Two questions I received on the after-effects of the financial crisis:

Question: If we don’t attain correction, will the coming blows correspond to creation’s stages of development? We are currently witnessing a financial crisis. Does this mean that the next crisis will happen on the vegetative level, and so on?

My Answer: Certainly, the crises will become more and more intense, qualitatively speaking.

Question: The Top Heavy Corporate Greed is a major contributing factor to the financial problem. How can any business or country operate efficiently when capitalistic greed and ego is the primary driving force? What will happen to these individuals when they can no longer receive their Million Dollar per year salaries and yet they’ll try to continue with that life style?

My Answer: They will realize that they were never really fulfilled, but only had the illusion of fulfillment. They will then turn to the Source of the true, eternal and perfect fulfillment, first out of necessity, driven by suffering, and afterwards – through sensing harmony and infinite delight.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Little Prince Explains the Financial Crisis
Laitman.com Post: The Crisis Will Last As Long As Necessary

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Every Sunday, I give a virtual lesson from 4:00pm to 5:15pm Israel time. This week’s virtual lesson was lesson #5 on Baal HaSulam’s article “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

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The news on Channel 2, Israel’s most popular and prestigious TV channel, had an interview with my student Arcadi Duchin, a famous Israeli song writer, singer and performer. The interview was about his first song about the crisis and the story behind its making:

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

Arcadi and I met once a week for the last year to discuss the necessity of writing songs about the current events: the proliferation of drugs (“lighting up to pass the time”), the growing divorce rates (man, woman, and the snake between them), the hyperactivity of children (Ritalin), the financial crisis and layoffs, ego-Lego (how to connect together), and so on. These songs haven’t been released yet, but they have become more relevant than ever.

The public release of the first song was a very special event! I hope that this kind of dissemination and explanation will enable people to discover the cause of the evil and the path to goodness.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Drugs and Attainment Are Incompatible
Kabbalah Today Article: The Changing Nature of Humanity
Kabbalah Today Article: Man, Woman, and the Snake Between Them
Article: “Education Without Ritalin”

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News Report (translated from chaskor.ru): The concept of ecovillages has gained popularity because people are hoping to escape the trap of civilization that has cornered them. Only yesterday such communities seemed extremist and sectarian, but today they’re regarded as a way to survive the global crisis, which is turning into global chaos. In addition, it’s easier to survive a crisis in a commune.

My Comment: Separating from the global civilization to save one’s own neck will bring any commune to a terrible crisis – one that’s greater than in the rest of the world. It’s because a commune will isolate itself from everyone in order to survive on its own, and this goes against unification, globalization, and Nature’s plan to unite everyone. These aren’t eco-villages, they’re EGO-villages!

News Report (from World Net Daily): …the U.S. is moving closer to a Nazi-style totalitarianism, warns a former German member of the Hitler Youth in a new book. “Every day brings this nation closer to a Nazi-style totalitarian abyss,” writes Hilmar von Campe…

My Comment: According to Kabbalah, if we’re not moving toward global integration, then we’re moving toward mutual isolation and the emergence of Nazi regimes in the developed countries.

News Report (from National Post): More singles are turning to the Internet as a cheap, convenient way to find love during trying economic times. A poll by Opinion Research Corp. found that 57% of Americans said the credit crunch made them worry about their love lives… similar surveys in Australia and Britain came up with the same results.

My Comment: Suffering and fear are showing us just how fragile we are and how much we need the support of the environment. We were created as social creatures and we have to create a friendly and supportive society around us. And if we don’t want to, nature will force us to. Then we’ll want it and therefore build such a society!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Reflections on the Crisis
Laitman.com Post: Where Is the World Going – Nazism or Global Unity?
Kabbalah Today Article: The Divine Conspiracy

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In an interview with rabkor.ru, “This is an Unusual Global Crisis,” William Engdahl stated the following:

The global financial crisis puzzles economists and political scientists around the globe. Some see the crisis ending in a year while others say that the world will go through such drastic changes that in Europe, owning your own car will become an unheard of luxury, and in the USA poverty will escalate so drastically that the country will find itself in a revolutionary situation.

My Comment: I haven’t heard one correct conclusion yet! The correct crisis must lead to the correct outcome: every person will have everything he needs in order to exist for the sake of others. In addition, by adopting the correct attitude to oneself and others, each person will feel his eternal and perfect existence in adhesion with Nature (the Creator).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Peace of Every Person Depends on Everyone
Baal HaSulam Article: “Building the Future Society”

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My blog is now available in Chinese. It is called “Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life”:

卡巴拉、科学和生命意义―――迈克尔•莱特曼博客

There are only a few dozen people currently studying with the International Academy of Kabbalah in Chinese, because many of our Chinese students reside in North America and study in English. However, we hope that with the release of my new book in Chinese as well as this blog, we will find many new friends.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A New Site In Chinese – Just In Time for the Olympics
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah News Around the World

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News Report (from ABC News): …a bailout drama is playing out inside the closed-down Republic Windows & Doors factory in Chicago, where more than 200 angry workers have hunkered down after they were abruptly fired … without final pay or benefits. The union workers believe they are victims of a bungled bailout and that Bank of America, which received $25 billion in the federal rescue package, stands between them and their paychecks.

