When Will The Financial Crisis End?

Kabbalah and the Earthly SciencesNews Report (from Safe Haven): Has the bear market run its course? Is a new bull market on the horizon? … just as none of the previous “bottoms” since January were THE bottom, I see no evidence at this time to say that the November bottom has marked THE bottom …we are now dealing with K-wave winter and I want to again remind you of the signs that occur in this season.

  • “Bankruptcies Accelerate and High Debt Eliminated by Bankruptcy” – This has obviously begun and is no doubt related to the housing and credit bubbles.
  • “Social Upheaval and Society Becomes Negative” – We are only just beginning to see this.
  • “Banking System Shaken and New One Introduced” – The banking system is now only beginning to be shaken. There should be much more to come.
  • “Free Market System Blamed and Socialist Solutions Offered” – This has not yet happened, but just wait.
  • “National Fascist Political Tendencies” – More to come.
  • “Debt Level Very Low After Defaults and Bankruptcy” – This has not happened.
  • “Trade Conflicts Worsen” – This basically has not happened.
  • “View of the Future at a Low Ebb” – This has not happened as everyone seems to be looking for the bottom.
  • “New Work Ethics Develop Since Jobs are Scarce” – If I can assure you of one thing, it is that this has not happened.
  • “Greed is Purged from the System” – I can absolutely assure you that this has not happened yet.
  • “Real Estate Prices Find Bottom” – This has not happened.
  • “Investors are Very Conservative and Risk Averse” – Again, this has absolutely not occurred.
  • “Interest Rates and Prices Bottom” – Not happened.
  • “A New Economy Begins to Emerge” – Has not happened.
  • “Stock Markets Reach Bottom and Begin New Bull Markets” – We aren’t there yet and I view any relief rallies from these oversold levels merely as intermission.

My Comment: These are the conclusions of an economist, but a Kabbalist’s conclusions are even more critical: in order for the crisis to end, man must correct it. The crisis is a disease called egoism. In order to overcome it, we have to cure or correct egoism, transforming it to bestowal and love (absolute altruism). We should at least begin correcting it, at least begin to realize the necessity of doing so, or at least be willing to hear about this possibility.  Even if we do just this much, the world will already start shifting from the crisis toward prosperity.

Over the course of the crisis we may encounter periods when it will seem as though the crisis is over, and we will begin to seek new egoistic ascents in various areas of our life. After all, the crisis is multifaceted and envelops all areas of our lives. The media has long been speaking of crises in science, education, family, and so on.

Our situation is similar to the Egyptian plagues, which were followed by periods when it seemed that all the bad things were over, whereas in reality those periods were only a preparation for the next blow. Eventually, Nature will force us to become an integral part of it and to function by the law of optimal consumption and absolute unity, according to the rule, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” However, this won’t be done forcefully, like in the Soviet experiment, but consciously. It is precisely by realizing this that we will reach the bottom of the crisis.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Long Will the Crisis Last?
Laitman.com Post: The Crisis Will Last As Long As Necessary
Laitman.com Post: What Does the Financial Crisis Hold In Store for Us?

You Are the Only One Who Can Find the Truth

soulTwo questions I received on finding the truth:

Question: I have a friend who started studying Kabbalah with Bnei Baruch but left because you are a liar (at least that’s what he says). Personally I think he’s accusing of this because sometimes you say contradictory things. However, later I realize that I misunderstood you or that you were just explaining something very succinctly. Yet your opinion is still unclear on many things.

Sometimes you say one thing, and then you contradict yourself, and I can understand how my friend – who is interested in Kabbalah and understands that there is much truth in it – finds it difficult to study with you. I don’t even know what to tell him. I will be glad to hear your answer.

My Answer: I won’t try to defend myself. Listen to the explanations by my teacher, Rabash (all the recordings of his lessons are available online), and check: how do you understand him? Don’t listen to me, but read the original articles by Baal HaSulam (which is what we study), and instead of my explanations, try to understand them on your own.

A person should choose a teacher that suits his personality, goal, and so on, as it is written, “Let a person study where his heart feels joy.” Why is it possible for different places of study to exist? It’s because as long as a person’s desire for the Upper Goal hasn’t formed inside him, he feels drawn to this goal in different ways: by withdrawing from the world, through religions, “spiritual” practices, diets, omens, and so on. We cannot interfere with this, because one has to go through the search for the truth on his own.

So it’s possible that your friend is still at this stage of searching. For example, some people who come to study with me are just “passing by” and they later turn to religion.

