The Source of All the World’s Problems

The Source of All the World's ProblemsQuestions I received on the source of our problems and the way to solve them:

Question: Is the source of all the problems taking place in the world my desire “to receive for myself”?

My Answer: Yes. And this is true for each and every one of us.

Question: Does the solution lie in redirecting this desire so as to use it for the good of the society?

My Answer: Yes. Then it will come back positively for you.

Question: Do I have to develop the desire to bestow?

My Answer: Yes. In fact, this is the only commandment (instruction given by the Creator).

Question: But if I don’t have this desire, how will I know what to develop?

My Answer: From the point in the heart, with the help of the right environment.

Question: I don’t understand: what kind of a connection do I have with the Creator?

My Answer: You’re connected to Him through the spiritual “navel,” and you’ll discover it through connecting with friends.

Question: How can we do something good for those who don’t aspire toward spirituality?

My Answer: Tell them about the cause of the suffering in the world and how to transform it to joy.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Correction Lies In Unity
Laitman.com Post: The Method of Attaining Happiness
Kabbalah Today Article: It’s All about Pleasure
Chapter from the Book Spiritual Search: “Our Desire to Receive is Equal to the Creator’s Altruism”
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Freedom”

Kabbalah News Around the World

Complete Idiot's Guide to KabbalahUSA. The largest publishing company in the country, Penguin Publishing, reports that the first edition of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah in English is completely sold out, and they are urgently printing the second edition.

The Spanish speaking world is interested in Kabbalah. In response to increasing demand, Random House – the second largest publisher in Latin America, bought the rights to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Kabbalah in Spanish. The title of the book speaks for itself: it explains simply and accessibly what is Kabbalah and why it is necessary to the modern person.

Noticias, a Mexican newspaper, has printed the article “The Butterfly Effect and Kabbalah,” which explains the solution to the economic problems.

My blog in Spanish is now on the web. It is called “Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life.” Previously my blog was translated into four languages; Spanish is the fifth.

Nino DiazThe Spanish composer Nino Diaz (author of over fifty musical compositions, winner of the prize of the Canadian Academy of Arts and the competition of creative radio compositions Classic Radio 2008) has written a new composition called “El Muro” (“The Wall”) that includes a poem by the great 16th century Kabbalist, the Ari. The premier of this unique composition took place on September 9th at a festival in Alicante, Spain, and was very successful.

Norway. Visjon, a popular magazine, has requested an analytical article from the Kabbalah Academy, which will present Kabbalah’s views on the ecological problems. The article will be published in the next issue of the magazine, and it will be called “Ecology and Us.”

Israel. A holiday issue of the publication Kabbalah Today in Hebrew and Russian was issued on the eve of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). It is a compilation of materials about the holiday, as well as articles on current events. The number of copies printed is about one million.

Kabbalah RevealedBrazil. Imago, one of the most popular publishers in Brazil, has published the book Kabbalah Revealed in Portuguese. The book is on sale in all book stores in the country.

Internet. The BOBs (Best of the Blogs) is holding an international blog competition, and reports that tens of thousands of people have submitted my blog as the best and most original blog.

Ari OnlineThe Ari Online Learning Center has announced the beginning of a new virtual Kabbalah class in English. All the information about the opportunity to study Kabbalah in English on the internet is available at this website.

Over the past month, websites of the Kabbalah Academy have been visited by over 2,000,000 people.

Book in ArabicThe Arabic world. The first Kabbalah book in Arabic has been published, called From Chaos to Harmony. The book explains the fundamental principles of the wisdom of Kabbalah as well as its attitude toward modern scientific research.

Iran. It’s been less than a month since we have aired our website in Farsi, and it has already been visited by 1,300 people who reside in Iran. In addition, the Kabbalah Today publication is now being published in Persian. Presently 2,000 Iranians residing in the US receive this newspaper.

The Black Sea – 2008. Final Summary. The three month long dissemination event on the Black Sea coast of Russia and Ukraine, spanning from Sochi to Crimea, has come to en end. Over a million vacationers and local residents received the publications Kabbalah Segodnya (Kabbalah Today) and Moi Mir (My World).

