You are here: Kabbalah Library Home / Michael Laitman / Abridged Versions of Primary Sources / Abridged Versions of Baal HaSulam Articles / The Solution
Michael Laitman, PhD

The Solution

Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
(Adapted for the congress of 2008)
The Corrected Society

Accepting the law, “Love your friend as yourself,” word for word.

Just division of the profits so each will work according to ability and will receive according to need.

Public opinion should be based on “Love your friend as yourself,” so one who receives more than one’s needs will be considered a killer.

Transformation

The will to receive, imprinted in every creature, is in disparity of form from the Creator. Hence, one’s soul is separated from Him, since disparity of form separates in spirituality. It is therefore clear that what the Creator wants of us is equivalence of form, at which time we will cling to Him once more, as prior to our creation.

This is why Kabbalists said that one must cleave to the attributes of the Creator—“as He is merciful, so you are merciful—so all our actions will be only to bestow upon our fellow person to the best of our ability. This is how we achieve the goal of cleaving to the Creator, equalizing with Him.

What one must do for oneself, in the necessary measure for the sustenance of oneself and one’s family, is not considered disparity of form, since “necessity is neither praised nor condemned.”

All these conditions will arise in the days of the Messiah. And when they accept this lesson we will be awarded complete redemption.

Two Ways

There are two ways to reveal the perfection:

1) the path of Torah (Light, corrections);

2) the path of suffering.

Hence, the Creator granted man technology, until they discovered the atom bomb. If the future destruction is still unclear to the world, let them wait for a third world war. Those remaining after the ruin will have no choice but to assume the conduct that individuals and nations will not work for themselves more than is necessary for their existence, and dedicate the rest of their actions to the benefit of others.

And if all the nations of the world agree to that, there will be no wars in the world, since all the people will not care for their own benefit, but for the benefit of their fellow persons.

The method of equivalence of form is the wisdom of Kabbalah, the wisdom of the Messiah. It will appear before the whole of humanity and prove that if they do not assume the work of correction they will be destroyed by wars.

If you go by the path of the wisdom of Kabbalah, good. If not, you will go by the path of suffering: nuclear wars will breakout and all the nations will seek advice to escape the wars. Then they will come to the Kabbalists to learn the correction method.

The Format of Society

The format of all the nations should necessitate bestowal upon one’s fellow person. One’s friend’s life will come before one’s own, in “Love your friend as yourself,” so one will not benefit from society more than a failing friend. This is a collective law for all the nations. Apart from that, each nation can pursue its own religion and tradition.

The Same Rules for the Whole World
  1. To work to benefit people more than one’s ability, until there is no hunger and thirst in the whole world.

  2. A diligent worker will not benefit from society more than a failing one; the standard of living will equal for all.

  3. Citations should be given so that the more one contributes to society, the higher the citation one will receive.

  4. One who refrains from showing diligence in contributing to society will be punished according to the laws of society.

  5. Everyone must exert to improve the standard of living of the whole world.

  6. Not everyone must engage in spirituality, only special individuals, according to the need.

  7. A high court will grant permissions for individuals to dedicate a portion of their work to spiritual life.

  8. All who come under this social framework should swear to keep all the above as nature’s law.

There will be a court for resolving disputes among people, but it will not rely on force. One who refuses the ruling of this court will be condemned by public opinion until they reform him.

No person will demand his or her needs from society. Instead, appointees will examine the needs of each person in a way that everyone’s thoughts will be dedicated solely to bestowal upon one’s fellow person, and one will never have to think of one’s own needs.

The freedom of the individual will be kept as long as one is not harmful to society. One who wishes to leave the society should not be detained in any way at all, even if it harms the society.

First, there should be a small establishment where the majority is willing to work according to ability and receive according to need for the purpose of bestowing upon their fellow persons. All the forms of state administration will be present in this establishment, so the order of that small society will suffice as a framework for all the nations of the world, without adding or subtracting. This establishment will be the center point, which will expand over nations and countries to all the corners of the world.

Dissemination

There are three basic elements in the expansion of bestowal upon one’s fellow person:

  1. Fulfillment of needs: each person holds within an unknown spark that demands unification with the Creator, which evokes one to know God.

  2. Proof that the world cannot exist except by bestowal upon one’s fellow person, especially in the atomic age.

  3. Dissemination: hire people who will disseminate to the public.

The wisdom of Kabbalah should grant humanity with new life; this is what everyone expects of Israel.

If they assume the wisdom of Kabbalah, it will be possible to build the Temple and to justify the existence of the people of Israel in the state of Israel (because the current form of existence doesn’t seem justified in the eyes of the world). Otherwise, they will sell the independence of Israel and of Jerusalem.

The Substance of Creation

The substance of the spiritual and the corporeal creation is the will to receive, which is existence from absence. However, that which receives extends existence from existence. The Creator demands of us equivalence of form, since by the nature of creation we have only a desire to receive and not at all to give. This is the opposite of the Creator, who is entirely about bestowal and not about reception. This disparity of form is what separates creation from the Creator.

Hence, we must act to bring contentment to the Creator through the correction of our nature by the Upper Light, to bestow upon friends so as to acquire the form of bestowal and cleave again to the Creator, as prior to creation.

The Leader of the Generation

A leader is one without self-interest, who surrenders his privacy to the benefit of the public.

One’s Personal Interests

There are two kinds of personal interests: material and emotional.

Emotional interests:

There is not a leader in the world who will not fail the public for those. For example, if he is merciful, he will avoid eradicating evildoers and will not warn of them. Thus, each leader will destroy the public and the state for his own interest. It is especially so with fear from vengeance of people or of the Creator. For this reason, he will make the necessary corrections.

Even if he revokes his material interests, he will still not want to revoke ideals or religious interests before the public good.

Good Deeds – Bestowal

Good deeds yield sensation, and sensation produce understanding. For the senses to enjoy bestowal, they must first bestow in actual fact. Also, it is only possible to understand the importance of bestowal when you taste it in your senses. Additionally, it is only possible to experience pleasure from Dvekut (adhesion, equivalence of form with the Creator) as a result of bringing contentment to the Creator, that is, to take pleasure in the joy that one has given the Creator. After the sensation of the pleasure in the act, it is possible to understand Him, according to the measure of this pleasure.

Two Degrees in Bestowal

Lo Lishma (not for Her Name)—for one’s own benefit.

Lishma (for Her Name)—a need to cling to the Creator. It is possible to be awarded that through actions; from Lo Lishma to come to Lishma.

Life’s Purpose
Two Enslavements in the World

It must be either one.

Contact with the Creator

The masses imagine that one with the Creator is above nature, that they should fear speaking to him, much less be near him. It is human nature to fear anything that exceeds the nature of creation.

However, there is actually nothing more natural than achieving contact with the Creator, for He is the owner of nature. In truth, every person has contact with the Creator, but we do not know or feel it.

One who is awarded contact with the Creator gains nothing but the knowledge of it. There is nothing new in reality, except that one was not previously aware. Hence, one who is awarded that becomes very natural and simple. Such a person understands all the people and is very much involved with them; he is close to the masses and loves them.

Baal HaSulam, The Last Generation (Dor Acharon) >>

Back to top
Site location tree