The Relentless Pursuit of Honor


Without the need for honor, a person would live quietly in a corner. So, there is a kind of inner fire that constantly fuels us and compels us to succeed in the eyes of others. They should appreciate us, respect us, talk about us.

Honor is a condition that cannot be inherited, we have to work for it. Everything depends on the values that are accepted in society. It can be a society that values money and status symbols, or one that values simplicity and a modest life. A criminal society that values power and violence, or a society of artists that values sensitivity and creativity. In either case, depending on our innate characteristics, the education we received, and the society that surrounds us, each person wants to gain the attention, appreciation, and respect of those around him or her. Without it, one does not feel whole.

At any given moment, society provides us with a model against which we are measured. It makes us work, make an effort to become more and more like this model of success. Some people are willing to invest a lot to be remembered well after they die, because the feeling of dignity has no limits, neither in time, nor in place, nor in intensity.

Honor, is it good or bad? It depends on how the tendency is used. To illustrate, if I want to spur a child to invest in his studies and tell him, ‘You are better, you will be great, everyone will respect you,’ I am giving him motivation to study, which is good. On the other hand, if I keep lowering his dignity, I destroy his self-confidence and nothing comes of it.

With regard to ourselves, we must examine the direction in which respect drives us. If the desire to be above everything drives a person to act at the expense of others, to kick them on the way to the summit, to control and maneuver them, then that is destructive honor. Constructive honor, on the other hand, is that I want to be respected precisely by helping everyone, sacrificing myself for them, caring about their welfare and well-being. If society honors me for such an attitude on my part as a good and generous person, that is constructive honor. It will also be accompanied by constructive competition: which of us invests more for the benefit of society.

Because of human beings selfish nature, there is a tendency to belittle others instead of respecting them. A selfish society puts everyone under constant pressure: Is my dignity being violated? Are you giving me the respect I deserve? Is there someone more respectable than me? Overall, this pressure puts us in a cutthroat competition that destroys our relationships, our health, and our lives.

Social and personal development improves when we learn to use the wisdom of connection. On the whole, this method changes our egoistic nature to a nature of bestowal. With its help we come to a situation where we connect as one man with one heart.

Gradually you begin to feel a special power of bestowal, love and giving. A connecting and unifying force. It becomes the source of a special inspiration of mutual respect. It is a sublime, spiritual, wonderful feeling. Everyone feels whole, especially in connection with others. It is an honor for the person to be in such a relationship with everyone.

Mutual respect means that I respect the other and he or she respects me, because only together can we build a system of communication in which the same supreme power is revealed. I do not underestimate anyone because I feel dependent on others for the sake of my personal development. To be more precise, we can say that we do not respect each other, but the state of common connectedness that has been built. And that is a very special honor.

In a nutshell, those who want to be respected are recommended to learn and also teach others how to connect properly, how to rise together to the most dignified degree of existence there is.

How Has Humanity Evolved Over Time? Is There a Trend of Improvement or Decline With Each Generation?

In order to improve our lives and protect ourselves from threats, it is important to deeply understand the system in which we exist. What forces operate in it? How are they managed? What influences us from the inside and from the outside?

The universe is the largest system in which we evolve. A vast space filled with various bodies, stars, planets, and galaxies. According to what we have discovered, this began developing about 14 billion years ago from some small spark of force. This force can be defined as a desire to sustain itself, a desire to exist, which gradually multiplied.

Matter in the form of the inanimate is characterized by a desire to preserve itself and does not essentially need anything from the outside. It “enjoys,” so to speak, existing as it is. For example, if we take iron or water and want to change them, we must apply force to them. If nothing influenced them, they would remain in their form forever.

Later the vegetative level developed. The desire to exist in plants already wants to receive more advanced forms, to absorb influences from outside that appear beneficial, and to release substances that disturb it. This is a more developed desire than that of the inanimate. It is a desire willing to change, and which actually sees progress through change.

Since nature began developing from a single force, a single desire, it continues to remain interconnected in all its parts. What one element of nature senses as harmful and expels, another element senses as beneficial and takes for itself. This is how everything is connected. All parts of nature exist in a cycle of absorption and emission within one integral mechanism.