Over time, other countries joined in on the dissemination event: newspapers were also disseminated in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea beaches, in Israel on the Red Sea, in Poland, the Czech Republic, France, and other European countries, as well as the Eastern and Western coasts of America.

In December a newspaper dissemination event is being planned in Mexico and Chile.

The Book of Zohar. Chapter “The Intention in the Prayer”

The Book of ZoharThe Book of Zohar. Chapter “The Intention in the Prayer” (abridged).

“Each day a voice calls upon all people in the world, ‘This depends on you. Separate a part of yourself and devote it to the Creator.’” At some point in life, thoughts and desires to draw closer to spirituality come to every person, and it depends on us whether or not we heed that inner call.

To correct himself, man needs to receive the strength that exists outside of him, beyond the bounds of his egoism. Hence, all of man’s efforts aim to create the only true desire within him – to feel the Creator!

In spirituality (and, consequently, in corporeality) a person can be in one of three states: lying, sitting, or standing. A newborn infant in our world and a spiritually newborn person develop in the same order. Lying means that the position of the head, the legs, and the body are at the same level. In spirituality, this corresponds to the embryonic state, when all that exists in the ten Sefirot is the same. This is the lowest spiritual state.

Sitting means that the head is above the body, and the body is above the legs, but one cannot use his legs. Such a state is called Katnut (smallness) or VAK. Standing implies absolute distinction between the levels of the head, body, and legs. It is called Gadlut (big state) or GAR. Thus, according to one’s ability to ask for correction, he gradually receives strength from the Creator and grows.

The “time of desire” is an appropriate state for making requests and receiving the answer – the strength for self-correction. The King and Queen are ZA and Malchut. Each blessing constitutes a sequence of individual corrections of man’s soul.

Consequently, man ascends to a Higher spiritual level. Thus, he gradually attains Supernal Unity with the Creator.

Although Kabbalah is considered a secret teaching, it holds no secrets. It is perceived as secret only by those who are still unable to create the spiritual organs within themselves with which to perceive their surroundings. We are the only ones who conceal our surroundings from ourselves in default of the corresponding sensory organs.

As soon as the soul tears itself from egoism altogether, it completely merges with the Creator and is no longer obliged to descend into this world, clothe in a physical body, and receive an additional portion of egoistic desires. A sacrifice to the Creator signifies rejection of the body’s egoistic desires; it is called a “sacrifice,” for our body is no different from that of an animal. Therefore, the aspiration to rid oneself of the animate body and its desires is called a “sacrifice.”

All of the characters described in The Zohar are spiritual objects, Partzufim. Therefore, it is said that the wise (Hacham) sees only for himself, from himself upwards, and cannot pass the Light to others below.

It is hence said that wisdom is found within the heart, as the heart receives from below upwards; whereas he who understands (the Sefira Yesod, Tzadik, the righteous one) shines with the Light of Mercy, Ohr Hassadim, from Above downwards. He sees that he receives for himself, and shines upon the others, i.e., shines upon Malchut, as it is written: “The righteous knows his animate soul.”

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Straight to the Creator – A New Song

World KliA new song, written and performed by Bnei Baruch Toronto:

Lyrics to the Song

Practical Kabbalah Has No Use for Red Strings

Unattainability in the Mind of a KabbalistA question I received: I recently started studying Kabbalah, and I am still curious about “practical Kabbalah” and the attributes it uses, such as red strings, holy water, and so on. If these things have been in use for such a long time, then they must also have meaning. For example, a red string symbolizes Rachel who protects a person from the evil eye, or from people’s harmful energy.