I explain things to the extent of my knowledge, attainment, and ability to express what I feel and realize (in the heart and mind). Your accusations are sincere, and they should emerge in a student as he studies Kabbalah, because everything is built through combining two things that are incompatible: egoism and the Creator. Perhaps you still have to sort things out, and possibly look for a different place of study. But one way or another, the truth will become revealed.

Question: How do we make “sure” that the Kabbalah teachings we receive are truly Kabbalah? Since it’s a very high level of knowledge, how can the clueless make sure he is receiving true Kabbalah, and not “mysticism”? How can someone who does not know Kabbalah filter the teachings to make sure he is on the right path?

My Answer: Don’t believe anyone! Regardless of what anyone might say, he could be a liar. And the more eloquent and persuasive he is, the greater liar (or actor) he could be.

It’s also possible that a good, honest person is speaking from the bottom of his heart, but he is simply mistaken. So who can you believe? No one! Everything was arranged this way in our world on purpose, to enable a person to shape himself by searching for the truth. One does it precisely through doubts, without any foundation, belief, or hope placed in someone else. It’s like he hangs over a cliff, not knowing how to take the next step.

You are the only one who can find the truth. But if you believe what someone else says, then you won’t be realizing yourself and will remain a puppet. Hence, the lack of confidence and the total disorientation will force your egoism to turn to the Creator. This is how He entices us to Him!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Doubts Are Generated By New Degrees Being Revealed Inside You
Laitman.com Post: All Obstacles Are Surmountable
Laitman.com Post: The Truth Can Only Be Discerned from Within
Article “The Need for Learning Kabbalah”
Free online Kabbalah course

Schools Should Teach Children How To Become Human Beings

The Need to Nurture the Proper Perception In ChildrenNews Report (from BBC News): The report from [the UK’s] government advisor Sir Jim Rose … calls for children to learn more about well-being, happiness and healthy living. … Sir Jim proposes a greater emphasis on life skills, including making lessons about emotional well-being and social skills a compulsory part of the curriculum.

My Comment: Not one modern education system works to create a human being out of a child. Parents and teachers don’t even understand that it’s necessary to work this way with a growing person. If a child were abandoned in the woods, he would remain an animal. Likewise, if we simply stuff him with knowledge, he becomes a miserable robot.

Upbringing means teaching a child the method to become a human being. In Hebrew, a human being is Adam, originating from the word Domeh – similar to the Creator. It is written that Adam was created in the Creator’s image and likeness, and then he sinned and fell, acquiring egoism and becoming opposite to the Creator. Now man must find the path of correction on his own and attain his initial similarity to the Creator – the quality of bestowal and love, the only quality of the Creator.

A question I received: My question is about the need for a regular education. We study with our son at home because we are completely dissatisfied with the approach of the schools. But maybe it would be better for our son not to study at all and to develop spontaneously? And later, when he reaches high school age, he can decide what academic field he wants to go into?

My Answer: It’s necessary to give a child information about our world and whatever basics he needs in order to learn the profession he will later choose. The Torah states, “One who doesn’t teach his son a trade turns him into a bandit or thief.” And in addition, it’s necessary to work with him on his inner development, to shape him into a human being.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Don’t Give Our Children the Right Education Because We Didn’t Get One Either
Laitman.com Post: 7 Ways to Approach Globalization Correctly
Article  “Upbringing”
Kabbalah Blog – Education
Kabbalah on Education

In His Holiday Greeting, President-Elect Obama Speaks Of Unity

The following video appeared on Barack Obama’s blog. It is part of his holiday address, where he emphasizes that the way to come out of the current crisis is through unity.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBmj7GfdGX4]

All You Need To Know About The 613 Desires

hopeA question I received: Please make a list of all the 613 desires that exist in a person, one by one.

My Answer: Just like that, you’d like me to describe all 613 desires in detail? But what for? Not a single one of them exists in you yet! They are revealed in a person after he crosses the Machsom, during his spiritual ascent. These are one’s desires to feel pleasure from the Creator, as it is written, “Taste and see how good the Creator is.”

By revealing the Creator, you begin to feel Him as 613 pleasures or delights. First you feel them in the intention to enjoy Him for your own sake (ABYA of the Klipot), and then you correct these to the intention of “for His sake.” Our language does not enable us to express or describe these desires, because we don’t have them.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Can Singularity Transform Without Being Changed?
Laitman.com Post: Faith Above Reason Is Bestowal Above Reception
Laitman.com Post: Preface to the Science of Kabbalah. Items 13-16
Shamati #5 “Lishma Is an Awakening from Above, and Why Do We Need an Awakening from Below”