations.” This is the only way humanity can balance itself and maintain successful, happy societies where we all feel safe, content, and personally fulfilled. I encourage you to read more about Integral Education, a method that teaches how to establish the balanced existence I’m referring to through an acquired sense of unity and solidarity. On my homepage you will find all the information you need in order to begin to explore the new paradigm, and how we can build societies that live with both streams balanced. Also, if you want more information on the Jewish connection to the implementation of the social correction I am discussing, you’re invited to visit bundleofreeds.com and download the materials from there. It is completely free. Happy New Year. This article originally appeared online in the Jerusalem Post.




http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FBlogs%2FLike-a-Bundle-of-Reeds%2FTwo-Streams-Altruistic-vs-Self-Centered-384779&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE1yqtZYTimF9kto4ke7EKktABmGg


Chapter 8: Jews Must Set Example of Unity to the Nations I received many comments to my message in the The New York Times, “Who Are You, People of Israel?” Many of them were very positive responses from both Jews and nonJews around the world. I am happy that the article touched so many of you.

Who Are You, People of Israel? Time and again, Jews are persecuted and terrorized. Being Jewish myself, I often ponder the purpose of this relentless agony. Some believe that the atrocities of WWII are unimaginable today. And yet, we see how easily and abruptly the state of mind preceding the Holocaust is reemerging, and “Hitler was right” shouts are sounded all too often and all too openly. But there is hope. We can reverse this trend, and all it requires is that we become aware of the bigger picture.

Where We Are and Where We Come From Humanity is at a crossroads. Globalization has made us interdependent, while people are growing increasingly hateful and alienated. This unsustainable, highly flammable situation requires making a decision about humanity’s future direction. Yet to understand how we, the Jewish people, are involved in this scenario, we need to go back to where it all began. The people of Israel emerged some 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. Babylon was a thriving civilization whose people felt connected and united. In the words of the Torah, “The whole earth was of one language and of one speech” (Genesis, 11:1). But as their ties grew stronger, so did their egos. They began to exploit, and finally hate one another. So while the Babylonians felt connected, their intensifying egos made them increasingly alienated from each other. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the people of Babylon began to seek out a solution to their plight.



Two Solutions to the Crisis The search for a solution led to forming two conflicting views. The first, suggested by Nimrod, king of Babylon, was natural and instinctive: Dispersion. The king argued that when people are far from one another, they do not quarrel. The second solution was suggested by Abraham, then a renowned Babylonian sage. He argued that according to Nature’s law, human society is destined to become united, and therefore strove to unite the Babylonians despite, and atop their growing egos. Succinctly, Abraham’s method was a way to connect people above their egos. When he began to advocate his method among his countryfolk, “thousands and tens of thousands assembled around him, and … He planted this tenet in their hearts,” writes Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Part 1). The rest of the people chose Nimrod’s way: dispersion, as do quarrelsome neighbors when they try to stay out of each other’s way. These dispersed people gradually became what we now know as “human society.” Only today, some 4,000 years down the line, we can begin to assess whose way was right.

The Basis of the People of Israel Nimrod forced Abraham and his disciples out of Babylon, and they moved to what later became known as “the land of Israel.” They worked on unity and cohesion in accord with the tenet, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” connected above their egos, and thus discovered “the force of unity,” Nature’s hidden power. Every substance consists of two opposite forces, connection and separation, which balance themselves out. But human society is evolving using only the negative force—the ego. According to Nature’s plan, we are required to consciously balance the negative force with the positive one—unity. Abraham discovered the wisdom that enables balance, and today we refer to his wisdom as, “the wisdom of Kabbalah.”



Israel Means Straight to the Creator Abraham’s disciples called themselves Ysrael (Israel) after their desire to go Yashar El (straight to Gd, the Creator). That is, they wished to discover Nature’s force of unity so as to balance the ego that stood between them. Through their unity, they found themselves immersed in the force of unity, the upper, root force of reality. In addition to their discovery, Israel also learned that in the process of human development, the rest of the Babylonians—who followed Nimrod’s advice, dispersed throughout the world, and have become today’s humanity—would also have to achieve unity. That contradiction between the people of Israel, which formed through unity, and the rest of humanity, which formed as a result of separation, is felt even today.

Exile Abraham’s disciples, the people of Israel, experienced many internal struggles. But for 2,000 years their unity prevailed and was the key element that held them together. Indeed, their conflicts were meant only to intensify the love among them. However, approximately 2,000 years ago, their egos reached such intensity that they could not maintain their unity. Unfounded hatred and egotism erupted among them and inflicted exile on them. Indeed, Israel’s exile, more than it is exile from the physical land of Israel, it is exile from unity. The alienation within the Israeli nation caused them to disperse among the nations. Back to the Present Today humanity is in a similar state to the one the ancient Babylonians experienced: interdependence alongside alienation. Because we are completely interdependent in our global village, Nimrod’s solution of parting ways is no longer practical. Now we are required to use Abraham’s method. This is why the Jewish people, who previously implemented Abraham’s method and connected, must rekindle their unity and teach the method of connection to the whole of humanity. And unless we do it of our own accord, the nations of the world will compel us to do it, by force.



On that note, it is interesting to read the words of Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, and a notorious antiSemite, in his book, The International Jew — The World’s Foremost Problem: “Society has a large claim against him [the Jew] that he … begin to fulfill … the ancient prophecy that through him all the nations of the earth should be blessed.”

The Roots of Anti-Semitism After thousands of years of exerting to build a successful human society using Nimrod’s method, the nations of the world are beginning to understand that the solution to their problems is neither technological, nor economic or military. Subconsciously, they feel that the solution lies in unity, that the method of connection exists in the people of Israel, and therefore recognize that they are dependent on the Jews. This makes them blame the Jews for every problem in the world, believing that the Jews possess the key to the world’s happiness. Indeed, when the Israeli nation fell from its moral apex of love of others, hatred of Israel among the nations commenced. And thus, through antiSemitism, the nations of the world prod us to disclose the method of connection. Rav Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, pointed to that fact with his words, “Amalek, Hitler, and so forth, awaken us toward redemption” (Essays of the Raiah, Vol. 1). But the people of Israel are unaware that they are holding the key to the world’s happiness, and that the very source of antiSemitism is that the Jews are carrying within them the method of connection, the key to happiness, the wisdom of Kabbalah, but are not revealing it to all.

Mandatory Disclosure of the Wisdom As the world groans under the pressure of two conflicting forces—the global force of connection, and the separating power of the ego, we are falling into the state that existed in ancient Babylon prior to its collapse. But today we cannot pull away form one another in order to calm our egos down. Our only option is to work on our connection, on our unity. We are required to add to our world the positive force that balances the negative power of our ego.



The people of Israel, descendants of the ancient Babylonians who followed Abraham, must implement the wisdom of connection, namely the wisdom of Kabbalah. They are required to set an example to the whole of humanity, and thus become a “light for the nations.” The laws of Nature dictate that we will all achieve a state of unity. But there are two ways to get there: 1) a path of world suffering wars, catastrophes, plagues, and natural disasters, or 2) a path of gradually balancing of the ego, the path that Abraham planted in his disciples. The latter is the one we suggest.

Unity Is the Solution It is written in The Book of Zohar, “Everything stands on love” (Portion,VaEtchanan). “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the great tenet of the Torah; it is also the essence of the change that the wisdom of Kabbalah is offering humanity. It is the obligation of the Jewish People to unite in order to share the method of Abraham with the entire human race. According to Rav Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, “It is upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and all the people of the world … to develop until they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of others, which is the ladder to the purpose of Creation.” If we accomplish this, we will find solutions to all the world’s problems including the eradication of antiSemitism.



Chapter 9: Why Jews Are Feeling the Heat This last summer was hot in every sense here in the Holy Land. Most of our attention was focused on what was probably the longest military campaign we experienced here in many years. The most unique aspect of the dramatic summer we had to go through was that it ultimately marked and emphasized the dead end we have reached. The battle is over, but there is still a threat and there is nowhere for us to escape. The moment one round of conflict was behind us, the shadow of the next was already hanging over our heads. Each time we stall for different reasons and postpone any decision making, hoping that things will somehow work out on their own; they don’t. In fact, things haven’t changed for decades. The drama inside and around Israel only continues to escalate, a clear sign that we are really missing the point. The prophet Jonah found himself in a similar situation thousands of years ago. The plot reads like an adventure novel. Jonah receives a mission from God to help the people of Nineveh (who are not Jewish) overcome the mutual hatred they feel and fulfill the principle of love thy neighbor as thyself. It was Abraham who first fulfilled this idea and founded the Jewish nation on this basis. Renowned British scientist and historian, Paul Johnson wrote, “What would have happened to mankind if Abraham hadn’t been a man of sharp perception and if he had stayed in Ur and kept his ideas to himself and not founded any unique Jewish nation? The world without Jews would undoubtedly be very different than it is today.” Today more than ever before, the entire world—not just the Jews—is in need of love, or at least elementary, mutual understanding. At the same time, mutual understanding, and even more so “love thy neighbor as thyself,” seems totally unrealistic. Jonah, who felt the same as we do about his mission, decided to flee overseas, hoping to escape the mission he had been given. And just like Jonah, we are trying to hide from the great, ostensibly “impregnable” problems of our time, and let others deal with them while we deal with our personal issues. Our whole life is actually a cycle of daily issues that we sometimes manage to float above.



However it is up to the Jewish people to be aware of the big picture and provide the solution humanity subconsciously awaits. So yes, we are definitely feeling the heat and will continue to feel it until we start carrying out our mission. You will probably go about your business as usual after reading this, but be aware that at the end of the day, we cannot escape the mission we have been given. This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel



http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fwhy-jews-are-feeling-the-heat%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGgGYxcZlHqbvNMAGyo3Ddfs1_CKw


Chapter 10: What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today?

