Questions I received on vegetarianism, antidepressants, and lifting curses:

Question: Is it worthwhile taking antidepressants? What if a man is 36 years old, he doesn’t know what path he’s on, isn’t married or dating, doesn’t know what to do with his life, what kind of job to look for, and just feels totally confused – what should he do? What does Kabbalah say about this?

My Answer: The only question Kabbalah answers is, “What is the meaning of my life?” and not one’s mundane concerns!

Question: I recently discovered that a curse has been put on my close relatives. I don’t know whether to believe it or not, but either way, it’s pretty scary. How can I tell if this is really true and how can the the curse be lifted? I don’t know who to turn to, please help!

My Answer: We are all interconnected in one soul like cogwheels in a single mechanism. Hence, negative opinions and thoughts influence the person at whom they are directed. When the influence is stronger than usual, it is called “an evil eye,” “a curse,” and so on.

The only solution is to have the opposite influence – good thoughts and opinions. I am sure that the best protection from all the bad things is our lessons! By watching them you attract the Upper Light to yourself, and it leads you toward the goal. Its influence is of a higher order than any earthly influence! Desire a connection with the Creator, and take refuge in Him.

Question: What does Kabbalah say about vegetarianism? Is there any point in giving up on food and clothing made of animals?

My Answer: Everything in the world must be used sensibly.

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Transcript of TV Show “Food and Healthy Eating”

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There are only 5 days left until the end of the huge internet dissemination project, Shana Tova! (Happy New Year). Our internet department is asking you to help us reach 1,000,000 video clip views. Please view the below 10 clips and wait for them to finish playing.

Why is it important to click on the links?

The more views the videos receive, the greater is the audience we attract to the contest.

Large numbers of views will open up doors for the dissemination of the wisdom of Kabbalah on larger sites on the Internet.

Click NOW on the following links, because this is an opportunity of dissemination that can not be missed!

• Video Clip #1
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• Video Clip #3
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• Video Clip #7
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• Video Clip #10

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Three questions I received on childhood and teaching Kabbalah to children:

Question: Everyone thinks that it’s wonderful being a child. I’ve been observing my own and other children, the games they play and their relationships. What I see is an endless and extremely difficult power struggle. In addition, children work very hard every moment of their lives, even while playing. So where did people get this idea of a wonderful, easy and pleasant childhood? I don’t see that it is any of these, not even for a moment!

My Answer: Because man wants to justify his existence, he creates illusions of a happy life during childhood, when he used to play in a hut with his sweethearts and friends, imagining that they were in paradise. However, nothing of the sort ever takes place in our egoistic qualities, despite the wonderful fantasies, dreams and movies about it.

In our time we are starting to realize that all of these “wonderful” things are in fact absolutely monstrous and absurd. When we lose our illusions and reach a new, real perception of reality, we will perceive perfection through the qualities of love and bestowal, which will be above our egoism rather than inside it.

Question: At what age can we start teaching children Kabbalah, and how do we do it?

My Answer: To learn about this, visit our “Kabbalah on Education” and “Kabbalah for Children” sections.

Question: I love watching the Bnei Baruch children’s lessons, but I always fall asleep when watching any other lessons. I’m a mother and I pass my insight on to my children. However, it’s difficult for me to get through other lessons. How can I advance?

My Answer: Do it together with your children – and that’s sufficient!

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Here’s another New Year’s wish for the Shana Tova contest – this one is from my students in Mexico!

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The Book of Zohar. Chapter “The Third Commandment” (abridged)

204. The third Commandment is to attain, investigate and know that there is an Almighty Lord who governs the world, and to unite this every day (the revelation of the Upper Light in the soul) in the six Supernal limbs: HGT NHY of Zeir Anpin (parts of the soul), and to unify them in the six words of the prayer “Hear O Israel” (“Hear” is the property of Bina, Israel is the aspiration toward the Creator) and through this prayer to direct our desires upwards (toward acquiring the property of bestowal). Therefore, we must prolong the word ONE in the six words: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our Creator, the Lord is O-O-O-NE” (a sign of the aspiration upward).

205. It is therefore written, “Let the waters under the Heavens be gathered together onto one place.” This means that all the degrees under the Heavens will gather onto one place, to become perfect in the six ends (properties of ZA). Therewith, fear must be attached to the unity of the words: “Hear, O Israel,” which is done by prolonging the pronunciation of the letter Dalet in the word ECHAD. This is why the letter Dalet in the word echaD is written larger than the other letters. It is written, “Let the dry land appear” – let the letter Dalet (designating dry land) be attached to that unity.

