A Higher Purpose
A higher purpose sets your priorities for how you choose to act in the world daily. For example, a higher purpose may simply be “I will be compassionate.” It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.
So... why not choose compassion? It's a powerful attribute
Look Up! Geminid Meteors Reach Peak Season ☄️
As Earth plows through the dusty trail of extinct comet 3200 Phaethon each December, the sky ignites with one of the year’s most reliable celestial fireworks: the Geminid Meteor Shower, peaking December 13th and 14th with up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour under dark skies. Unlike most showers born from icy comets, the Geminids spring from a rocky “asteroid” that behaves like a comet, hurling bright, slow-moving fireballs that often glow yellow, green, or red. Radiating from the constellation Gemini near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, this celestial spectacle rewards patient observers bundled against the cold, offering a dazzling reminder that even dead worlds can paint the night with fleeting beauty.
Where in the world will you be viewing the Geminid meteors from? Share your location below. 👇🏼
Learn more: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower/
How To Deal With Difficult People
Be Curious, Not Furious
Skillfully engaging in the practice “be curious, not furious” means to feel and act with a sense of greater safety instead of scanning for threats. It means to feel more satisfied instead of focusing on what is lacking or needed.
The Law of Emptiness
Every single thing is empty, including myself. Everything is part of this emptiness; everything is subject to the law of emptiness. Everything is changing and manifesting, including myself, so we are inherently living while letting go.
It’s okay if you’re not okay. You are not weak for feeling lost or tired – you’re human. What matters is that even when you fall apart, there’s something deep inside telling you to try again tomorrow. That’s real strength.
Not all progress is visible, and not all growth is loud. Sometimes the most profound transformation happens in the quietest moments, when you're simply holding on, breathing through, and choosing to hope one more time.
But know this: your resilience is being noticed, and your patience will be rewarded. What feels invisible now is quietly preparing tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Keep going, even when the road feels endless; because every small act of holding on is carrying you closer to the place where everything begins to make sense.
Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Efrem Goldberg
“And you shall leave a space between each herd” (Genesis 32:17)
“A distance within sight, so as to satisfy the eye of that wicked man” (Rashi).
A person’s eyes serve as the messengers of the mind. Their role is to determine whether, upon seeing something, one connects it immediately to higher understanding—recognizing what Hashem wants from him—and thus lives with the awareness expressed by Yaakov Avinu: “I have everything.”
Such a person lives fully within his own reality, recognizing that whatever happens around him is part of his personal story. He does not fix his eyes on what others have - what kind of family, how much money, or how much someone else is serving Hashem. He looks only at himself, his situation, and understands that his task in this misleading world is uniquely his own.
Esav’s eye is the exact opposite. Even when he has abundant silver and gold, he is never satisfied. Yaakov tried to appease him regarding the blessings by sending a generous gift, and therefore he instructed the messengers to keep visual distance between each herd so Esav would see an abundance and perhaps be calmed.
When they finally met, Esav said, “I have plenty,” expressing pride and self-importance. Everything Esav seeks is simply more - more satisfaction, more indulgence, more fulfillment of desires. His gaze is always hungry.
Our task is to confront the Esav within ourselves and fight him with everything we have. “Yaakov was an ish tam - a wholesome man.” Through simple sincerity—taking Rebbe Nachman’s practical advice of hitbodedut, joy, dancing, prayer, and the straightforward practices he taught—we can overcome that inner Esav and become included in the wholesome path of Yaakov.
May Hashem help us in all we do.
Right before a breakthrough, something predictable happens:
The ego will whisper:
“What if I fail?”
“What if I’m not spiritual enough?”
“What if this doesn’t work?”
“What if I can’t follow through?”
But I urge you to listen carefully, because your soul whispers something else:
“What if this is exactly what I’ve been praying for?”
“What if I am ready?”
“What if this is my moment?”
Investigate fear at the root, not by fighting it, but by becoming more aware, more present, more connected to God, and more aligned with truth.
If fear has held you back in the past then let this be the moment you choose differently.
Is It Hard to Detach Yourself From Your Past Memories, Especially the Bad Ones? Why?
We need to learn how to relate to the past as something that no longer belongs to us. It is not a force that we must fight with, but it simply needs to be cut off, allowed to fade away like a passing haze. It is an inner conviction, and a quiet determination, that we have no connection with the past.
In short, what was… was. It has already fallen away. It no longer exists.
Our entire work from this point onward is to master the present: to stand firmly in the moment we are in now, not in what was yesterday. The present is where life flows, where change is possible, where the upper force of nature meets us.
When we live fully in the present, the past dissolves on its own.
Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on October 19, 2025. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Sometimes a person needs to lose themselves in order to truly find themselves. Always remember that the past is a place of reference, not a place of residence; it carries lessons, not limitations. Don’t let yesterday’s shadows block tomorrow’s light – your next move is far more important than your last mistake.
There's a reason the rear view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big – what matters most is not where you’ve been, but where you choose to go from here. The future is waiting with open arms. Lift your eyes and keep moving forward knowing that the future is not bound by yesterday but built by the steps you take today.
Inspired by the teachings of Rebbe Nachman (1772-1810)
A candle maker hired a young boy to help pour wax and trim wicks. The boy was enthusiastic but clumsy, constantly spilling wax and scraping molds. After a particularly messy day, he apologized, saying, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this.” The candle maker shook his head. “You’re judging the candle before the flame ever touches it.”
The next morning, the candle maker gathered all the boy’s crooked, uneven candles and lit them one by one. To the boy’s surprise, every single one burned steadily and brightly. Some even created softer or wider glows because of their unique shapes. “See?” the candle maker said. “A candle’s purpose is not to be perfect – it’s to give light.”
The boy watched the candles flickering, each one slightly different but all shining the same warm glow. Their uneven forms didn’t make them weaker; they gave each candle a light that shimmered in its own distinct way. “I thought the flaws would make them burn wrong,” he said. The candle maker smiled. “Flaws don’t stop a candle from shining. And they don’t stop people either.”
From that day on, the boy worked with new confidence, knowing that what mattered wasn’t flawless wax, but the light it would eventually give.
This story teaches that our imperfections don’t disqualify us, and they don’t cancel our ability to shine. In fact, our differences often allow our light to shine in ways no one else’s can. We spend so much time worrying about being polished – socially, emotionally, spiritually – that we forget the purpose of the soul is not to appear perfect but to illuminate, to make the world a bit brighter.
Just like the candles, people are shaped unevenly by life. Some experiences bend us, soften us, or leave marks. Yet none of that diminishes the flame we hold inside. Sometimes the very dents and curves of our lives become the channels through which our unique warmth comes through strongest.
The boy only saw his mistakes, never the purpose behind them. We often do the same – focusing on the spilled wax instead of the light we’re capable of offering. When we look at ourselves through a narrow lens, we underestimate our own potential. But the candle maker gives the truest reassurance – our worth is defined not by how perfectly we’re shaped, but by the light we can offer. And often, it’s the uniquely shaped candles that create the most unforgettable glow.
Inspired by the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760)