I have just returned from Washington where I spoke at the Israeli American Council on antiSemitism. In light of the rise in antiSemitism all over the world, we are offering a free online course, “What Does It Mean To Be Jewish Today?”, to explain why antiSemitism is spreading so quickly, its root cause and solution. This will be a free 10Lesson live course that will begin this coming Tuesday, November 18, 2014, at 8:00PM EST. The instructor for the live course will be Chaim Ratz, my official translator for over 10 years. Jews and non–Jews are welcome. The goal is to share knowledge about the role of the Jewish people, and raise awareness of the causes of antiSemitism as a means to prevent further escalation in antiSemitic trends. The course's lesson outline is based on the chapter outline of my book, Like A Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today's Call of the Hour, which is provided free upon signup to enable the book's ideas and messages to take on a practical context in the participant’s life. Participants will have a platform for asking questions and receiving answers in real time. They will also have the opportunity to join a community focused on these topics. The online course is one of many educational products created as part of our Bundle of Reeds project. In addition to access to the eBook version of my most recent book, Like A Bundle of Reeds, we offer a series of booklets that were published when antiSemitic crimes and threats increased exponentially earlier this year; two infographics showing the sharp rise of antiSemitism since 2013; and Like A Bundle of Reeds TV series broadcast on JLTV. The course is being provided by the ARI Institute, which is working to enhance unity and solidarity among individuals and nations, in congruence with the current, interconnected reality. With the world at a crossroads, we are committed to promoting a proactive and positive approach, which demonstrates how humanity has a unique opportunity to achieve global transformation in a peaceful and pleasant manner. This article was originally published online in the Jerusalem Post


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fariresearch.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG_7dDxLcN6uoPioWfKHdCGPuRMzA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FBlogs%2FLike-a-Bundle-of-Reeds%2FWhat-Does-It-Mean-To-Be-Jewish-Today-381824&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFu88KmKgvlSdg0JTa5lAT_nO3Tsw


Chapter 11: We the Jews Ain’t Special, So Why Is Everybody

Pointing the Finger at Us? Occasionally, I get complaints about my statements. People ask, “Why do you say that we’re special?” “We’re just like everybody else.” “What makes you think you’re so unique?” I admit, carefree ignorance is tempting. The only problem with it is that the world doesn’t want us in that position. They want us on high alert, scrambling to appease their anger. So we may think that we’re not special, but if everyone tells you that you’re the worst criminal on Earth, that you’re responsible for every bad thing that’s ever happened, that makes you pretty darn special. Look at the sign below just one day after the announcement that officer Darren Wilson won’t be indicted for the killing of Michael Brown. And this is not even in St. Louis; it’s in Seattle!

As the reporter writes, “Upset with the verdict in Missouri? Then boycotting Israel makes perfect sense.” Other antiSemitic allegations don’t make a lot more sense than this one. Since the days of the blood libels to this sign, antiSemites have never needed an argument, only a reason to express their hatred of Jews.

Other people’s are hated as well, but even the biggest antiSemites admit that Jews are different, and they’re hated differently. In Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler wrote, “When over long periods of human history I scrutinized the activity of the Jewish people, suddenly there arose up in me the fearful question whether inscrutable Destiny, perhaps for


https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fmikereport.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F11%2F24%2Fand-now-they-blame-ferguson-on-the-jews%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEB4QO3IVas7nzj74Tw3C4xNmbn6Q


reasons unknown to us poor mortals, did not, with eternal and immutable resolve, desire the final victory of this little nation.” Oddly enough, Hitler was half right. We have a destiny, but it is by no means inscrutable. We just refuse to see it. Our destiny is to be “a light for the nations.” It is to bring happiness and joy to the whole world through mutual responsibility, and finally through the implementation of our most fundamental commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Our destiny is not to be admired for our scientific erudition, nor is it to be regarded as superior in finance. Our destiny is to rekindle the mutual responsibility that our people once nurtured, and share it with the rest of the world. Only we count how many Nobel laureates are Jewish. The rest of the world could not care less. All they see is that we have the key to their happiness, and we’re denying it of them, so they want to get rid of us. That key is unity and brotherly love, and it is buried deep within us. We are unaware of it, and as a result, we aren’t sharing it. But this is what the world needs desperately, especially today. The anger at the hatred revealed in Ferguson is naturally directed toward Jews because people already have an inkling that we’re the reason why there is hatred in the first place. But if we are united in brotherly love and shared it with the rest of the world, then we would be the reason why there’s love, and people would treat us accordingly. Today, no one can find the way to unite people and nations. Not even we, the Jews. But we are the only ones who can revive that state within us because it is embedded in our genealogy, and because throughout the ages, our sages and leaders have repeatedly asserted that unity and mutual responsibility are the only means for our success. Our power is in our unity above all differences. We needn’t suppress our differences, but rather embrace them and unite above them. By that we will set an example that unity among dissimilar people is possible. And not only is it possible, but it actually yields far better results than unity among similar people. To some, this notion seems unreasonable, even irrational. To them I say, “And is antiSemitism rational or reasonable?” The forces at play here are deeper than our conscious minds can currently grasp. But if we just try to unite, we will discover them, and we will succeed.



I’ve met with quite a few antiSemites over the years, some of whom are known worldwide for their overt hatred of Jews. And every time I met with one (or more) of them, it ended with a handshake, and often with an embrace. All I am saying, is give unity a chance. This article originally appeared online in the Jewish Journal.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2Fwe_the_jews_aint_special_so_why_is_everybody_pointing_the_finger_at_us&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFo6wlA4BtU9sUyjGh5yx7telDhtA


Section 3: Recent Trip to the USA



Chapter 12 : My Visit to Los Angeles Just yesterday, Guy Bechor wrote a column titled, “Why is Kerry singling out Israel?” where he specified in great detail how Secretary of State, John Kerry, is constantly “picking” on Israel while ignoring practically every other wrong committed in the world. It’s really an impressive list of wrongs that Bechor pointed out, but it’s hardly a surprise that Kerry is doing it. In my most recent book, Like a Bundle of Reeds, I show that unless we Jews begin to unite and show a model of unity that the rest of the world wants to follow, antiSemitism and antiIsrael sentiments will intensify, eventually to the point of catastrophe (I did not make that prediction but I certainly share that feeling). Kerry’s sentiments are nothing new to anyone who has followed his career. He is not simply a puppet on a string following the president’s orders, as some commentators claimed. I believe the policy he is exercising expresses his genuine feelings toward Israel. But I can’t blame him. Deep inside, every nonJew expects Jews to be a role model. This is why they judge us so harshly, and do not judge any other nation. They simply feel that everything that’s wrong in the world is our fault. You can give the most reasonable arguments against it, but that won’t change how they feel one bit. The task of the Jews is to be a role model of unity and to share that unity with the rest of the world. This is what they expect of us, and until we carry it out they will not leave us alone. Our task is to learn how to unite, but only in order to share that unity with all other peoples and nations. Otherwise this will not be unity but ethnocentricity. I have dedicated my life to spreading the message of unity throughout the world, and have made every effort to make the information about its paramount importance especially these days available to all. On the book’s site you will find all the information for free, including a free download of the book, and numerous TV shows I have created discussing the subject. In addition, this coming Monday, November 3, I will give an open lecture called, ‘Who Holds the Key to a Better Tomorrow?’ at 7:30pm at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. I wholeheartedly invite everyone—supporters and opposers, Jews and nonJews—to come and take part in discussing our future here on this planet.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ynetnews.com%2Farticles%2F0%2C7340%2CL-4583494%2C00.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEivA_vymRfY9UZV_WJg1SlxBlQWw



http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kabbalah.info%2Flecture%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGAxFK7-M85Ty7n5uy2TlAtQiM_jA



I welcome questions and challenges, propositions and oppositions, and I look forward to meeting you all there, because if we don’t open up our sores, we will never be able to heal them. And the only way we can heal them is together. This article originally appeared online in the Jerusalem Post


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FBlogs%2FLike-a-Bundle-of-Reeds%2FMy-Visit-to-LA-379860&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFlQhKBBs2yDGAJpYKJCZ7h-CUViw


Chapter 13: What Churchill Has to Do with My Open Lecture in LA

In Churchill and the Jews: A Lifelong Friendship, acclaimed historian, Martin Gilbert, quoted Churchill as saying, “Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world.” I received numerous comments after my article in The New York Times, “Who Are You, People of Israel?” I’d like to relate to a specific type of criticism I received, which goes something like this: “By saying that Jews have a role in the world you are inciting antiSemitism and providing fuel to the arguments that Jews are conceited and think they’re special.” I have to say, I don’t see much to be conceited about being Jewish. But we are indeed special. I know that most Jews don’t feel special. But if everyone tells us that we are, and the constant attention our tiny nation receives proves it, there must be something about us that’s different. If we listen to the accusations of many of the antiSemites, we will see that they are blaming us of being immoral. It makes no difference that we set up makeshift clinics to treat Palestinian civilians during the Protective Edge campaign, or that we risked the lives of our own citizens as they scrambled to fix broken power lines that Palestinian mortar bombs tore. In fact, when we compare our moral standards to those of the Palestinians, the gap between us is so wide that there is really no room for comparison. And that’s the problem. No one is comparing us to the Palestinians. We are desperately trying to be like all the other nations, but the nations insist that we’re not. They don’t compare us to other nations, but to a standard that subconsciously exists within them of what morals a Jew must follow. That’s the standard that we have to meet, and until we do, they will not leave us alone. The nations look at us as the source of every problem in the world. But this, in turn, means that we can also bring the solution. So what is the solution? It is the one thing we do not practice among us: unity. Today the Jewish people are more segregated than at any previous point in history. That segregation is spreading throughout the world, and causes segregation to prevail the


