February 3, 2008,
Tel Aviv Exhibition Center
Regular: Speaker’s words
lowercase italics: description of onstage events
Capitalized Italics: transliteration from Hebrew
[0:00 – 3:03] Oren from Israel:
Dear and beloved friends, we want to start the opening ceremony of the most important thing to happen to us and to the history of the humanity.
In short time we’ll start our opening ceremony, but meanwhile let’s take a few minutes for the inner preparation before we begin.
Are we ready? Let’s start the ceremony.
[3:27] Video clip shown:
“Four thousand years ago in ancient Babylon, people decided to build a tower to conquer the sky. They united and started building, but then the ego broke out. It separated, ruined, divided and brought hatred among them. And thus humanity began to ride towards its egoistic climax, the 20th century. We again relied on our minds and on our strength of arm, and again and again we were wrong. We built the new tower of Babylon, but we forgot that the ego knows no satiation. We tried to build a happy world and this is what came out. We built a wall among us.”
[6:04] Wall skit mimed
[7:39] Niggun (melody) at the end of the wall skit
[9:04] Large group of men on stage
Dear friends, World Kli, first I’d like to introduce Tony from Canada. Who is speaking?
[9:16] Tony speaking:
I want and expect without a shadow of a doubt from our congress that that deepest part in us that longs but now knows that it cannot take even one step towards spirituality alone, will forget itself and join with that helpless longing in every friend and from that place empty of self, we will reveal that invincible force that will unite us and lift the world to love.
[10:09] Patrick from France speaking:
Dear World Kli, I love you very much. During the congress I am experiencing profound and outstanding experiences the whole day. I’d like to use all my energy and desire, to achieve the goal of this congress together with you.
[10:58] Valdas from Lithuania:
There are many places in the world where you can rest. There are many cities where you can make good money. There are many auditoriums and stages where you can acquire undying, great fame, but the true quality of bestowal can only be achieved here.
[11:51] Slava from the Ukraine:
When I look at you I understand what I’ve been living for. In the end, there’s not me in front of you but a part of your desire for the Creator.
[12:20] Fabian from Australia:
My loving friends, my World Kli, I see and feel a field of hearts. Let’s join the dots of this congress, let’s cross the Machsom and be one man with one heart.
[12:50] Alex from Germany:
Friends, my dear brothers, without you I am alone walking in the desert, but with you, with the force of the Arvut we will draw the Light, the Light of Love and send it forth to the whole of Europe and to the rest of the world. We have been given this responsibility to realize it on ourselves during this congress.
[13:27] Mike from the United States:
My friends, we’ve all come together in this incredible place because we share one singular desire and we found that we cannot fulfill this desire alone. We must do it and accomplish our goal together. This week we have the opportunity to fulfill that goal. Let’s do it now.
[14:15] Nino from Italy:
Dear brothers, at this special moment the only thing that we can actually do is to unite with our friends and to find that they are the only force that gives us life, which is love.
[14:43] Urkan from Turkey:
Despite all the disturbances, by means of the great desires of my great friends I’ve come over the obstacles to be here. I know it for sure. With all of your desires in this great boat we can sail and achieve the goal.
[15:39] Abiya from Cameroon:
They say that there is no happier moment than a child in its mother’s womb. I felt it, unconsciously, but now I am certain, my friends, that among you I feel something very special and I want to share it with all of my heart, with the hundreds of millions of Africans within the World Kli.
[16:38] Juan from Mexico:
In Mexico we say “my home is your home”, and all of you are in our home because this is the most wonderful home that can ever be.
[17:05] Oren from Israel:
Look what’s happening around us. It’s unbelievable. The first time I heard Rav speaking, I felt every word he was saying was true, but today I can actually see that everything I have learned, everything that Kabbalists wrote throughout the generations, is happening now. L`Chaim!
[18:02] Leonid from Moscow:
My dear, dear beloved friends, I too brought my tiny point. We took it through Babylon until today, through suffering. Mothers looked at the sorrow of their children; their eyes were filled with tears. And after all the suffering we’re here together and I’m asking you, I’m begging of you; let’s hold on to each other, embrace for a second…let’s just shut our eyes for a second. Let’s each unite our points with the rest of the points, let’s create one, one big self, so this one self will become a sample for all of humanity. L`Chaim Bnei Baruch!
[19:27 – 23:35] Video clip shown with song “Bou nishmor al Kavana”
[23:53] Rav walks on stage clapping and begins to speak:
We know each other but still it’s so hard to talk, even though I am among those who are close to me. You know I never can talk by the written text and as I feel now, what I thought to say before doesn’t correspond to the desire that is here. The lack, the desire that I feel right here determines what I’ll say, as always in the lesson.
We have come to a very crucial time. We’ve been learning for a long time. We’ve discovered points in the heart; behind us are millenniums of human evolution. We can continue but we can’t go on in the same way as we have been until now. We can continue, but the troubles are increasing, the world is falling deeper into the crisis.
[26:07] We can accelerate time instead of going through those terrible times predicted by the prophets. We can sweeten it, we can mitigate it; we can create an entirely different picture, a highly different disclosure. It depends on us. We are a result of Babylon which now feels that we must reunite and return to that pattern, that form that existed before. By that we bring Light to the world. By that we achieve unification with the Upper Force and we can see that we can do that.
From Above we are allowed to do these things and together with you we are the first and only ones, as of today, who are trying to do it. So, besides help from Above, there is sufficient power within each of us, even if you don’t know what you have inside, but within each of you there is tremendous force, great power, there is the knowledge and the desire and the preparations to do it.
