Professor Michael Laitman was born in 1946 in Vitebsk, Belarus. He received his Professorship in ontology and the Theory of Knowledge, and his PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah from the Moscow Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He received his MSc in Medical Cybernetics from St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University.
Prof. Laitman began his career conducting research at the St. Petersburg Blood Research Institute, specializing in electromagnetic regulation of the blood supply in the heart and brain.
His scientific career took a sharp turn in 1974 when he immigrated to Israel. There, he worked for the Israeli Air force for several years before becoming self-employed.
In 1976, he began his studies of Kabbalah, which he continues to research to this day. In 1979, he came across Kabbalist Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (1906-1991), known as “Rabash.”
Rabash was the first-born son and successor of Kabbalist Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (1884-1954), known as “Baal HaSulam” for his Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar. Rabash followed his father’s scientific approach in the teaching of Kabbalah, which suited Laitman very well.
After Rabash’s demise in 1991, Laitman began to teach what he had learned from his teacher, passing on the methodology of Baal HaSulam.
Laitman firmly believes that Kabbalah holds the solution to the current world crises. for this reason, he asserts that Kabbalah belongs to all of humanity, and not to any single person or group of persons. Therefore, he insists on teaching Kabbalah to everyone, regardless of age, sex, nationality, or race.
To date, Prof. Laitman has been teaching Kabbalah for over thirty years, relying on the writings of Baal HaSulam and Rabash. He has already published more than thirty books on Kabbalah, among which are The Zohar: Annotations to the Ashlag Commentary, Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life, From Chaos to Harmony, Attaining the Worlds Beyond, and Kabbalah Revealed.
His website, www.kabbalah.info, is the largest source of authentic Kabbalah on the web, offering authentic Kabbalah materials in over 30 languages, and free introductory courses in Kabbalah. His daily lessons are broadcast live and free of charge on Israeli TV, as well as on www.kab.tv in English, Spanish, Russian, German, French, Turkish, and Hebrew.