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaellaitman.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-new-york-times-article-who-are-you-people-of-israel%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEcY5Mzeq6Q0cNsoPUVYs8DBhS6rw


world over. The nations will not be able to create social cohesion or solidarity within them until we do it first, within us. Then, just as we are spreading disunity today, we will be spreading unity, and that will pave the way for the rest of the world to do the same. To understand how people outside the Jewish faith regard our unity, let’s look at another excerpt from Prof. Gilbert’s book about Churchill, where he calls our unity “the corporate spirit”: “The Jews were a lucky community because they had that corporate spirit, the spirit of their race and faith. … That personal and special power which they possessed would enable them to bring vitality into their institutions, which nothing else would ever give. [Churchill believed without disrespect that] A Jew cannot be a good Englishman unless he is a good Jew.” Spreading this message, the message of unity as a cure for the world’s problems, has been my life’s purpose. In my public lectures, this is my main topic, and the lectures I love the most are those where the audience becomes engaged and asks challenging questions. This coming Monday, November 3, I will give an open lecture titled, “Who Holds the Key to a Better Tomorrow?” at 7:30pm at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. It is my hope that Jews and nonJews alike will come and fill the house, so that we can engage in a debate that will lead to greater unity. Humanity needs it now more than ever. Looking forward to seeing you, Michael This article originally appeared online in the Times of Israel


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV5cSLoyPkc



http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fwhat-churchill-has-to-do-with-my-open-lecture-in-la%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFCphtJsd_W7XROBbFMGgiRDVsK4Q


Chapter 14: Anti-Semitism - Just the Tip of the Iceberg

I returned on Monday from a very successful trip to the US, where I met with several leading media personages, some of whom are American and some Israeli. I also attended two conferences, one in LA with over 200 of my students, and one in Washington D.C., where I was a keynote speaker at the Israeli American Council (IAC) conference. I will provide further details on the meetings and conferences in later posts, but in this one, I’d like to focus on some of the insights I gained, and a new low in the landslide we call the “IsraelAmerica relationship.” First, I met with Tammi Rossman Benjamin, head of the AMCHA Initiative, an organization that strives to combat the burgeoning BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [against Israel]) movement on US campuses. While the descriptions of Jewish students fearing for their safety and even for their lives on American campuses that Mrs. Rossman Benjamin provided did not surprise me, they did stress the importance of hurrying in spreading the message of Jewish unity as a means for survival. A little over a week later, I attended a discussion at the IAC [Israeli American Council] where people described first hand experiences of family and friends who suffered antiSemitic attacks on various levels of severity. These descriptions were in perfect match with what I’d heard from Mrs. Rossman Benjamin. At the IAC, I also learned that convincing Jews (in this case Israelis living in the US) that the task of the Jewish people to be a light for the nations is as valid today as it was 3,000 years ago, and that it entails Jewish unity as the means for achieving it, was going to be a harrowing feat. But I also know there is no other choice. I recently read that author Amos Oz said that antiSemites don’t want us to be there (in the diaspora), don’t want us to be here (in Israel), don’t want us to be. He’s right, of course. In my talk with Mrs. Rossman Benjamin, I explained that her struggle, while admirable, is futile from its inception. It will not change a thing, like barking up the wrong tree. It will not help to try to fight antiSemitism on campuses because it’s not coming



from the campuses. And the more we fight the symptom instead of the cause, the more we will suffer from antiSemitism. Just yesterday, Eric Miller reported on Israel USA that while “the Obama administration is contemplating a sweeping amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants to the United States, the US State Department is refusing to extend a simple P1 visa currently held by Israeli basketball star Gal Mekel of the NBA. The State Department’s actions have prevented the NBA’s Indiana Pacers from signing Mekel.” What can AMCHA do against that? What can anyone do against that? We need to understand that antiSemitism is not a rational state of mind; it is an ingrained state of being deeply rooted in the unconscious of almost every nonJewish person on the planet. The vast majority of those who are still not antiSemitic will become so in the foreseeable future. The rest will become proJewish, but they will be a paltry minority whose voice will not be heard when things get even worse. The only ones who can reverse antiSemitism are we, the Jews. About a month ago, I met with Hebrew University Prof. Robert S. Wistrich, head of the Sassoon International Center for the Study of AntiSemitism, for a televised discussion on the roots of antiSemitism. Prof. Wistrich, one of the world’s foremost authorities on antiSemitism described in fascinating detail the “incarnations” of antiSemitism over the ages. But when I pressed him about the reasons why there is antiSemitism to begin with, he said—after a long pause—that the information he had provided were his views as an academic. However, his views as an individual who has been “eating, drinking, and breathing” antiSemitism for decades (those aren’t his exact words, but the message is accurate), he believes that the reason why there is antiSemitism has to do with the ageold mission of the Jewish people. After another short pause he added that it has to do with the inclusive commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself.” On October 29, Prof. Wistrich published in Mosaic Magazine an essay titled, “When All Is Said and Done in France…” His concluding words were “AntiSemitism, as so often in Jewish history, may well be the immediate trigger for change. But much more is involved than that. There is also the haunting … matter of Jewish destiny.” Earlier in the essay, he pointed out an issue that I believe is relevant to all Jews in Western countries, and not just to French Jewry: “I have also encountered wellplaced and upwardly mobile French Jews who may acknowledge the current ‘national malaise’ but refuse to believe it will ultimately affect them, who are altogether disconnected from



the hardships experienced by Jews and nonJews alike at the street level, who basically deny that antiSemitism even exists in France, or who think it is merely a passing trend that will disappear as soon as economic conditions improve. We have been there before, many times in Jewish history, and sadly it appears that some Jews will never learn.” We need to realize that antiSemitism won’t go away until we make it go away through our unity. Very few among the nations are grateful for our numerous contributions to science, medicine, culture, and technology. The majority, as Amos Oz said, “don’t want us to be.” This is not the kind of “light for the nations” they expect from us. They are looking for a light at the end of the tunnel of the social, emotional, and mental breakdown that the Western world is suffering. And that light exists in unity. However, they will not know how to unite, as reality proves, until we show them the way. For now, the only thing that unites the extreme left with the extreme right, and the secular with the religious, is their hatred for us. This will not yield wholesome fruits even for them, much less for us. But when we unite in order to pass on that unity to the rest of the world, meaning in order to set an example of unity, we will then be spreading that spirit all around. This is what the world needs from us. It is not my own ideas that I am spreading; it’s been the view of Kabbalists and Jewish sages throughout the ages. In my book, Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, I have given numerous references to such statements. In conclusion, I’d like to turn to my teacher’s father, the great Kabbalist, Rav Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. During the late 1940s and early 50s, he wrote The Writings of the Last Generation. In that composition he stated, “Judaism must present something new to the nations. This is what they expect from the return of Israel to the land! It is not in other teachings, for in that we never innovated; we were always their disciples. Rather, it is the wisdom of bestowal [referring to the wisdom of Kabbalah], justice, and peace. In this, most nations are our disciples, and this wisdom is attributed to us alone.” This article originally appeared online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fanti-semitism-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGrzoiaB566BGkN9O8dye8uLrSo6g


Chapter 15: The World is Ready for the Message of Unity At the beginning of this month, I was invited to LA for a marathon shoot of twentyfour short episodes explaining the wisdom of Kabbalah and its relevance to our lives. This couldn’t have been timed better since I was already in town for a convention and a lecture that followed, so I delightedly took on the challenge of shooting twentyfour episodes in two days (though my part in each is about five minutes).

On the second day of the shooting, I had a special treat. I sat before a panel of six students that consisted of the council of the USC interfaith program, who “grilled” me with questions regarding Kabbalah for seven hours straight. Naturally, antiSemitism and the role of the

Jewish people arose in their questions, and being students, they didn’t hesitate to ask whatever came into their minds. The panel consisted of a Roman Catholic, a Methodist, one who didn’t disclose his faith, a Muslim and two agnostics. All students said they were observant in their faiths, yet were interested in learning about other faiths and traditions, which was why they joined the interfaith program. Through their questions, I explained about Kabbalah, but I also dedicated time to discussing the role of the Jewish people in the world, and why so many people feel that there is something different about Jews, if they are not openly antiSemitic. I also told them about my two NYT articles, "Who Are You, People of Israel," and “What We Jews Owe the World,” where I proposed the solution of unity among Jews in order to share that unity with the rest of the world.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaellaitman.com%2Fnews%2Fthe-new-york-times-article-who-are-you-people-of-israel%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEcY5Mzeq6Q0cNsoPUVYs8DBhS6rw

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaellaitman.com%2Fnews%2Ffeedback-new-york-times-article-jews-owe-world%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEJnTXlHR6JtFQlWDoGpHiWYPd_qQ

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaellaitman.com%2Fnews%2Ffeedback-new-york-times-article-jews-owe-world%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEJnTXlHR6JtFQlWDoGpHiWYPd_qQ


The students’ reactions were, as always when I speak to nonJews, very favorable. They smiled every time I talked about conveying the method by which to unite, and they generally felt that I was offering something they could embrace. The reason I’m so happy with this encounter is that it proves that even in today’s antiJewish and antiIsrael atmosphere on campuses throughout the US, and although these students are devout followers of other religions, including Islam, their responses to my message were invariably positive. I didn’t hide the fact that I was from Israel, or that I was Jewish, but all this didn’t matter. They responded to the message of unity above differences, without suppressing differences, but rather embracing them as a means to grow even closer. And they responded with overwhelming warmth. Here are some of the things they said to the cameraman about the meeting: The Muslim (leader of the council): “His demeanor is very peaceful and I felt like he’s a very knowledgeable person. ...He inspired me ... because I think the type of things that Dr. Laitman is speaking about are the type of things we’re trying to achieve here in the council.” One of the agnostics: “Normally, other teachings are restricting, but here I felt acceptance and I felt like this is something I could pursue.” The Roman Catholic: “He makes me understand certain things about life in a framework which is very unique. I’ve never seen anything that relates so well to the idea of universalism and about the idea of embracing humanity, and everybody. I find that very comforting. ...I have to say that it gives me a lot of optimism as to where we can all come together and agree.” To me, that day was yet further evidence that the world is ready for the message of unity, that Jews should not be afraid to raise the banner of solidarity. Instead of fearing hatred, we should simply implement the method and share it with the world. Everybody’s thirsty, but only we can open the valve and let the world drink, because we not only have the understanding that unity is required, but also the method for achieving it. If we unite, the world will unite with us.