[28:06] This congress isn’t about me lecturing and you listening. This congress is different. It is actually a bonding of all of us into one Kli, in actual fact, right here and now. So, I don’t have a function here to work on the points in the heart. They are the ones that have to unite and they are the ones that must create one big point. And that point should extend the Light, draw it from Above. Through the unity of the individual points it will create this Kli, the desire to rise above the ego and to bond beyond all the superficial bridges and gaps among us.
We see no people here, only points in the heart. I don’t see anybody’s faces. I should see only their internal point. That’s what I have to bond with. This is how we build our Kli. You can do that, and I’m really looking forward to it. It is no longer within my power to do anything. Only you; it is all up to you. I am certain that it will happen, I am certain that the force within you is a good and powerful one. It is a force of love, of understanding that we must rise above the human level that we are in.
[30:00] Let's do it! I'm begging you, each of you. Leave the dealings of this world. During these days let’s all bond together above matter and achieve the creation of the real desire, for once in our lives and for all eternity, all the incarnations we went through, everything we experienced. Then we'll discover how much we've gone through. So, it's really worthwhile to come out of it. Believe me, it's worth it.
I wish for all of you to feel, as a result of these days outside of matter, the discovery of the hidden part of reality, that we are alive in it; and to feel that we are in an ocean of giving and love of the Higher Force, and that we will feel in it eternity and perfection. As well, we will feel that we are waking up to life and that this world is truly an imaginary world; it'll just vaporize and vanish. [31:04] That's how we'll relate to it. And then we'll be united in a different dimension altogether and we'll continue our sail through the 125 degrees towards Gmar Tikkun (the end of correction) while adding more and more members of humanity onto our ship.
[31:42] I'm certain you can do it and I'm certain you will. But to do it, we need to constantly maintain our intention of uniting the hearts above anything that comes into our minds, in terms of thoughts and alien desires. If you remember, I once gave an example of a ball. It's like a ball that we want to play with, so, we're all trying to keep it up in the air. So now, during these days we should try to constantly keep our thought on the unity among us and towards the Upper One. That way, we'll succeed. Through all these efforts we'll suddenly feel that we're rising up, and it'll happen. So, let's do an exercise to see how it happens. Don't let our intentions fall. Keep them above us all the time, in the air.
[33:09 - 36:56] Lights dim, music begins to play. Balloons are falling from the ceiling. Everyone is standing and keeping the balloons airborne. Rav is clapping, everyone is happy. Men standing with arms around each other, singing and swaying to song.
[37:02 - 39:45] Another song, men bouncing the balloons into the air.
[39:50] Oren on stage speaking:
Please, be seated. Ok let's sit down guys. Everyone please sit down, we'd like to continue. We have many events today.
[40:20] As you all know, and you even noticed, our congress is happening in Israel, in Tel Aviv. But Tel Aviv isn't our place. Bnei Baruch has a city. Our city is Petach Tikvah. It's a symbolic name because Petach Tikvah actually means "The Door of Hope,” or "The Door to Hope." We've gathered here from all over Israel, from Eilat to Kiryat Shmona, from Eilat in the south, Kiryat Shmona in the north, and from all over the world, to find a door towards hope, towards a new life and joy and life to all the people.
[41:00] And, because it is so, we asked him to come here, and he agreed. We invited our Mayor who we cherish and appreciate for all of his support for us at Beit Kabbalah in Petah Tikvah. Thanks to him, the light can go to all the people. I'd like to ask Mr. Yitzhak Ohayon, the Mayor of Petach Tikvah to come and speak.
[41:37] Mayor enters stage and speaks:
With permission from Rav Michael Laitman, Dr. Michael Laitman, who stands at the head of this enterprise of Kabbalah L’Am, Kabbalah for People, I just want to tell you, I'm used to speaking in front of people but so many people… Only Rav Ovadia can bring that many people. He’s a famous Rabbi in Israel.
[42:36] To begin with, I’d like to greet our guests from all over the world, from about 50 countries. To first of all bless and welcome in different languages, and to have you here in our special sacred country, which I think is the most proper place where a group of people can unite, embrace and forget about their selves and annul themselves, their desires, their ambitions and look a little further and beyond.
And then looking further see everything that’s happening in the world, everything that’s happening in our country, in our life, and how we can make it better, following the Will of the Creator who is directing us towards love, towards mutual guarantee, towards empathy, to bring the hearts together in love of others and to do everything. Because through these means, through these actions, we can come to feel elated, a sublime feeling that we are in a very special situation that is not very familiar to us.
It is most moving to see this audience embraced and singing. We hear so many languages here but whenever you say these few sentences, as we heard on the stage just now, you express your world view, your ambitions, your intentions, your understanding which you absorbed during the lessons that you watched here in Israel and all over the world through the internet, through the media, which can bring us all together. This convention couldn’t have happened without the media, and together we can create one common ground which is entirely love, affection, in doing the Creator’s Will to love others, and love among us.
Regardless if I am a Mayor or a Rav, I feel myself right now as one of you, one of the people who has that same mission, as the one you’re taking on yourself. I see it as a duty to dedicate myself to the will of the public and to all their needs. I want to wish you a fruitful and enjoyable convention, which is entirely the fear of the Creator and everything you can say about it, so that after we come out of these four days, we become purer people, much cleaner, much more loving.
G-d willing, through our own efforts we will be able to achieve everyone’s ambitions for unity, so that this globe will not come down. To keep it up, we should all make little efforts to keep our hands up. If we don’t touch it, if we don’t come closer to it, it will fall.
So, this example of a ball is a part of what we do. May you be blessed and succeed. And I hope, there will be many, many, many more thousands people like you, because to reach the whole world, all the countries, there’s a lot of work to be done, a lot of concessions to be made, to succeed. May you be blessed and thank you all very much.
[46:36] Oren re enters
We thank our Mayor and now we’re getting organized. Stay where you are, there will be a table and a chair and everything that is required for Rav's first talk.