In the animal world, single-celled organisms first developed. Later they “discovered” that it was better to connect with one another, and multicellular creatures emerged. Cells took on different roles, cooperated with one another, and different bodies developed according to environmental conditions. This is why we see, for instance, brown bears, black bears, polar bears, pandas, and so on.

The desire of animals is at a higher level than that of plants, and therefore we see them move and change locations. In every living cell, alongside the desire to exist well, intellect also develops, a brain, a special program for managing itself. Memory of past events, development of plans for the future, and examination of which direction and form of development will lead to a better state.

In general, four stages of thinking can be identified developing within desire: perception, comparison, conclusion, and feedback. This is expressed, for example, in the way each creature knows how to build a dwelling in the ground or in a tree, how to reproduce, and how to guard its territory.

Human beings belong physically to the animal world, but their desire has developed to a higher level, and their intellect has developed along with it. It is important to note that a human being’s dependence on their environment is extremely strong. If, for example, a child grows up in the forest among animals, they will become like them, while if they grow up in a certain society, they will develop accordingly.

From a broader perspective, human development can be divided into internal stages corresponding to the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels.

The first period began around 35,000 BCE and can be defined as the inanimate stage in human development. Human desires were basic, at the level of food, sex, family, and shelter. Around 3,200 BCE the vegetative stage began, in which the dominant desire was the desire for wealth. Later came the Middle Ages, from about the year 500 until roughly the 15th century. This was the animate stage, in which the dominant desire was the desire for power. From the 15th century onward began the stage of development of the human within the human, where the dominant desire was the desire for knowledge. This desire expressed itself in the drive to discover continents, develop science and technology. It was the time of the Renaissance. The individual personality of the human being began to stand out, and people began to see themselves as the center of reality. The twentieth century brought tremendous breakthroughs. For instance, Einstein, the theory of relativity, nuclear energy, mass communication, the internet revolution, and much more.

Since the end of the twentieth century, however, a decline has been felt, a kind of slowdown and stagnation. It is as though we have reached the end of evolution of the very point from which everything began. The feeling is that we have nowhere left to develop, as if the desire to grow has disappeared. In the past there were always people who initiated revolutions and new developments. There were opposing views that struggled with one another and helped clarify what was right for us and what was less so. In recent years, however, all these voices seem to have fallen silent. No one has great plans or illuminating goals, not to mention a compelling vision. Desires are fading, and people can barely find the energy to carry themselves through the day.

We do not see anything ahead of us. Humanity has never been in such a state before, and this is a very special stage of development. From here we will have to think together: what entirely new development can emerge from this dead end?

Based on “New Life 115 – Integral Course, Part 1” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Is Social Media Really an Innovation?

When we look at the rapid rise of social media and online networks, it may seem like a purely technological phenomenon. However, its roots lie much deeper, in human nature itself. Social networks are a natural outcome of the evolution of human desire.

From the earliest stages of human development, connection existed primarily within the family. It was a simple and natural form of connection based on survival and continuity. Families grew into small communities, villages, and eventually cities. These, in turn, developed into nations. For most of history, a person lived within a very limited social circle and rarely felt the need to go beyond it.

Only a select few—rulers, merchants, or explorers—established connections between distant places. These connections were not driven by a desire for unity, but by egoistic needs for trade, power, knowledge, and resources. As the human desire to receive pleasure grew, it pushed us to expand our connections beyond our immediate surroundings.

This is how commerce, cultural exchange, and later political ties developed. Roads were built, trade routes were established, and people began interacting across continents. Still, these connections remained external and limited.

A major shift occurred with the invention of printing. For the first time, ideas could be shared widely without direct personal contact. Knowledge became accessible to the masses, and a new form of virtual connection emerged. This was followed by newspapers, which created a shared awareness among large populations.

Then came radio, which broke the limitations of distance entirely. People could receive information instantly, without physical connection. Each technological advancement reflected the growing human desire to connect, to know, and to be involved in a broader reality.

The Internet is the culmination of this process. It did not emerge randomly. It began as a tool for scientific collaboration, which let researchers share information efficiently. However, very quickly, it expanded into a global network used by everyone. Its rapid adoption shows that humanity was already internally prepared for such a connection.