Chapter 16: My Trip to Los Angeles and DC It has been approximately six weeks since my return from a trip to LA and DC, and nearly five weeks since the start of the course, “What Does It Mean To Be Jewish Today?” based on my book, Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour. Despite the successful media engagements and the encouraging responses from audiences, since my return, much has happened in the world, but most of it has not been positive. The drop in oil prices has caused a major economic and social crisis in Russia, which is bound to have adverse effects worldwide. The Israeli government has argued itself to extinction and declared a new election, the last thing that people need. AntiSemitism has been, well, antiSemitism. It’s not only vibrant, but has spread as far as Australia and New Zealand. In the US, it is gradually becoming institutionalized, primarily in campuses (see Harvard and the SodaStream case), and in Europe it is growing increasingly violent. In short, we have our work cut out for us. Many people feel that if only the Jews, or at least the Jewish state, would cease to exist, so would their problems. That is not the case. The world’s problems will cease to exist when Israelis and Jews all over the world do what they have to do, namely unite, in order to share that unity with every person in the world, from Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, ISIS’ leader, to Pope Francis. People will take what they need from this unity, but we have to give it regardless. Until we do, the world’s problems will not end, and antiSemitism will keep intensifying because the very reason for its existence is to prompt us to unite. The minute we do, the reason for its existence disappears, and antiSemitism vanishes along with it. When we part, the whip appears once more and we huddle together in fear, instead of in love. We have a lot of work ahead of us; so let’s come together and make 2015 a year of change. This article originally appeared online in the Jewish Journal.




http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2Fmy_trip_to_la_and_dc&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEXqJDNvsVYaVON6COcqhyEBRVbfQ


Section 4: The Deeper Reasons Behind World Events



Chapter 17 : If Every Day Were Black Friday

Each year, right after Thanksgiving, human nature runs amok. We call it “Black Friday,” and it’s definitely one of the most poignant examples of the havoc human nature can inflict if we let it loose. And just to emphasize that Black Friday isn’t about saving money, but about the social phenomenon of boasting, “I got this at Macy’s/Best Buy/You Name It, on Black Friday,” think of the fact that some of us shoppers don’t even bother to actually do the allnighters, we hire people to stand in line for us. So at the end of the day, how much did we really save? If you want to get a great deal you can always buy online, as many people already do. So why do we stand in line? Because it’s what you do the night after Thanksgiving? I think there are better things we can do with our time. If we’re willing to spend that much time and effort to save a few hundred dollars (at best), think how much we could save by collaborating? If we felt committed to each other, and not just to ourselves, think of the kind of societies we could build together. Let’s not kid ourselves; retailers aren’t losing money on Black Friday, they’re making heaps of it. So why don’t they sell at these prices all year long? Because we customers are not united. But I’m not trying to suggest that unity for the sake of cutting prices will get us anywhere. It won’t. If anything, it’ll make things worse because there’ll always be people who’ll take advantage of the situation at the public’s expense. I suggest unity for the sake of unity! We may not realize it but when we unite we create such human warmth that provides more confidence and joy than anything else ever will. We create a force field that accompanies us wherever we go. You know how there are people who come from loving families and you can tell that they did as soon as you look at them? Well, a united society can provide a million times more confidence than that, and to everyone, not just to a lucky few.



Let’s think about what we really want to give our loved ones next time we get them something for Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve. Let’s give each other the gift of unity, and then each day will be a bargain day for us, Black Friday every day. Please see a clip about this here. This article originally appeared online in the Times of Israel


http://youtu.be/1TNqQIOQpPc?list=PLOwgIdsYkvh8wwpGkePnkGNKeFTS-GRFB

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fif-every-day-were-black-friday%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFCqyaoIGJka9YbH7fEoXCRy6wSOQ


Chapter 18: A Strategy for Peace in the Middle East

In the last two days there have been over 115 news items about the escalation of antiSemitism, especially in Europe. The media is reporting every detail about how bad the situation is getting but no one is offering a real solution. This is what I want to focus on because the trend is clear: antiSemitism will keep intensifying to the point where governments will not be able to resist it. They will conform to their constituencies’ wishes and will either expel or destroy the Jews in their territories. We may perceive this as a new trend and some people do say that antiSemitism has become “trendy” but the natural laws that cause it have not changed, nor will they change. So I will focus on the solution, because there is one, and it’s always been there, but we’ve been unaware of it, and now it’s time we tap into it. When Abraham took his followers out of Haran toward the land of Canaan, he taught them a rule that would become the motto of Jewish existence henceforth: “love your neighbor as yourself.” By sticking to this principle despite obstacles and challenges, the Jews were able to unite and maintain their integrity for many centuries. When we lost our unity, because we have forgotten that principle, we lost our land and have been pariahs ever since. And when we were exiled for the last time, antiSemitism in the sense we relate to it today began. Since then we have been persecuted, tormented, murdered, and expelled from more countries than one can count. The result of our frequent expulsions was not eradication of our nation, but rather our expansion into more and more countries, to the point where today there are Jews virtually everywhere around the globe. But why are we still so hated, and by most everyone? “Love your neighbor as yourself” is not a motto for Jews alone. It is a state of mind that in recent years has become imperative to the world’s existence. The human society is irreversibly interconnected, while people are intolerably hateful of each other. These



opposite trajectories will cause our society to snap, and we are quickly nearing the edge. And since interconnectedness is irreversible, the only solution is to change ourselves from hating one another into, at least, tolerating one another, as in “that which you hate, do not do to your neighbor.” Today we Jews must step in and say, “I’ve got it, I know how to unite.” Without getting into the nittygritty, much of which you can find in my book, Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, and in other publications at ariresearch.org, it’s enough if we remember that success lies in unity. And not just our own success. The survival of human society depends on our ability to unite above our differences. The scientific data that support it are accumulating by the hour. Scientists know we must connect because this is how the whole of nature functions, and we’re the only ones at odds with it. But scientists cannot tell us how to connect, because this is a conscious choice that we must make, and then implement. Please go to bundleofreeds.com, download the free ebook, watch the free course, and let’s start connecting and uniting for real. Our lack of unity is the cause of antiSemitism, and the lack of unity in the general human society is the cause of all hatred. When we unite, and set an example of how this can be done, there will be no need for antiSemitism, or for any other kind of hatred. The year 2015 can be one of change, but only if we choose to make it so, together. This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FLike-Bundle-Reeds-Mutual-Guarantee%2Fdp%2F1897448821&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFZ2obP-bjsD4502HMXZqEmKNB4qQ


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fa-strategy-for-peace-in-the-middle-east%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEtMHwN0SFqS3dqJI0phbicHRvtZw


Chapter 19: Meeting of Minds at JTimes A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of having a very lively discussion with two very knowledgeable and eloquent individuals. Shalom C. Elcott is the president & CEO of the Jewish Federation & Family Services of Orange County, and Tal Ronen is the founder of the YK Center for Prosperity and co founder of Reboot, along with Professor Yehuda Kahane.

Together with host, Chaim Ratz, we shot two special episodes of JTimes, a TV series broadcast on JLTV and Shalom TV. The discussion developed around the role of the Jewish people and the reasons for antiSemitism.

It was very interesting to hear Mr. Elcott’s input regarding the generous donations of Jews toward nonJewish causes such as hospitals and universities. According to him, only 11% of funds donated by Jews go to purely Jewish causes, and the rest are donated to the benefit of the general population. Even more fascinating to me was his explanation of how the majority of Jewish millennials veer off from anything that emits a scent of religiousness. It is as though they are looking for a spiritual connection rather than a religious one per se.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2Fmeeting_of_minds_at_jtimes%23&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEmTTZXjRiqfqSLERplFJnFqlIfEA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fjewishorangecounty.org%2Fabout-us%2Fboard-staff&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGzpdKAWv0S6wMtDsc3j6qHokBx6g

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ykcenter.org%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHC5J-9Vg98vGhLK6o1kV18RpMi1w

https://www.youtube.com/user/ARIfilms/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=0


