Rabbi Akiva is known to have laughed upon witnessing the destruction of the Temple. Why did he laugh? It is because he grasped the unfolding of a necessary process leading to a far greater future state. The ruin of the…
Dr. Michael Laitman
To Change the World – Change Man
Tisha B’Av: A Call to Unity in the People of Israel’s Final Exile
As we approach Tisha B’Av, the day commemorating the ruin of the Holy Temple and the shattering of our unity as a single entity, we face existential threats and witness a growing trend of Israelis wanting to leave the country.…
An Invitation to the 2024 NA Annual KabU Retreat
An Invitation to the 2024 NA Annual KabU Retreat Hello to all of you who find interest in the wisdom of Kabbalah and wish to know what this wisdom is really about, and what it guides a person to achieve.…
The Allegory of the Thirsty Knight and the Three-Headed Dragon
A knight, who had lost his horse and armor and held only his sword, walked on, hungry and thirsty. In the distance, he saw a lake, but beside it sat a three-headed dragon. With his last ounce of energy, the…
What Was the ARI’s Contribution to the Development of Kabbalah?
In the words of Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam): “Our sages have already said, ‘You have not a generation without such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Indeed, that Godly man, Rav [teacher/great one] Isaac Luria [the ARI], troubled and provided…
What’s Wrong With Communism?
Communism’s past mistake was that people were forced to live under certain conditions that were labelled as “communism.” In order for a cooperative society to work, people cannot be forced but rather must want to apply its conditions out of…
How Should Jews in America React to Rising Antisemitism?
Jews in America can either mingle into their surrounding society so as not to stand out, and by doing so, try to avoid various forthcoming blows; or they can be strong Jews, demanding what is rightfully theirs and not giving…
What Is Shame? Why Do People Feel Ashamed, and When?
Shame is an assessment of a person that is much lower than they consider themselves, and which they thus cannot agree with. That is, someone else evaluates the person in a way that is lower than the person considers themselves,…
Unity Is Israel’s Shield Against Existential Threats
Amid anxiety of a looming attack on Israel from multiple fronts following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, my students asked me in relation to the verse from Jeremiah, “Out of the north the evil will break forth,” which Baal HaSulam…
Why Could Now Be a Turning Point in Our History?
We are at a turning point in our history because we have exhausted our egoistic paradigm and can no longer continue developing as we have until today. What is the “egoistic paradigm”? It is that we developed according to the…
How Is it That Sometimes Brothers Hate Each Other?
Hatred between brothers is a consequence of human egoistic nature. We are run by an inner program that makes us wish to suppress and be above others. While our attitude in general is egoistic, our attitudes to our own brothers…
What Is the Difference Between the Land of Israel and the State of Israel?
I once visited a place in Israel that housed the furniture and utensils of Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam). I noticed how “Medinat Israel” (Hebrew for “The State of Israel”) was inscribed on his challah knife’s handle. It is a…