In the last two years, there has been a significant worldwide increase in the number of assaults against teachers.

In France, a law has been passed whereby children, for their aggressive school behavior, can be punished with up to six months imprisonment. Japan’s prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, appealed to teachers to stop relying on the police, and instead practice combat sports in order to resist the school violence. The Teachers’ Union of Spain appealed to the government to take immediate action in their defense, and participated in a poll, together with 12,000 teachers, which yielded the following results: 15% of teachers have been subjected to violence in schools, 73% are subject to constant insults, and 9% of teachers are afraid to go to work.

In your opinion: Does humanity have an opportunity to understand what is happening and correct this situation?

Filed under: Education - 1 Comment →

Kabbalah is the science of revealing Nature (the Creator). It was discovered by Abraham, as a result of his research into egoism’s growth within human nature. He was a Babylonian priest who focused his attention on the increasing egoism in his nation. Abraham revealed the complete picture of Nature (the Universe). Subsequent Kabbalists complemented his research with their own, adding details and developing the method of attaining Nature for anyone who so desired. Such development continues into our times: Since egoism constantly develops, within each individual’s lifetime, as well as from generation to generation, so the method of attainment is being expanded and perfected. Today, we’re developing a method that will allow the masses to master Nature/the Creator.

It is true for all sciences, that every new scientific discovery had always existed, but was unknown to us beforehand. Since egoism is growing, there are also new discoveries in Kabbalah – with regard to the people who are attaining them.

My Current Mood: energetic

Filed under: Science - 1 Comment →

We are capable of only one action – intention. There are no others. All of our physical actions are nonexistent, and so are our desires. Everything other than intention is inanimate, dead or halted – there is no motion in the spiritual, regardless of the fact that we perceive dynamic physical activity.

In summary:
1. The actions of our world (of inanimate, vegetative and animate nature);
2. The actions of a regular person in our world;
3. The actions of a religious person in his commandments and rituals;
4. The actions of a Kabbalah student;
– none of these are spiritual actions; they don’t exist in the Upper World.

Only…
5. The actions of a Kabbalah student
– are justified as preparation for spiritual actions.

Only our intentions of selfless bestowal are perceived in the spiritual world. When they appear in us, we appear in the spiritual world; when they disappear, we disappear from the spiritual world.
I compare this to acceleration – a derivative of motion. Like Einstein said, consider uniform motion as a state of rest, and see only acceleration.

My Current Mood: thoughtful

Filed under: Spirituality - 2 Comments →

News Story: Moses high on Mt Sinai: Israeli study

A professor of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem has come to a conclusion that Moses was under the influence of psychedelic substances at the time of receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. “’Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times,’ Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.

‘As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don’t believe, or a legend, which I don’t believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics,’ Dr. Shanon told Israeli public radio. [Read more →]

Filed under: Perception - 1 Comment →

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 →

In honor of International Women’s Day, I was asked what would I say if I had an opportunity to address every woman in the world. Well, this is what I would say: Women, I am in despair from the men… I very much expect you to have seriousness, and understand that you have enormous strength in your hands, and that it is precisely you who can change the world. How? By understanding how the world should function.

Just as you know within how the family should function, how things should be arranged, how everything should function – each thing in its place – the children, the husband, the kitchen, everything. In the same manner, you have the ability and the strength to understand how the world should be arranged and then activate the male part to implement it.

All in all, we are situated in one small house – the whole of humanity is very small, and Earth – our home – is in a very disorganized and disconcerting state. It is very dangerous. I am sure that precisely you, woman, can begin the correction here and force the men to stop these dangerous games.

Filed under: Women - 9 Comments →

Kabbalah is called “the science of reception” because it leads us to the attainment of eternal happiness, tranquility, serenity, peace, fulfillment, knowledge, and boundless love.

How can we make our lives like this? This is the very question that this method – the science of Kabbalah – should give us a clear answer to, by becoming our teacher and helping us reach this state. It is said that Kabbalah is primarily intended for men. This was, however, only the case in previous generations, which preserved and developed this method in order to bring it to us and make it suitable for use in our time. [Read more →]

Filed under: Women - 5 Comments →