All of us in the studio were well aware of the fact that many young Jews want nothing to do with Judaism. However, we were talking more about those who are still connected, but are searching for a way that will cater to their needs, which, as just mentioned, are more spiritual than religious. I think it is a very good sign that this is happening because it gives us a chance to introduce a new paradigm into the concept of being Jewish. It is not that any of us rejects observance of commandments in the traditional, way. Far from it. But the fact that so many Jewish youngsters are looking elsewhere for the meaning of being Jewish gives us an opportunity to tap into the roots of our people and the principles by which our nation was initially founded. We all felt that what is lacking today in Jewish communities, and everywhere else, for that matter, is a sense of solidarity. The apprehension we feel toward the concept of a mission that has been cast upon us, albeit natural, stops us from pausing to think together, and makes us turn away from our own heritage. At the same time, as Mr. Elcott pointed out, the concept of Tikkun Olam (correction of the world) is vibrant among Jews and determines many of their actions. All we need to do then, is find out how to do it effectively, so that it actually yields the correction of the world, and at the same time the elimination of hatred, including the most ancient hatred of all, antiSemitism. In my view, the unique gift that we have to give to the world, and which in my perception is the only gift that the nations expect from us, is the ability to unite. I do realize how far we are from unity ourselves, but we are the only nation capable of uniting if we choose to. The rest of the nations, and the reality of our lives supports it, will only grow more fragmented and hateful of each other. And the more they hate each other, the more they will hate us, guaranteed, because unlike them, we once held the knowledge of unity above differences, but we have lost it. So what we need to do is search within us for the key to unity, rekindle it—and yes, we can—and offer it. Mr. Elcott made a distinction that I often hear about the difference between antiIsraelism, as he called it, and antiSemitism. I’m well aware of the distinction, but I think that in the long run it will not hold. We have been hated for so many reasons before, including reasons that clearly contradict one another, and which were held by the same people at the same time. It’s clear to me that we are hated for something far



deeper than the different accusations being thrown at us at different times and circumstances. As one who has seen how methods of unity above differences work, such as Integral Education, used by the Arvut movement in Israel, or Tal Ronen’s Reboot method, I know that if we only give ourselves a chance, we can discover an amazing reality. We can realize that when other people’s views differ from our own, it creates a better whole from which we all benefit, rather than pose a threat to the legitimacy of our own views. In fact, many of today’s most successful companies rely on people’s differing opinions and perspectives to achieve the best results for their products, for their marketing strategies, and for their R&D teams. Now we need to embrace the models of unity above differences and apply them to our own communities. There is no doubt we will discover that the same benefits we reap in the corporate world are just as feasible in our social environment. And if we do that, we will truly become a role model that others will want to emulate, and we will all have a wonderful year of solidarity and friendship in 2015. This article originally appeared online in the Jewish Journal.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2Fmeeting_of_minds_at_jtimes&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGlQ8bL_f3g-melwWYi4UNxPGnTJg


Chapter 20: Ferguson Is Our Fault (Or Is It?) Hear, hear! The Jews are causing the riots in Ferguson. Don’t believe it? Look at this picture and read the story.

On Sunday, journalist Yael Veltzer, published an interview she held with me while I was in Los Angeles at the beginning of this month. In it, I warned that antiSemitism is going to spread faster and harder than we think. This sign proves that I miscalculated; it’s happened faster than I predicted. There is rampant antiSemitism everywhere in

the US. It no longer requires any reasoning, or as the reporter of this story from Seattle writes, “Upset with the verdict in Missouri? Then boycotting Israel makes perfect sense.” This is the real face of antiSemitism, pure hatred, requiring no justification. AntiSemites blame Jews for everything that’s wrong with the world, and Ferguson is just more proof of it. The problem is, though, that reasoning with people who put up such signs won’t help. You can’t convince them that Jews or Israel have nothing to do with the killing of an unarmed AfroAmerican by a white, Christian police officer. They feel in their guts that we are responsible, and go reason with someone’s guts! As I said numerous times before, and as is elaborated in my book, Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are the Call of the Hour, we, Jews are


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fmikereport.wordpress.com%2F2014%2F11%2F24%2Fand-now-they-blame-ferguson-on-the-jews%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG9x69AaHrLXmYGpDuB8gZQ4uVvIw




responsible for the world’s afflictions in the sense that only we have the key to achieving unity and peace among people. Even if we’re unaware of it, it is rooted in our subconscious, and it is our task to reawaken that ability to unite and implement it among us. But only at first do we implement it among us, because as soon as we’ve sparked that unity, we must share it with the world. And we must share not just the unity, but first and foremost the method by which to unite. Today this method consists of two elements: 1) Theoretical, which involves learning about the interdependent and interconnected nature of our world today. This will nurture in us the necessity to unite. 2) The method for achieving unity, which I call “Integral Education” because it educates us about the integral world we live in. This is what we have to learn and share. And because this is what the world needs (it has enough smartphones), then once we provide it, we will be regarded as a blessing to the world rather than as a curse. Please see a clip about this here. This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel


http://youtu.be/UFhvTTDs9Ps?list=PLOwgIdsYkvh8wwpGkePnkGNKeFTS-GRFB

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fferguson-is-our-fault-or-is-it%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGd92hqDgD1LSmbdNjYizL-wHDxNA


Chapter 21: ISIS's Search for Meaning

When we consider the brutal executions conducted by the ISIS, we are rightly appalled, or at least we should be. But a closer look at today’s frenzy of Islamist fundamentalism reveals a deeper level of human agony. Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning immortalized Nietzsche’s saying, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Frankl was right in identifying that having a cause is a source of strength, but there is much more to it than that. In our postmodern world, the search for meaning is crucial to our survival, especially in the Western world. Here the struggle for provision of sustenance has been won ages ago, and what’s left is to find out how we want to spend our lives. No smartphone in the world will make us happy. They only mask our isolation and provide false connectivity, when inside we’re getting lonelier and emptier. If you look at the growing depression rates throughout the West, it’s hardly a surprise that ISIS is finding new recruits so readily. Among their ranks, no one is depressed. They can’t be; they have a purpose! And that’s not all. ISIS is declaring that its goal is to conquer the world and turn all of us into devout Muslims, or face beheading. Indeed, the thrill of a just, bloody struggle can be so compelling it can turn many people blind. What is the alternative? The alternative is to offer people an alternative purpose! Fundamentalist Islam is struggling for the essence and meaning of life, nothing less. But in the end, killing will not get them there. The essence and meaning of life come from our connection with other people, not from destroying other people. Life exists where mutuality and reciprocity abound. Where selfabsorbed consumption of others exists there is cancer and death. As I already wrote in SelfInterest vs. Altruism, each higher level in the hierarchy of life consists of greater complexity, built on greater mutual dependence, yielding greater health and longevity.



Only we humans think that by killing others we will somehow make ourselves better off. By killing others we destroy connections; it is a no win situation. But there is no way to know until we begin to implement it and see that where there is connection, there is power, vitality, and joy. And where there is isolation, there is emptiness and sadness that lead to extremism. As a scientist and Kabbalist, I see that the same rule applies to every aspect of our lives: connection means life! This is why my organization offers all its information free of charge. Making this accessible to everyone at this point in human history is mandatory not just for our wellbeing, but for our very existence. This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fisis-search-for-meaning%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqxLioiJf6OzM-xDG3HfSF4hG-Fw


Chapter 22: What ISIS Offers Young Western Europeans,

Which Europe Doesn’t

On September 26, 2014, BBC News published a story titled, “Islamic State crisis: ‘3,000 European jihadists join fight.’” Numerous reports appeared on Western media outlets at the time, pondering ISIS’ appeal to young Western Europeans. Governments were worried that these young men and women would return to Europe to perform terrorist acts. But did these Europeans leave for the Middle East because they had suddenly developed murderous intentions toward their own country folk? That would be far too superficial to regard as a serious consideration.

Two recently published stories about young people who admire ISIS give a clearer picture into the appeal of this extremist group. Just a few days after the horrific murders at Charlie Hebdo and the kosher deli, CNN’s Arwa Damon interviewed an ordinary looking French girl in “skinny jeans and flowing hair,” as Damon described her. That girl described her admiration for ISIS, and her desire to leave the amenities of Western life for the simplicity and honesty of a devout Muslim.

On the same day when Damon’s story was released, The New York Times published a story titled, “The Jihadist in Our Family.” It tells of a quiet, Malaysian Muslim man who was devoted to his family, to his young students at the mosque, and to Allah. His faith had led him to believe that life on earth was meaningless unless you use it to grow closer to your God. And the way to grow closer, so he believed, was to become a shahid, a martyr for Allah. He went to Syria and succeeded in becoming a shahid when he died of injuries sustained during a Syrian Air Force strike in Hama.

These intimate glimpses into the hearts of young ISIS recruits reveal the secret of their appeal. ISIS is offering young people a purpose for life. In a world where people are evaluated by the brands they wear, the gadgets they show off, and their credit in the bank, extreme religion offers an immortal purpose for existence. To many youngsters, it is a far better offer than the latest iPhone.

After decades of consumerism, the void in people’s hearts, especially the hearts of the millennials, has grown so vast that they feel compelled to fill it at any cost. So they turn to the extremes. The extreme right is also gaining ground among them, but it cannot offer the antiquity, the sense of authenticity, and the promise of eternity that religion can. And so religion wins.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-middle-east-29372494&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHs2p1WTh94IqS-kO8AXSacTfPBEg



http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2Fvideos%2Fworld%2F2015%2F01%2F13%2Fpkg-damon-french-isis-sympathizer.cnn&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE17tVXhXukOuSPXxFILZQ8eVHDcg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fvideo%2Fworld%2F100000003439666%2Fmy-father-the-jihadi.html%3Femc%3Dedit_th_20150115%26nl%3Dtodaysheadlines%26nlid%3D43678991&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGSlgHm3d8GWtPZXYcLIrTm2JEBiw


Does the fate of Jews in the face of such ominous powers seem hopeless? Not necessarily. Sure enough, the war against ISIS cannot be won on the virtual battleground. Blocking extremist groups on Twitter and Facebook may stall ISIS’ advance, but it will not dismantle or disarm it. This war will also not be won on the physical battleground, as has been proven too many times in the last few decades. Missiles and jets don’t win wars.

If we want to find the answer to ISIS, we have to look within us, not without. Human spirit wins wars, not armed forces. ISIS is winning people’s spirits, and this is why it is winning battles. The glam of Western culture has dimmed for young people, so they are looking elsewhere. To win them back, we have to offer them a new spiritual paradigm, not a new tablet PC.

And we, Jews, have that something new to offer, not just to ourselves, but to the entire world. Against the divisive message of extreme Islam, we must offer a message of unity above all differences—religious, racial, cultural, and national. This message of global unity is imbibed in our heritage. We are the ones who introduced the motto, “love your neighbor as yourself,” in our holiest book, and we have been assigned to carry that message out to all of humanity.