My Comment: The tensions that have erupted in Greece show us that the world is balancing on the brink of an explosion. People’s discontent is ready to erupt at the slightest cause, and it’s always easy to find an instigator of tension, even war. It is necessary for us to stop and think about the fact that it is impossible to curb our egoism using the conventional measures. The explosion may happen anywhere and at any moment.

News Report (translated from utro.ru): The financial crisis has brought about a recession in tourism and dining, transportation and financial services industries. However, communication via mobile connections is the last thing people are willing to cut back on.

My Comment: The crisis will affect all aspects of our lives, forcing us to wise up. It will force us to search for an inner communication – “soul to soul.”

News Report (translated from utro.ru): The legal sector of Russia’s alcohol market faces a catastrophic shortage of raw materials. By the beginning of next year, two thirds of all the alcohol factories in the country may have to cease operation.

My Comment: This is a serious threat to the nation’s health. In fact, it may bring it to the brink of extinction.

Conclusion: The crisis will influence us and people will feel it in every aspect of their lives. It will be felt differently in different parts of the world, but no one will be able to escape. In the end it will force us to create good connections with each other. We can do this now or after a period of exacerbation and wars. If mankind will accept that the things taking place are the Creator’s request for us to correct ourselves and ascend, then the crisis will turn into a joyful revelation of a perfect world.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Countries Closest to Integration and Globalization Will Suffer Least from the Crisis
Laitman.com Post: What’s the Surest Bet to Save Your Money In Time of Crisis?
Laitman.com Post: Why Are People Turning More Pessimistic?
Kabbalah Today Article: The Financial Crisis: Diagnosis and Cure

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Three questions I received on explaining Kabbalah:

Question: We disseminate Kabbalah to people who have a point in the heart. But what do we have to teach to the rest of the world?

My Answer: Everyone must know about Kabbalah. However, every person is free to choose it for himself, to whatever degree he needs it, from 0% to 100%. Everything is in motion, and the question about the meaning of life is rapidly starting to surface in people. This is a question that only Kabbalah can answer.

Question: The language used in Kabbalah is confusing. Why don’t we simplify it? If your objective is dissemination, then in my opinion, the presentation style should be modified and simplified.

My Answer: You are correct, and I hope I will be able to do this. Baal HaSulam writes that we have to write new books, presenting Kabbalah in a simpler and more accessible manner. You should study and try doing this yourself!

Question: Can you please give us a dictionary defining the terms used in Kabbalah classes, like Klipot, Kli, vessel, Lishma, Parsa, Machsom, Ohr, Yechida, Gadlut, Beria, Adam HaRishon, Tzimtzum, Ohr Makif, and etc.? For people who are not familiar with Aramaic or Hebrew, this is difficult to understand.

My Answer: There are already several dictionaries like this, which include the terms’ translation, interpretation, commentary, and so on. (See the links in the Related Material section below.) I think that knowing and repeatedly going over the terminology is a foundation for success when it comes to understanding the system and the structure of the worlds. This is a sure means of attuning oneself to the sensation of spiritual forces.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Do You Explain Kabbalah to Others?
Kabbalah on Education
Kabbalah for the Student Appendix A: Kabbalah Glossary
A Short Dictionary of Kabbalistic Terms
Kabbalistic Dictionary

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A question I received: What is the connection between the mind and the heart? Should a person keep them in balance with each other? And how is it possible to increase or decrease one of them? In one of the lessons you said that a person whose mind isn’t developed can go crazy. Can you explain this in more detail?

My Answer: The basis for everything, the only creation – is desire. Hence, the desire is primary in us. But in order to attain what we desire, the mind develops alongside the desire, corresponding to it. Hence, no matter how much we may resist this fact, the mind is a servant of the desire; it develops only in order to service the desire.

Therefore we will never be able to make our minds objective, independent of our desires. However, we can change our desires under the influence of the environment (see the article “The Freedom”), and according to the new desires we will also force our minds to change. If we understand this, then under the influence of the right environment (an environment that leads us to the goal of creation), we can always develop both our desires and our mind harmoniously.

If a person has great desires but his mind isn’t developed enough to actualize them, he may lose the ability to control himself sensibly.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: In Kabbalah, Pleasure and Desire Are Defined Relative to the Light
Laitman.com Post: Focus On Intentions Rather Than Desires
The Path of Kabbalah: Chapter 2.2 – “Persistence”
Article: “The Influence of the Environment on a Person”

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Questions I received on men and women:

Question: Why does a woman desire to be “the one and only,” and for the Creator to reach only her alone? Does this have a spiritual root? A man also shows that he wants to be the one and only: to be the best, the strongest, to show that he can do anything, and so on.

My Answer: A woman wants to be connected to the Source, whereas a man wants to become the Source himself.

Question: All I can think about half the time is making love to some beautiful woman studying Kabbalah. Is this normal?

My Answer: This will force you to become interested in Kabbalah in order for her to like you. But then you will discover so many new and attractive things in Kabbalah that your attention will shift to it instead. Meanwhile, the beautiful woman will remain, but just as someone who accompanies you, instead of being the main reason you study.

Question: What is the best solution for me: to marry a man who does not aspire for spirituality or to stay single until the Creator will want me to find a partner in life?

My Answer: Try to find a partner among those similar to you.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Man, Woman and Divinity Between Them
Laitman.com Post: Woman = Desire
Article: Why Are We So Preoccupied with Sex?
Booklet: Relationships

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