Today, the Internet, and especially social media, has become a central part of our lives. However, we still use it in a very primitive way. We exchange information, opinions, and endless content, but we see how we fail to receive any kind of meaningful fulfillment from all this activity. We feel that something is missing.

The reason is that external connection alone is no longer sufficient. Humanity approaches a new stage of development where the connection needs to become internal.

Our desire continues to grow. It no longer seeks just information or entertainment. It seeks a deeper and more meaningful connection, which goes beyond words and images. We want to feel others directly, to understand them effortlessly, and to be part of a unified system.

This is why the current form of social networks feels limited. We are still “playing” with connection, like children experimenting with a powerful tool. We send messages, share content, and accumulate hundreds or thousands of “friends,” yet we lack a meaningful and fulfilling connection. A person is naturally capable of maintaining meaningful relationships with only a small number of people. The rest is an expression of an inner desire that has not yet found its optimal form.

This desire points to the next stage of human development, which is a spiritual form of connection. In this state, connection will not depend on external platforms or devices. Instead, it will be an inner network where thoughts and desires flow freely between people. We will feel each other as parts of a single system just as we feel the organs of our own body.

Social media is a transitional stage toward this deeper connection. It helps us approach the realization that we are interconnected, but it does not yet provide the means to fully experience it. As humanity continues to evolve, the need for a deeper and more meaningful connection will only grow stronger. We will gradually realize that external networks cannot fulfill this need.

The next step is to learn how to develop an inner connection between people, a connection based not on egoistic benefit, but on mutual understanding and unity. When this happens, we will experience a completely new level of existence, where humanity functions as a single, integrated whole. Such a form of inner connection will completely fulfill us, and we will experience a newfound harmony, peace, and happiness the likes of which we have never felt in our present lives.

Based on “Social Media & Social Networks, Part 1 of 2 – Jtimes with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.” Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

What Is the Spiritual War That Is Now Happening?

From the very beginning of creation to its final state, all of reality—except for the single upper force of nature, the Creator—is built on the struggle of opposites. This means that even in spirituality there is what we can call “war.”

However, this war is not like what we imagine in our world. It is an inner war.

The Creator is absolute love. We attain Him through the contrast, through the recognition and annulment of hatred, rejection, and opposition within us. When we rise above these inner contradictions and annul ourselves before others, we begin to build the image of the Creator within us. As it is said, “You have made Me.” That is, we construct this quality of love, bestowal, and connection within us.

Therefore, the spiritual war takes place inside a person. External wars belong only to the animate level of existence. They are a projection and a consequence of what we do not correct within us on an internal level. If we fail to carry out this inner work, if we do not struggle between the forces of egoism and connection, then this unresolved tension manifests outwardly as conflicts, wars, and suffering in the world.

Therefore, when we perceive wars in the world outside us, we should understand that if we stood internally and led the forces of light—love, bestowal, and connection—against the forces of darkness—hatred, self-reception, and separation, then we would have shifted the world toward greater connection and closeness between its contrasting and opposing parts. That is how war is transformed into peace, a state where opposites complement to form a great integral system.

In Hebrew, the word for “peace,” “Shalom,” shares the same linguistic root as the word for wholeness, completion, and complementarity (“Shlemut”). Accordingly, peace does not mean an absence of conflicts, but the optimal unification of opposites.

If this work is incomplete within us, then the conflict descends and appears in its lowest form, in this physical world, as external war.

Therefore, to stop external wars, we need to return to the internal war. We need to engage in it, because external wars exist only to push us to inner correction and connection.

Trying to resolve war externally, where one side wins and another loses, is no lasting solution. It only leads to the next conflict, which is usually more severe than the previous one.

The only genuine resolution is at the root, when opposing sides rise above themselves and imagine a state of unity so strong that they no longer feel separation, but only their connection and complementarity. In such connection, they reveal the Creator, i.e., the source positive force of nature that created and sustains us.

That is the purpose of every conflict, to bring us to the realization of the single upper force that precedes and exceeds everything and everyone as quickly as possible.

Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 14, 2022.

Remember, every successful person experienced days of doubt, delay, and uncertainty. What separated them was not perfect circumstances, but their ability to continue despite it all. So keep striving, keep pushing, and keep going – your resilience will turn your struggle into strength.

