Comment: Almost everyone who studies Kabbalah with us came from secular rather than religious backgrounds.

My Response: We should not confuse the two paths—what is incumbent upon me and what the Creator will do. I am not in control of what comes from above, but I do know what I must do from below. So from below I prefer to be Jewish. What does “Jewish” mean? In one way or another, to belong to the Jewish people in the national sense.

I am not saying that a person must look like someone from an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, and adopt that specific attitude to the country, the army, and his responsibilities to the state. However, one still needs to live within the same framework as the people, and our people have no other framework apart from what is called “heritage.” In one form or another, this is necessary.

Suppose someone comes here who has no idea what Passover, Sukkot, or the other holidays are, who knows nothing at all. We need a little more than that. This is what I am talking about, and not about becoming ultra-Orthodox.

Question: To be “traditional”?

Answer: “Traditional,” but genuinely so. The problem with being “traditional” is that the parents are traditional, while the person himself has absolutely no understanding of it. He only does his parents a favor by coming for the holidays. And then the third generation is completely lost.

In short, a person is a “beast.” If he wants to become a human being, fine; we will help him become one. But as a “beast,” it is better for him to be in a good “herd,” in an enclosed place and under good protection. Then he will be well. You can see what happens to people when an entire generation has no boundaries. Look at what is happening.

Do you really think that through their “free development” they have achieved something? Nothing. They think they have brought about a flourishing. What flourishing? There is nothing there. They think that thanks to this they can bring something new to humanity. Nothing will come of it. What else can a person extract from his own skull? What kind of development is this? Nothing is actually happening to them. Ultimately, it leads to prostitution and drugs.

If you could only show me some other solution, but there isn’t one. According to Kabbalah, there isn’t one either. There is nothing for a person to seek in a secular way of life. Nor is there anything to seek in a religious way of life. Rather, a person simply needs to be kept within certain boundaries. You will see how entire nations maintain such boundaries. We are simply unable to do so because our desire to receive is greater.

Do you think anything goes in America? You have no idea what the system is like there. Compare Israeli and American films. American films are full of pride, ideals, and the glorification of America above everything else. Look at the extent to which they are committed to this. Their films are similar to Soviet films, except that they present it in such a form that you do not notice it.

Go to Europe. Do you think you can do whatever you want there? The moral doctrines governing everything are very strict.

With us, however, it is the worst because everyone’s desire to receive is a thousand times greater than that of some gentile abroad. Therefore, an evil arises that can no longer be contained.

In short, a person is a “beast,” and it needs protection for its own benefit. Previous generations have already become convinced of this. I am not saying anything new. In my time there was the generation of the Beatles and the hippies, and what remains of them? What did they accomplish? Nothing. People remained hippies until the age of 30 to 35, and what happened to them? Those who succeeded eventually turned to drugs, while the others suddenly discovered that they had neither a home nor a job, while the rest of the world had moved forward. The same thing is happening with those we are helping break free from drugs.

I am not saying that religious frameworks are necessarily a good thing. I am saying that people nevertheless need some kind of boundaries and some kind of structure. That is essential. After all, we have already been down that road before.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/26, Rabash, “One Should Always Sell Everything He Has and Marry a Wise Disciple’s Daughter”

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To Engage in Both the External Torah and Kabbalah
The Fallout of Neglecting the Inner Part of the Torah
Rational Judaism

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