Ironically, the very existence of antiSemitism, and the world’s insistence that we are the cause of everything that is wrong with the world, makes us the perfect candidates to introduce a paradigm of mutual care and unity. The world is already focused on us, eavesdropping on every word that comes from Israeli and Jewish leaders. So we must put it to good use, and give them what they need: a sense of belonging, a sense of solidarity, and a feeling of acceptance.

The Book of Zohar (Aharei Mot) writes, “You, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, henceforth you will not part from one another... And by your merit there will be peace in the world.” We have been chosen for a mission to bring peace to the world, and the world’s irrational accusation that we are as genocidal as the Nazis indicates that we are chosen still. If we learn how to unite, and share that unity with the rest of the world, then hatred will vanish into thin air, and a new spiritual paradigm will emerge, one of compassion, care, and mutual responsibility.


https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Flaitman&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHkaOvj0BF6oVdjccU7fAnZ6huyeQ


Chapter 23: Jews and France—Where Do We Go from Here?

This past weekend horror in France must be a wakeup call for all of us, Jews and nonJews alike. But to be honest, I am not optimistic that this will be the case. I have been warning for years that our sages, our wise spiritual leaders of the past, have written over and over that Jews must unite and serve as a role model of unity to the world. In their writings, they state time and again that this is the only thing required of us.

Back in 2011, I published Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual

Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, a book that details why our sages assert that it is our role to introduce brotherly love and unity to the world, and that until we do the hatred toward us will keep growing.

Alas, so far, too few have listened.

We cannot expect the shock and justified abhorrence of the French public toward extreme Islam to last for long. In fact, today, just a few days after the shock, a French girl is already willing to proclaim (though still incognito) her allegiance to ISIS through the world media. At the end of the interview, CNN’s Arwa Damon expresses her alarm at the fact that French young men and women aspire to join ISIS and see it as a role model. But as the girl in the interview says, France has nothing of meaning to offer her, whereas with ISIS, she has a purpose!

Today, France, the cradle of democracy, is taking a good hard look at itself in the mirror, and asking itself serious questions about its society, about freedom of speech, freedom of practice (of religion), and freedom of immigration. But these questions will remain unanswered, and more and more French will lean toward the far right and toward Islam, because in the extremes there are no questions or doubts; there is purpose!

And the target of those two extremes will be the Jews. Gradually, but not necessarily slowly, the backbonelacking moderates will wane until they are swallowed by one of the extreme. The reason is simple: the moderates have nothing to offer but hightech gadgets, booze, and drugs. For today’s millennials, this is not enough. They don’t want to know how to have more fun the 90s way, but rather why they were born in the first place. And since there is no answer in the middle, they turn to the extremes.

As Jews, we have been privileged with the gift of an answer to this question. Our purpose in life is to be a light for the nations. Albeit its unappealing name and the bad




PR it has been given over the past few centuries, it is what the nations expect from us. Consider what we have contributed to humanity in science, culture, and social sciences. What, on the other hand, gratitude have we gotten from them? None. It is time to face the grim reality: no one thanks us but ourselves.

The one and only gift the nations want from us is the secret to unity above differences. Not unity that oppresses or suppresses individuals, but one that embraces differences and diversity, and nurtures these assets to the benefit of society. Only we can do that, since only we have done it before, in our ancient past. And therefore, only we can rekindle that gift and share it.

But to rekindle it, we need to have a purpose greater than ourselves. We need unity not for our own sake, but for the sake of the world. The world needs unity above diversity because by that we all embrace our interconnections and develop mutual, global responsibility, compassion, and friendship. This is the one thing neither extreme will ever have, and the one thing they will demand of us.

They will not come out and say, “Unite or we will kill you!” They will simply try to kill us. But if we unite, in order to offer it to them, then we will be valuable in everybody’s eyes. This is the value that all the Nobel Prizes won’t award us.

In my journeys throughout the world, I have met with numerous antiSemites in different settings. Not one has responded negatively to the message of Jewish unity in order to be a role model. But Jews have always resisted it. When I speak to Jews of being a role model of unity, they almost always snub my words. Indeed, a stiffnecked people.

Now I think it’s time we started reconsidering our options. On the current trajectory, even the near future doesn’t look bright for Jews. And unity, what can anyone say against it? Let’s give it a chance; if anything, it won’t do any harm.



Chapter 24: Terrorist Attacks in France - Attempt on Its Foundations

The recent terrorist attacks in France clearly highlight the problem that has engulfed the whole world, but it is particularly acute in Europe. I have been talking about it for many years. However, while it affected only the Jews, Europe neglected it. Attacks on Jews seem to be ‘justifiable’.

On the other hand, when it comes to the very foundations of society, the principles of the French Republic, then everyone feels effected. That’s why millions of people “woke up” and went to the streets.

Indeed, freedom originated in France during the Revolution: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of choice. All these are attributes of a free person, the foundations of French society, in which it great pride.

However, freedom, like any phenomenon, can be twofold: positive or negative. For example, freedom of expression and freedom of choice have allowed for the proportion of the Muslim population in the country to reach, and according to some estimates, even exceed 10%.

While this is not negative in itself, as everyone is free to pursue his or her own faith, the Muslim sector is becoming increasingly radicalized and involves native French people in its environment. Some of them convert to Islam and even develop links to terrorist organizations. And some go as far as traveling to the Middle East to fight for ISIS.

Therefore, it is natural that the attack on the newspaper has shocked people, because at the heart of every French person is the commitment to freedom of speech, which they regard as having the highest value and the foundation of existence. This is why this blow went to the heart of France, hitting its most sensitive spot.

Of course, some will defend freedom of speech, while others will call for restrictions that will prevent ridiculing certain values. Nevertheless, the country is shocked not only by the number of victims, but also by the attack on its moral and ethical foundations.



Chapter 25: Beyond Charlie Hebdo

Just a few days after the horrific murders at Charlie Hebdo and the kosher deli, CNN’s Arwa Damon interviewed an ordinary looking French girl in Skinny Jeans and flowing hair. But that girl described her appearance as a façade, a camouflage of her true feelings. She admires ISIS, adores the killers, and dreams of joining them.

And if we think France is an exception, The Guardian’s story from the 14th of this month suggests it isn’t. “Almost half of Britons hold antisemitic views,” the headline says. To British Jews this comes as no surprise, as “Most British Jews feel they have no future in Europe” Reuters reports.

It looks like we have reached a tipping point, and we must act fast, and with resolve. So far, efforts to curb antiSemitism have been largely ineffective, and even those that helped were merely temporarily successful. We need to think outside the box. Declarations will not help because we can rebuke antiSemites as much as we want, but if this is how they feel, our admonition will do nothing to diminish it, if not the opposite.

Let’s, for a moment, stop blaming antiSemites for being what they are. They are not apologetic about it, and will not change just because we tell them “Shame on you!” Let’s, instead, take a look at ourselves and ask, “What is it about us that’s causing the whole world to hate us, even nations whose people have never seen a Jew in real life?”

In his antiSemitic book, The International Jew—the World’s Foremost Problem, industrialist Henry Ford wrote quite a few passages that seem to hint at the root of his odium. Let’s look at three of them: “Modern reformers who are constructing model social systems on paper would do well to look into the social system under which the early Jews were organized.” Another interesting excerpt is this: “The whole prophetic purpose with reference to Israel seems to have been the moral enlightenment of the world through its agency.” And the last excerpt I would like to introduce is this: “Society has a large claim against [the Jew], that he cease his exclusiveness, that he cease exploiting the world ... and that he begin to fulfill ... the ancient prophecy that through him all the nations of the earth should be blessed.”

In simple words, Ford, one of the worlds most notorious antiSemites in modern history, argues that the Jews have a moral, spiritual obligation to the world, and accuses us of not fulfilling it. In more Jewish terms, he blames us for not being a light for the nations. When you read these lines it becomes easy to see why all the Nobel Prizes and accolades Jews have won in science, culture, and social sciences, do not give us any



http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.reuters.com%2Farticle%2F2015%2F01%2F14%2Fuk-britain-jews-idUKKBN0KN0LZ20150114&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEOTQK_Ua3xMfu_sYxjpjYVJGTMAw


credit points. It is not what the world needs; it is not what the nations are demanding of the Jewish nation.

Instead, what the world demands is what it needs the most today: unity. This five letter word holds within it the key to the salvation of humanity from selfdestruction, the abolition of antiSemitism, and of any form of hatred whatsoever.

The ancient Jewish unity that had enabled the morals Ford has mentioned was not the kind we might imagine. It has nothing to do with communism, contemporary socialism, and certainly not with equality (in wealth, knowledge, or social status). The unity the ancient Jews had held consisted of a bond that embraced diversity, encouraged fierce debates, and resolved them by uniting above them under the motto, “love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we unite above our differences, we discover that our individuality contributes to our collective strength. This is the true meaning of mutual responsibility (Arvut), which our nation was sworn to uphold at the foot of Mount Sinai. We are the only nation to have had mutual responsibility, cultivated it, and lost it. And now we must rekindle it among us not for ourselves, but so as to pass it on to all the nations. Everyone is talking about unity, but no one is uniting. Only we can and must unite, and share it with the world. This will put an end to antiSemitism, extremism, racism, and bigotry of any kind. And we must do it now, before we cross the tipping point, because we will never be left alone until we do.