Inspired by the teachings of Rebbe Nachman (1772-1810)

Be Quiet
By Tzvi Freeman

There are questions to which G-d says to be quiet, to be still, to cease to ask.

The quietness, the stillness, the abandonment of being, that itself is an answer.

And so G‑d said to Moses, “Be silent. This is beyond any thought.”

See Maamar Chochom Ma Hu Omer 5730, s’if 3

Have you ever paused to feel the invisible threads connecting us to every being, plant, and element on this planet? This profound interconnectedness means that our thoughts, emotions, and actions ripple beyond us, influencing the collective energy of the world.

When we elevate our personal energy through positive thinking and mindful actions, we contribute to the well-being of all life. This concept, often referred to as "interbeing," highlights how deeply intertwined our existences are.

By nurturing our inner light, we not only transform ourselves but also illuminate the path for others. Let's embrace this shared journey, recognizing that by uplifting our own spirits, we play a vital role in the dance of life's universal love.

Wishing you a week filled with elevated energy and profound connections.

Moshe Gersht

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What If It’s Not Falling Apart?
BS'D

Do you ever feel like things are unraveling… just not going the way you planned?

I’ve had moments where I thought, this isn’t working… only to realize later—it was redirecting.

The brain resists uncertainty—it wants control.

But Torah reminds us: Hashem is weaving something we can’t yet see.

So this is what I try:​
Instead of asking, “Why is this happening?”
I ask, “Where might this be leading?”

It changes the whole feeling.


"
Not everything that feels like breaking is actually breaking.
Some things are being re-formed.
​
Orit Esther Riter

The Lion Is Rising. Are You?
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You're Not The Only One
There is a thing that happens when you have been carrying a thought that no one around you seems to share. You start to wonder if you are wrong. Not because the evidence changed, but because the loneliness of holding a position alone is its own kind of silent pressure cooker. The isolation does what the argument couldn’t.

Most people are not saying what they actually think. The social cost of honesty has been artificially inflated for several years now and the result is a population of people who believe one thing and perform another, wondering if they are the only one in the room who noticed the emperor’s wardrobe malfunction.

I promise: You are not the only one.

The Spiritual Journey
A teacher kept a large chalkboard full of errors from her students’ assignments. When asked why she didn’t erase them, she would say, “These mistakes show how far they’ve come.” Each week, she added new mistakes but also wrote small notes beside them – corrections, improvements, insights.

At the end of the school year, the chalkboard looked chaotic. But to the students, it was a record of their growth. Every mistake on the board was connected to a lesson learned, a skill improved, or a fear overcome. Instead of hiding their errors, they learned to appreciate them as stepping-stones.

The same can be applied to our spiritual journey. Growth is built from insight, not from self-condemnation. Missteps and wrong turns aren’t barriers; they’re signals. They are meant to guide us, not block the path entirely. Naturally, we’re embarrassed by our errors and try to erase them from our memories as quickly as possible. But when we view our missteps as signs of learning and growth, they become markers of progress rather than failure.

Taking responsibility means learning, adjusting, and allowing ourselves to continue. When we release shame, we reclaim direction. When we shift our mindset from guilt and criticism to refinement and development, mistakes stop feeling heavy. They become life lessons rather than life sentences, and provide insights rather than indictments. Each one teaches us something essential about ourselves and the path we’re on. When we stop measuring ourselves by what went wrong, we create space for what can go right. Our journey doesn’t always look clean, but it does look real – and real growth is wonderfully messy.

Inspired by the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (1698-1760)

Psalm 27 | Worship Warfare, God Is My Light & Salvation https://freebookvideos.com/watch/CtoGkz9XZRtAPY6

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.

4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.

11 Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Mentally Ill Patients being Euthanized
https://lionessofjudah.substack.com/p/top-psychiatrist-drops-bombshell?utm_source=cross-post&publication_id=581065&post_id=196037697&utm_campaign=564297&isFreemail=true&r=ccrm2&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

They even know the truth!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1688909129109528

We at Freebook Platforms are working on a new Free Movie Streaming Service called Freebook Plus

Behind the scenes of Star Wars 1977.

I miss my kitties. I had to leave them last year.

Peter Griffin turns into a guido.

The Black Pearl is very real and just arrived in the state of Hawaii