207. It is written, AND THE CREATOR CALLED THE DRY LAND EARTH. This refers to the same unity below, by the words, BLESSED BE HIS GREAT NAME FOR EVER AND EVER, when the earth, called “desire,” became what it should be. For the word “earth” (Eretz) means desire (Ratzon). Hence, the expression “IT WAS GOOD” appears twice on the third day of creation: once for the Upper unity and once for the lower. For Malchut merges with both sides of ZA – with VAK de ZA and with her own VAK. Henceforth, the earth brings forth grass, for it has been corrected to yield fruit.

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A question I received: Today the wisdom of Kabbalah isn’t passed down the way it was in the past, from a Rav to a student. Instead, it is implemented in a big group. Spirituality is attained in a group, where all 600,000 people reach attainment together like at Mount Sinai. Is it true that there are no more individuals who can attain spirituality by the old method? Is this the reason why the mutual guarantee, “love your neighbor as yourself” in a group is now the method for attaining equivalence with the Creator?

My Answer: Kabbalah was revealed by Abraham in ancient Babylon. It’s a method of correcting the egoism of the whole civilization, bringing it to equivalence with the Creator – eternal and perfect existence. However, since the people of Babylon did not want to correct their egoism, but wanted to develop egoistically, we have now reached the dead end of such development, just like The Book of Zohar predicted.

Today that entire Babylonian civilization has spread around the whole planet, and it is reaching the conclusion that it’s necessary to implement the method of egoism’s correction. There is simply no other way to go, as otherwise we will destroy ourselves. The way to implement the method of correction is for everyone to unite into one soul, to “love your neighbor as yourself.” In the Torah, this is explained as the condition of the Creator’s revelation at Mount Sinai.

Throughout the past 4000 years the method was preserved and adjusted to fit the times. This was done by a lineage of individual Kabbalists who lived in every generation. Today it is presented to us through the compositions of Baal HaSulam in a form that’s ready to use. I am a faithful student of Baal HaSulam’s oldest son, Rabash (as stated in Rabash’s obituary in the newspaper “HaModia” on September 15, 1991) and my role is to help people understand these materials.

Related Material:
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Two questions I received on life on other planets:

Question: In this blog entry, in response to the question, “How do you explain the fact that millions of people all over the world have witnessed encounters with aliens?” you wrote, “It’s their imagination! They perceived something they really desired to be true as if it were actually happening.”

Can you apply this to everything in this world, and say that it’s all the illusion of evolution that surrounds zero point?

My Answer: No. Even though what gets “registered” in our five senses is an illusion relative the Upper World, nevertheless it is reality for us now. This is why it is written, “The judge knows no more than what his eyes see.” Until the day we discover aliens so clearly that we won’t have any doubts left about their existence, all this talk of aliens remains science fiction.

Question: What is the purpose of the existence of creatures on other planets?

My Answer: They don’t exist.

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A question I received: In this blog entry you say that Israel is “a nation that worships life at a time when it’s surrounded by enemies that worship death.” In fact, it is with such arrogance, insensitivity and crass generalizations, that violence is perpetuated. The way you speak of Israel’s neighbors is shameful. They suffer too, or did you not know that? As Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon) says, “Sweet words dispel wrath.” Will peace really come from a tongue like yours, Laitman? Dr. Arthur Cohen

My Answer: Dear Dr. Cohen! It’s useless to keep waiting for people to love you! Hasn’t history taught you that people can only hate you? If you really desire peace and love, then disseminate the method of man’s correction – Kabbalah.

When I said “those who worship death,” I meant the terrorists who praise death, regardless of their nationality. I have many Arabic students, and unlike you, they understand me perfectly. Meanwhile, you’re still worried that people will stop loving you.

Israel isn’t a nation, nor the Jews. Rather, it’s all the people who aspire toward the Creator (Isra-El means “straight to the Creator”). I recommend that you study Baal HaSulam’s main articles – then you will understand where the hostility comes from, why people hate you, and how to dispel the antagonism.

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Chapter from Rabash’s Book Shlavey HaSulam (Steps of the Ladder): “Above Reason in Divine Service”

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A question I received: I cannot focus on studying The Book of Zohar, even though it is my greatest desire to understand this book. The most prevalent commandment in Christianity is, “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah” (Leviticus 19:18). Jesus taught that we have to love those who hate us and pray for those who haunt us. Isn’t this also a principle in Kabbalah?