Chapter 26 : We Don’t Need a Nation State Bill, We’ve Got One! I understand why Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to pass the Nation State bill, but I completely disagree with both the idea he’s trying to promote, and certainly with its implementation. We’ve had a Nation State Bill since the inception of our nation, the Israeli nation. The emblem of our people throughout the ages has always been unity, and not segregation. Those who wanted to unite and through unity discover life’s essential force, the Creator, became the people of Israel, and those who did not became other nations. The original Israelites were not all from the same tribe; they were an eclectic assembly of people who united around an idea—that through unity, they will discover a level of reality that they could not see in their current perception. Therefore, unity is the only Nation State bill we need. And in that unity, just as when our nation was first formed, we must include anyone who wishes to unite, not just those born to a Jewish mother according to an ID. If people unite around the tenet, “love your neighbor as yourself,” then they are Israel according to its deeper, true meaning. If we unite around that tenet, we will be supported by all the nations; we will have no enemies whatsoever, and millions, if not billions will join us. AntiSemitism will be a dim memory of our days of ignorance, when we didn’t understand what it meant to be Israel. Once we unite, and share that unity with the rest of the world, a new reality will emerge, and a new life will begin for Israel and for the whole world. I would be happy to hear your thoughts about this. This article originally appeared online in the Jerusalem Post.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FBlogs%2FLike-a-Bundle-of-Reeds%2FWe-Dont-Need-a-Nation-State-Bill-Weve-Got-One-Video-383304&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE446rTElgqYqbkFLOK4SY_6eyOSw


Chapter 27: Ebola Isn't a Disease; It's a Symptom There is a famous joke about an optimist who falls off the top of the Empire State Building. On the way down, people watching out the windows hear him say, “So far, so good! So far so good!” We’ll get back to this joke in a bit. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a new type of virus appeared in West Africa: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Some fifteen years later, the same region originated another menace: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF), or simply Ebola. It would be very tempting to blame poor living conditions and malnutrition in West Africa as the causes that such devastating outbreaks occurred specifically there. It would also be very wrong. Even if we find cures for AIDS and for Ebola, tomorrow’s plague is right around the corner, and it is likely to be even worse than the current horror we are facing. Because if you take an isolated cataclysm, any kind of cataclysm, and detach it from the big picture, you deprive yourself of the chance to remedy it, or the (sure to come) future outbreak of some other tragedy. Moreover, we tend to think that health problems are a separate matter from social problems, which are in turn separate from economic problems. They are not; they are part of the human sphere, where we create our thrills and ills, and where we can build a life of misery or bliss, all thanks to our ability to choose between awareness, or lack thereof. Today’s most innovative and fascinating studies in science have to do with networks and communication—human social networks, cosmic networks, communication networks among bacteria, and the list goes on and on. More and more, we are discovering that we are so bound up together that every element in reality affects every other element of it as if we’re all welded together by metal rods. And the fact that we are unaware of it doesn’t give us any allowances. And instead of acknowledging it and adjusting our lives to reality, we’re behaving like that optimist in the joke I quoted at the start of the post. But oblivion and ignorance won’t change things for the better.



The truth is simple: All of reality is a mesh of forces that continuously reciprocate and balance themselves out, creating a cosmic homeostasis. When we sit by the beach enjoying Nature’s harmony and calm, or when we’re out in the woods watching nature’s beauty, we admire it. The problem is that we forget that we are part oxogenous to nature. It is part of it! Not only that, we are the top of the pyramid. No other creature can choose whether to preserve and cultivate our world, or destroy it, and ourselves along with it. Only we can do it. But nature is a perfectly balanced mechanism. If you remove any part of it, even ones that seem redundant or harmful, you throw the system out of balance and “force” nature to rebalance itself more adamantly. When such rebalances occur, they manifest in outofthenorm phenomena, such as extreme weather events, earthquakes, diseases, or acute social crises, depending on the level and nature of the imbalance. Because humans are at the top of the pyramid, everything we do projects on the entire structure of reality. When we exploit elements of reality—minerals, plants, animals, or our fellow men and women—and use them to exhaustion, we throw the system off balance. The recompense is sure to come. And the more we throw the system off balance, the more forcefully nature will have to restore it. We have been saying “so far so good” for too long now. Since the start of the 20th century, humanity has become connected enough to be regarded as a single system, a single organism. In fact, in my perception as a Kabbalist and a scientist, the root cause of both WWI and WWII was nature’s attempt to rebalance itself after centuries of human exploitation of each other and of nature. Since WWII, the situation has only worsened. And so we see that Ebola, the most recent scare nature has inflicted upon us, is unlikely to be cured unless we cure its causes: our own exploitation of nature and of each other. Even if we do find a cure, it won’t be long before another, worse outbreak, comes along. Because Ebola isn’t the disease; it’s a symptom of our malfunctioning society! This, and other plagues, are appearing in West Africa not because of its poor living conditions, although these wrongs should certainly be mended. It is simply that we treat West Africa as an outcast, as though the whole region doesn’t belong to the human family. But since humanity is a single system, whose parts are all connected, leave a part of it unattended and it soon becomes infested and infects the whole body.



When you have a sore in your toe, you take care of it because otherwise the infection might spread throughout the body. The same principle applies to every part of this planet where humans are mistreated and malnourished. And the last, but certainly not least point I want to make in this post is this: So far, we, Jews, haven’t been accused of engineering or spreading the Ebola virus. But I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if we were. In fact, I predict that we will. We haven’t engineered it or spread it, that’s for sure. But it is true that we are responsible, just as antiSemites claim, for the misfortunes and afflictions the world over. It is written (Masechet Yevamot, 63a), “No calamity comes to the world but for Israel.” As it was true so many centuries ago, it is true now. The Jews’ responsibility toward the world is not to cure Ebola, AIDS, or feed the poor and starving. It is to serve as a role model of harmony through camaraderie and friendship, through brotherly love. We have given the world the tenet, “love your neighbor as yourself,” and we must implement it, so that everyone else can see that it’s possible, good, and is the only alternative to today’s exploitive and destructive society. The pause in the fighting in Gaza gives all Jews throughout the world a window of opportunity to think less of protecting ourselves, and more about strengthening our connections. Being the part in the system of humanity that draws the most attention, our change of focus toward social cohesion and mutual sympathy will spread ripples of positivity throughout the system. These will restore balance throughout the human society and the whole of nature faster than we can ever imagine. But we have to make the first move, and the sooner the better. This article originally appeared online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Febola-isnt-a-disease-its-a-symptom%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH1a658LW8wsv0Fk7YO0h4C4j95Og


Section 5: Things You Didn't Know about the Jewish Holidays



Chapter 28: Let Us Be a Light unto the Nations This Hanukkah With the rise in antiSemitic incidents from France to New York, let us take a moment to think what we can do differently in the coming year. We, the people of Israel, have to build our society in such a way that it becomes a role model to the entire world: with mutual love and mutual connection. Until we do this, antiSemitism will only intensify and the pressure on us will increase all over the world. We won’t be able to escape our responsibility to the world. It is now time for every Jew, and for all the Jews together, to understand our uniqueness and our role. The most conspicuous manifestation of the rising antiSemitism is what is happening on campuses in America. Who could have imagined that young Jewish students in America—the land of the free—would be targeted and harassed on a daily basis? I talked about it many years ago. I almost got attacked in New York for saying these things about the rise of antiSemitism, especially in universities. Actually universities are the hotbed of antiSemitism in the US. We need to understand that antiSemitism comes from educated people, not from the uneducated. So we must explain to the world the reason for antiSemitism, which is what the world is waiting for us to do. The people of Israel must show everyone how to achieve social cohesion, solidarity, and unity among all. The wisdom for achieving this is within us. Once we implement it, antiSemitism and hatred in general will disappear all over the world. The next holiday that is coming up is Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. This is an ideal time to ponder how we can fulfill our role in these troubled times, to truly become ‘a light unto the nations’. Hanukkah is indeed the Festival of Light, but what is light? It is the good, friendly relations among people. This is what we must show the world. This is the meaning of being a light unto the nations. The people of Israel must first unite, and through that unity bring out the light of love. This is achieved through special education. And once we have achieved it, it is our duty to teach the rest of humanity. By so doing, we will become a light unto the nations. Happy Hanukkah. (This article originally appeared online in the Jewish Journal.)


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2Flet_us_be_a_light_unto_the_nations_this_chanukah&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEeSgzo-eGE5NgLQMasZpZYNj1BXw


Chapter 29: A Holiday Full of Light Hanukkah is known as “the festival of light.” But the rise in antiSemitic incidents from France to New York casts quite a heavy shadow on our lives. Can we cast it away? Can we blow away the dark clouds gathering around the Jewish people?

Apparently we can. Since the world is examining our every move with critical eyes, it means that we, the people of Israel, can also influence the world much more than we dare (or like) to think. If we build a society based on mutual love and mutual connection, it will become a role model to the entire world. But once we do, says Rav Kook, we will change our fate—and the fate of the entire world—to the better.

Here is his poetic description of the connection between the people of Israel and the correction of the world: “Since our own vocation is ever standing, accompanying the vocation of the whole of Nature—whose law is to complete all creations and bring them to the apex of perfection—we must guard it devoutly for the life of us all, which is kept within it, and for the whole of humanity and its moral development, whose fate depends on the fate of our existence.” (Appeared in HaPeles, a rabbinical magazine, Berlin, Germany, 1901) Rav Yehuda Ashlag (author of the Sulam [Ladder] commentary on The Book of Zohar, also wrote about this topic in his matteroffact style: “The people of Israel, which has been chosen as an operator of the general purpose and correction ... contains the preparation required for growing and developing until it moves the nations of the worlds, too, to achieve the common goal” (The Writings of Baal HaSulam, “A Handmaid that Is Heir to Her Mistress”).



Until we do this and become “a light unto the nations,” antiSemitism will only intensify and the pressure on us will grow all over the world. It is now time for every Jew, and for all the Jews together, to understand our uniqueness and our role. Look what is happening on campuses in America. Who could have imagined that young Jewish students in America—the land of the free—would be targeted and harassed on a daily basis? Who could have thought that universities would become the hotbed of antiSemitism in the US? We need to understand that antiSemitism comes from educated people, not from the uneducated. So we must explain to the world how to achieve social cohesion, solidarity, and unity among all. The wisdom for achieving this is within us. Once we implement it, antiSemitism and hatred in general will disappear all over the world. Hanukkah is the festival of light. It is an ideal time to ponder how we can fulfill our role in these troubled times, and truly become ‘a light unto the nations’. (This article originally appeared online in the Jerusalem Post.)


