Michael Laitman’s New eBook “What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today?”
Available now is a collection of online essays written by Michael Laitman, “What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today: Selected Media Essays“. This free eBook is a compliation of articles written for the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, the Jewish Journal, and other venues providing context to the history and forces behind anti-Semitism; and offering the people of Israel a path forward to a lasting peace. The situation today is critical, but it’s not hopeless. Most importantly, the way forward begins with each of us. The path to peace – a life free of hatred, rejection and fear – can begin today with a gathering of friends and family around a dining room table. You’re encouraged to read this eBook, share it with friends, watch the archive of the 10-week course of the same title “What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today“, send questions to Michael Laitman directly, or leave a comment below. Together we can make a difference! ...
Terrorist Attacks in France—Attempt on Its Foundations
by Michael Laitman 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 took 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...
Jews and France—Where Do We Go from Here?
by Michael Laitman This past weekend horror in France must be a wakeup call for all of us, Jews and non-Jews 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...
What Does It Mean To Be Jewish Today? Course – Lesson 9: Plurally Speaking
Lesson 9 Transcript: Plurally Speaking [With Chaim and Gilad] Chaim : Welcome to session number nine of What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today? Today we’re moving into a special stage in the course. We’ve been through all the material that explains where Jews come from, why there’s anti-Semitism; and we also talked about the solution being unity. Then how do we achieve unity? That’s been the question in the back of the mind of I’m assuming every one of you who has been watching the lessons. Gilad: Actually not everyone only here but I think that a lot of people in the world are asking that question. A lot of people are talking about unity. A lot of people want unity. But it isn’t like anyone has this method of how to reach unity. So the whole course has been telling us about a method that enables human beings to reach unity. You’ve been telling us that it’s based on this ancient wisdom, that it’s actually a method that was founded not a few years ago through pop psychology, but thousands of years ago by Abraham. And today is really exciting because we’re going to talk about the actual implementation, now in our days, with a method that’s actually out there for everyone to use. Today and in the next lesson too. And the thing is that when you try to unite, usually what happens is you get the opposite. It’s been found that when people try to force themselves into unity it ends up being… it explodes, just like the beautiful testimonial that we...
A Strategy for Peace in the Middle East
by Michael Laitman In the last two days there have been over 115 news items about the escalation of anti-Semitism, 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: anti-Semitism will keep intensifying to the point where governments will not be able to resist it. They will conform to their constituency’s 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 anti-Semitism 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, anti-Semitism 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...
What Does It Mean To Be Jewish Today? Course – Lesson 8: Q&A Session
Lesson 8: Question & Answer Session [ With participation of Chaim and Gilad] Chaim: Hello Gilad. And how are you guys? We are today in lesson number eight in What Does It Mean to Be Jewish Today based on the book Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour. Gilad: As usual we are very happy to be here. Although today we’re going to have a Q&A session, you’re still welcome to add in your live questions on the chat and we’ll be happy to refer to them as well. Before we begin we would like to do a recap on last week’s lesson. We talked about the mingling of the Jews throughout the world. Let’s go back to the beginning and quickly run through this development until today. So we have this guy named Abraham and he lives in Babylon, Mesopotamia, in the fertile crescent somewhere, Haran. He starts thinking about his townspeople and what’s going on with them. He’s dissatisfied with their situation. He feels that the mood is changing. He is a very well-known individual. His father is a spiritual leader in this big town. He starts asking questions, this Abraham, and he discovers that there is only one force to reality, one power—the power that gives life to everything—and he discovers that it is a power of giving, of bestowal. He realized that this is the missing element in his townsfolk, in the world actually, that we’re all working to receive instead of to give. He begins to explain that if we only add that spice...