My Answer: Practical Kabbalah is when you correct your egoistic qualities, transforming them to the qualities of bestowal and love in practice. This is what is written in all Kabbalistic books, and it is done by studying in a group that unites in order to attain the goal – “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Can you show me any authentic Kabbalistic source texts, from the Ari to Baal HaSulam, that talk about using red strings, fortune telling, holy water, and so on?These things have only a psychological meaning, just like religion. On the other hand, Kabbalah is a practical correction of yourself and as a result of it – attainment of the Creator, in this world, and in this life. This is practical!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: What Does the Torah Say About the Red String?
Laitman.com Post: Other Methods of Kabbalah
The Kabbalah Experience – Chapter 7. “Beliefs, Mysticism and The Supernatural”
Interview With the Future – Appendix A: “From the Authentic Sources”

Virtual Lesson on the Financial Crisis

Perserverance Is the Key to Success

On Sunday, October 26, I gave a virtual lesson on the topic, “The System of Creation and the Causes of the Crisis.”

The Difference Between the “Letter of the Law” and the “Spirit of the Law”

There Is No Time In the TorahNews Report (translated from 7KANAL.com):“The Study of Economics in the Spirit of Judaism.”

The Jerusalem Institute of Hi-Technology, “Machon Lev” is opening a unique course, which will certify students with a Masters of Economics degree. This course includes the study of economic aspects of the Jewish Halackha based on the commandments of the Torah.

The Torah contains many commandments and instructions that regulate economic relations, such as, “Do not retain a worker’s day wage,” “Do not collect interest or lend out money on interest,” “Do not use faulty scales for measuring weight and volume,” “Do not pressure your impoverished neighbor by requiring him to pay back his debt,” and many others.

My Comment: If they were to take the real foundation of the entire Torah, its general law, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and make it the basis of all relationships, then all the other rules would fall right within its margins. But instead, they are just studying how to do business correctly, egoistically.

This is similar to the way people learn to “speak properly” with one another in order to avoid using “Lashon Ra” (bad language), instead of attuning their hearts to love for one’s neighbor. If they did the latter, then naturally everything they said would also be good! However, instead of correcting their hearts, they will learn to do business and communicate strictly “according to the law.” There won’t be anything to pick on, but they will still be opposite to the Torah!

This is the difference between religion and Kabbalah: Religion does not aim to correct man, since it doesn’t have the instrument of correction, the force of the Light. On the other hand, Kabbalah’s objective is precisely this: to correct man and raise him to the level of similarity to the Creator, since only Kabbalah contains this force (see item 155 of Baal HaSulam’s “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot“). This is the difference between their objectives. One’s purpose in religion is to look proper in the eyes of the society, whereas one’s purpose in Kabbalah is to attain approval in the Creator’s eyes.

Appendix: Baal HaSulam. Article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose

Many are mistaken and compare our holy Torah with Ethics. This is because they have never attained the meaning of true religion through revealing the Creator. I call upon them: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” But still ethics (Musar) is as distant from the true religion (Kabbalah) as the distance between the thought of the Creator from the thought of man. For true religion extends from the thought of the Creator, while ethics (the system of Musar) is produced by thoughts of flesh and blood and from man’s life experience. Therefore, the difference between them is obvious, both in practical aspects and in the final aim.

For the recognition of good and evil that develops in us through ethics as we use it, is relative to the success of the society. With religion (Kabbalah), however, the recognition of good and evil that develops in us as we use it is relative to the Creator alone. That is to say, from a change of form with the Creator, to equivalence of form with Him through the quality of bestowal and love, which is called adhesion.

For the purpose of Musar (ethics) is the well-being of society as it is understood by practical reason, which is taken from the events of life in this world. However, Kabbalah allows one to attain love for others, and thereby to reach similarity and adhesion with the Creator. And along with it man passes from his narrow world, full of pain and impediments, to a spacious and eternal world of the Creator.

Thus it is obvious that true religion (Kabbalah) is only for man’s correction. And the goal is attained during one’s life, while living in this world. However, if one has not attained equivalence with the Creator, one dies just as he was born, having achieved nothing in his life.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How to Read the Torah
Kabbalah Today Article: Kabbalah Explains the Bible
Article: “The Secret Meaning of the Bible”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”
Shamati #66: “The Giving of the Torah”