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2FBlogs%2FLike-a-Bundle-of-Reeds%2FA-Holiday-Full-of-Light-384577&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHn9K1rwW0_kOzEPYJV2sbxh0yTMw


Chapter 30: Five Things You Never Knew About Hanukkah

#1 Hanukkah is the Festival of Light. But what is light? It is the good, friendly relations among people. This is what the Jews must show the world. This is the meaning of being “a light unto the nations.” The people of Israel must first unite, and through that unity bring out the light of love. This is achieved through a special education, and once it has been achieved, it is our duty to pass it on to the rest of humanity. This week of Hanukkah is an ideal time for Jews everywhere to ponder how to fulfill their role in these troubled times, to truly become “a Light unto the Nations.” #2 The first thing we need to fix are the broken relationships between us. We can start by not doing to others what we ourselves hate. All the Jewish holidays represent stages in the process of correction of our relationships. The people of Israel first have to perform it on themselves, then convey that form of behavior to the rest of the world. Hanukkah symbolizes the first stop on this path. At this first point a person doesn’t really have to love others but needs to feel connected. #3 The Greeks in the Hanukkah legend represent our ego. It’s simply that each of us wants to be independent, disconnected from others. We want to run and find some safe haven where we don’t need to care about anything or anyone else. Yet this is impossible. But if we try to connect slightly above our egos, we will begin to feel the internality of life, this special energy in the world, and we will attain this wonderful feeling of perceiving the whole of reality, including much that is currently hidden from us. #4 What is the miracle of Hanukkah? It is when a person can find in him or herself the slightest, tiniest spark that ignites the process of correction, where one wants to become a giver, positively connected to others, and achieve love of others. #5 Hanukkah stands for the first stage of correction where a person stops hating everyone. Jewish people especially need to think whether they are providing a good example to others. In other words, Jews must set an example of unity and mutual guarantee to the world. This is the meaning of being “a light for the nations.” This article was originally published online in the Times of Israel


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Ffive-things-you-never-knew-about-hanukkah%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGw8phH4cWbgYh6cEDXbpzs7NN6vw


Chapter 31: What is a Miracle? Hanukkah is a great time to talk about miracles. A miracle, by definition, is something that according to the laws of nature isn’t supposed to happen. So for example, if at the end of the eight days of Hanukkah I’ve only gained two pounds or less, that can certainly qualify as a miracle.

But more seriously, how do you define something as “defying the laws of nature?” And if something defies the laws of nature, is it only defying the laws of the nature that we know, or the laws of all of nature? Because if it did, then what law caused that miracle to happen? If you showed a person living in the 18th century that you can touch a

tiny switch on the wall, and the whole room becomes illuminated by a device that by all accounts is disconnected from the switch, that would easily qualify as a miracle. But we all know it isn’t. So a miracle is an event that defies the laws of nature that we know. That is, if we learn new laws, perhaps what seems miraculous today will seem obvious tomorrow. The world as we know it operates according to a very simple law: the stronger one wins and the weaker one loses. On all levels of nature, balance is kept by the fact that the stronger ones take only what they need for their sustenance. But on the human level, people take what they need in order to satisfy their need for superiority. The result is an unchecked war among people, fear, alienation, exploitation of people and the environment, and if we don’t stop, the eventual collapse of human society and the entire ecosystem that supports it.



Today we already know that life on Earth would not have evolved had it not cultivated balance and harmony among the elements that comprise its ecosystems. But for some reason, despite our awareness of this fact, we cannot implement it on ourselves. Although we know we aren’t, we act as though we’re not subject to the laws of nature. We are behaving as if we may take what we want simply because we can. And we not only treat nature this way; this is also how we treat each other. So a miracle today would be if we could work not in favor of ourselves, but in favor, or at least in balance with the society we live in. This is where we, Jews, come into the picture. I’d like to suggest a fresh viewpoint on the war between the Maccabees and the Greeks. The real miracle of the Maccabees was not that a tin contained enough oil to light the menorah for eight days, but that the Maccabees were able to find the strength within them to unite and fight off the Hellenistic culture of selfindulgence. Of course, in the long run, the Greeks won. Today we’re all hedonistic to the core. But are we happy? It seems that the element of unity, of social cohesion, is the missing element in our lives. That is, we have enough to live on, but not enough to live for. Because if we’re only living for ourselves, then who do we share it with? And then, what fun is our hedonistic victory? Prior to the ruin of the Temple, the Jews had the gift of mutual guarantee and unity. That unity sustained us and enabled us to keep strong. Once we lost it, we lost the land of Israel, as well. Today we need unity not as a means for reestablishing sovereignty over a piece of land; we need it in order to survive! In fact, the whole world needs it in order to survive. If we maintain our hedonistic attitude toward life, we are damning ourselves to Hell on earth. But if we embrace unity instead, there is plenty for all of us to live in Heaven on earth. Only we, Jews, have the key to this kind of unity, because only we had ever experienced it. Back in the days of the Maccabees, we were a society based on mutual guarantee that was formed at the foot of Mount Sinai, and that mutual guarantee was reinforced after each feud. Now we must rekindle it and share it with the world. The world will not find it anywhere else until we reawaken it and pass it on. This is what it means to be “a light for the nations,” and no time is better to start giving the light of unity than the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. So Happy Hanukkah, and may we all unite and share our unity with the entire world.



This Article Originally appeared online in the Jewish Journal.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishjournal.com%2Fthejewishtribe%2Fitem%2Fwhat_is_a_miracle&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFVUQp9X_xTQAySs7eHcYg5B39-QQ


Chapter 32: Maccabees vs. Greeks, Round II Hanukkah is a great time to discuss hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle, which the Hellenists nurtured so enthusiastically. I would like to present an idea that may sound novel to many of you, but is actually at the basis of Jewish thought. On the face of it, there is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy. In fact, our very nature is that of a desire to receive pleasure. The Greeks knew how to make the most of human nature. They were masters at cultivating culture, sports, science, and architecture all to our amusement. Opposite them were the Maccabees. They maintained a very different approach—that human nature is rotten to the core, as it is written, “The inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth,” and “Sin crouches at the [womb’s] door.” To be sure, the Maccabees (or Jews who didn’t subscribe to Hellenism), did not object to cultivating culture, science, or technology. It is more that they objected to the selfcentered implementation of our skills and talents, to the glorification of the self rather than of the common good. This is why the Greeks admired winners and adored competition. The Jews, on the other hand, cultivated “love your neighbor as yourself” as their ideal. Granted, the implementation of the ideal was not as ideal as the notion itself, but that, in general, was the goal toward which they aspired. It was not as though the Maccabees were ascetics. They, too, aspired for the ultimate happiness. The difference between them and the Greeks was that they knew that true happiness exists when there is mutual camaraderie and social cohesion, when you identify yourself as part of a bigger whole, because then you expand your perception in direct proportion to the size of the community. The self can only enjoy so much. But a self that experiences itself as part of a whole enjoys both the fulfillment of personal skills, the contribution of those skills to the society, and also enjoys the contribution of all the other members of society.



In addition, just as the cells in our body sustain themselves, but work to the benefit of the entire body, as though they are (and perhaps they really are) perceiving the entire body, the goal of the Maccabees was to bequeath that expansive perception to each of them. Naturally, the selfcentered, hedonistic approach contradicted it, so the two approaches to life could not coexist. Looking at today’s world, it appears that the Greeks have won the battle by a knockout. Wherever you look, selfindulgence prevails. Competition thrives, and people cannot even conceive a society that doesn’t cultivate competitiveness. Alas, the Greeks’ victory is rather a Pyrrhic one. In the most competitive societies, depression is rampant, as are extremism of all sorts, and comprehensive social decadence. Competition has led to isolation, alienation, loneliness, depression, and radical views of all kinds. So now we must turn back to the Maccabees’ ideals of camaraderie, but most importantly, social cohesion. Or in simpler words, “love your neighbor as yourself.” So once again, all eyes are turning to the Jews. And once again, the world, which has become all but completely hedonistic, especially in the West, is turning against us. AntiSemites feel that something about us is noxious, but can’t quite pinpoint it, so they blame it on the existence of the state of Israel, or the existence of the Jewish people as a whole. But deep down, they’re sensing that we’re putting off a job we should be doing. And they are right. We are procrastinating the implementation of our task, to be “a light unto the nations.” That light is the light of unity, as this is the only remedy to today’s multifaceted crisis. When there is a crisis in human nature, it manifests in everything. Since human nature affects everything in our lives, every area of human engagement is either in crisis, or well under way toward it. Now is the time to say “Enough!” let’s try something really different. Let’s try to work together! Truly together! We needn’t relinquish who we are, or what we’ve gained in science, technology, and culture. All we need is to use them differently. We need to create an environment of giving. Even the richest person cannot feel safe in today’s world. But in a society where people care for one another, even the poorest, weakest person can feel perfectly safe and happy. Only we, Jews, have the key to such a kind of unity, because only we had ever experienced it. Way back, in the days of the Maccabees and before the ruin of the Temple, this is how we lived. We were a society based on mutual guarantee that was



formed at the foot of Mount Sinai, and that mutual guarantee was reinforced after each feud. Now it is time to rekindle it and share it with the world. This is what the world needs, and like it or not, the world will not get it from anywhere else until we reawaken it and pass it on. This is what it means to be “a light for the nations,” and no time is better to start than the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. Happy Festival of Lights to all This article originally appeared online in the Times of Israel.


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.timesofisrael.com%2Fmaccabees-vs-greeks-round-ii%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEdn7w45fmKF_6v1VoUvATBvpT74A


what does it mean to be jewish - newbie · pdf filewhat does it mean to be jewish today?...

Documents