News Story: Police say security fence has reduced crime in Jerusalem

“‘The security fence surrounding Jerusalem has completely eliminated terrorist attacks in the city, and has also decreased ordinary criminal activity,’ according to Major General Aharon Franko.” The barrier has been a significant factor in reducing violence in the city, because fewer terrorists are able to get into Jerusalem, commit their crimes and hide in the autonomous territories.

My Response: “Mashiach sits at the gates of Jerusalem and waits for the time when people will be ready for deliverance. He is in shackles and in need of the righteous who will liberate him from his chains. He is fed up with people of blind faith. He is fed up with generous hearts. Today he demands depth of heart in the people of truth.” (Rebbe from Kotzk)

Jerusalem is the spiritual capital of the world, a holy place for all religions. [Read more →]

Filed under: World - 1 Comment →

This morning, from 9:30 until 11am, I held a public lecture in honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, on the theme “Women’s Spiritual Development.” Watch | Listen

Filed under: Women - 3 Comments →

We are always adjusting ourselves to certain common standards in order to avoid feeling ashamed. Essentially, everything we do in our world, other than the bare necessities, compensates for the feeling of shame. All of our attainments, progress, development, achievements, searches – are all based exclusively on the feeling of shame: compensating for and avoiding it. It is egoism’s opposite side pushing us.

According to Kabbalah, the creature’s first reaction (Tzimtzum Aleph, the 1st restriction) to perceiving the Creator stemmed from the feeling of shame. Similarly, humanity’s entire history began with the feeling of shame that Adam and Eve felt upon realizing their transgression. We only need to compensate for shame in order to become equal to the Creator. That is why the feeling of shame, in all its forms, determines all of our actions.

My Current Mood: embarrased

Filed under: Spirituality - 1 Comment →

Question for ML: It is very difficult for me, as a musician and a composer, to perceive Kabbalistic music, which, because of my musical upbringing, “seems” primitive to me, and I have no choice but to separate myself from the higher harmony, from the higher level onto which the great musicians have elevated this music, and literally force myself to listen to it as if I’ve just started music school.
I don’t know how people, myself included, that are not on the level of Baal HaSulam, can perceive what he has put into it. More likely it raises people with its spiritual force and makes them tune into the spiritual like a tuning fork. I can’t do it yet, but I’ll keep trying!

My Answer: I felt the exact same thing when I first heard these melodies! And what can we say to people who come from completely different cultures, such as Eastern countries or Africa? This is how Baal HaSulam expressed his sensations. We need to abstract ourselves from the sounds themselves. It’s similar to the scenario of a student who desires to understand his Teacher: He may not even know the language that the material is written in, but he will discover the sensations that his Teacher is conveying through his desire alone. By the way, this is exactly what happened between Baal HaSulam and one of his students.

In Kabbalah, one needs to tune oneself into perceiving “Peh el Peh” – from the teacher’s screen into the student’s screen. By nullifying oneself before one’s Teacher (this is what the screen does) the person is able to receive higher sensuous information, comprehend it within, and start working with it. You understand the approach correctly – the sounds aren’t important; instead, through them one should try to listen for “the voice of the soul.”

Here’s a link to Baal HaSulam’s melodies

Filed under: Music, Perception - No Comments →