My Answer: Every religion puts itself above other religions and teachings, and this is because all religions emerged from man’s egoism. This is the reason for the hatred between different religions and nations. Even within one religion, there is hatred between its different branches.

The commandment “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” is incomplete. Kabbalah teaches us to love not only our own people, but all the people in the world. Looking back at history, we won’t find anyone who loved those who hated and haunted them. On the contrary, history is full of hatred and violence, which are spawned by religion to this day. Religion has always divided and separated different nations from each other, instigating them one against the other and imposing itself on the people by fire and sword.

All religions will die out because they arose from egoism after the destruction of the Temple. This was when the people of Israel fell from the level of “love for one’s neighbor” to the level of “unfounded hatred for one’s neighbor” – and they are still on this level, along with everyone else. Kabbalah is above religion; it appeals to everyone in the world because it teaches that we are all part of the common soul of Adam, without any difference between us. Every person is equally necessary in order for everyone to attain the full correction. If even one person is missing, then it is less than perfect!

Kabbalah appeared in ancient Babylon when the whole civilization was falling apart from the growing egoism. Kabbalah, represented by Abraham, pleaded with people to unite. And now, after our entire bitter history, Kabbalah is telling all of us the same thing again: “Unite, otherwise you’ll destroy yourselves!” And to this day, the religions are still preaching separation – and that is because they were produced by egoism. The religions appeared when the nation of Israel fell from love for one’s neighbor to hatred, from the spiritual level to the corporeal, egoistic one. That is when Judaism appeared, then Christianity, and then Islam.

Baal HaSulam writes that religions will remain as the cultural traditions of the nations. The religions will have to take their proper place and stop engaging in something that is beyond them – the soul and its correction. They don’t have a connection with the Light and the Creator in order to engage in this, and this is what we are witnessing today by the results of religion’s impact on people.

The period of the Light’s concealment from man is over, and hence the period of religious domination over people is also over. The Light is becoming revealed, and religion is becoming substituted by Kabbalah. Religion will then remain as a cultural tradition.

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The Book of Zohar. Chapter “The Second Commandment” (abridged)

198. The second Commandment is inseparably connected with the Commandment of fear, and it is the Commandment of love – for man to love his Creator with absolute (perfect) love. What is perfect love? It is a great love, as it is written, “He walks before the Creator in complete sincerity and perfection.” And this signifies perfection in love. Thus, it is written, “And the Creator said, ‘Let there be Light’” – this is perfect love, called “great love.” This is precisely how man should love his Creator.

200. Therefore, there is he who loves the Creator in order to gain riches, live a long life, have many healthy children, and rule over his enemies – he receives everything he wants, and this is why he loves the Creator. However, should he receive the opposite, should the Creator lead him through a wheel of suffering, he will come to hate the Creator, and will feel no love toward Him whatsoever. Therefore, such (egoistic) love lacks the necessary foundation (for spiritual adhesion).

201. Love is considered perfect if it exists on both sides – on the side of judgment (suffering) and the side of mercy (success in life). As we already mentioned, when one loves the Creator, even if He were to take away his soul, this love would remain perfect on both sides: mercy and judgment.

Therefore, the Light of the First Act of Creation was revealed and then concealed. And because of this concealment, strict judgment appeared in the world, and both sides, mercy and judgment, united to form perfection. And this is the desired love.

202. Rabbi Shimon kissed (united with) him. Rabbi Pinchas approached (his degree), kissed (united with) and blessed him. He said, “It is clear that the Creator has sent me here. This is the tiny ray of Light that was said to be shining in my house, and would later light up the whole world.” Rabbi Elazar said, “Certainly, fear must not be forgotten from all the Commandments; especially in this Commandment, the Commandment of love, fear must be attached to this Commandment at all times. How is it attached? Love is good when it brings goodness, health, sustenance, and life from the Beloved One. And it is here that fear of sinning must be revived, so that the wheel does not turn against him, as it is written, “Happy is the man who always fears,” for his fear is contained in his love.

203. This is how fear should be evoked from the perspective of strict judgment (restriction of egoism), for once man realizes that strict judgment hovers over him, he must evoke within him fear of his Master. Thus, his heart will not be hardened, of which it is written, “He that hardens his heart shall fall into evil,” into the other side (his egoism). This is called evil. Therefore, fear unites with both sides – with goodness and love, as well as with strict judgment, and consists of both. And if fear is united with the good side and love, as well as with the strictness of judgment, such a love is perfect.

Related Material:
Introduction to the Book of Zohar

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