In the News (from Your Nuclear News): Russia will continue developing and modernizing its nuclear triad in 2009 despite the current global economic crisis, a deputy prime minister said. Russia’s military expenditure has been steadily growing recently, and the country reportedly plans to increase the current defense budget of $40 billion by 50% in the next three years.

My Comment: In the past, such undertakings could be used to mobilize an industry, country, or a nation, and help them live through, and even overcome, a crisis. However, today this is a horrible plan and it will destroy the country completely, because it is opposite to the tendency of Nature: to unite all of Its parts into one global whole. Today, the development and sales of weapons will only destroy the manufacturers and the sellers!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Record Arms Sales Are Nothing to Be Proud Of

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A question I received on how to raise children:

Question: When my three year old son sees me doing something, he immediately wants to join me and do the same thing. Sometimes this bothers me; I want him to go play on his own while I finish working or doing something at home. My wife says it’s important for my son to do these things with me, and I feel that she’s right, but I cannot convince myself of this.

Answer: This is very important because it creates a connection between you, teaches your son and develops him. Actually, this is the only way that a person can develop – by imitating others.

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Two questions I received on study opportunities for women:

Question: Several times I have heard women, children, and slaves be referred to as one soul. I don’t understand this attitude, especially in light of the enormous work women do in studying and disseminating.

My Answer: You are hearing it adversely: everything described in Kabbalah speaks about the correction of the soul. Every person is an egoist, regardless of one’s gender, and all people have to correct themselves. This is what you should think of, instead of thinking that you are deprived of the opportunity to be corrected and to attain the Creator.

I advise you to stop trying to “blame men for everything,” and instead to recognize the opportunity you have been given. Unfortunately, instead of correction, many women focus on looking for someone to blame for the fact that they are women.

Question: Two years ago, I asked for women to have an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers. You personally promised to solve this problem. However, to this day I am unaware of such an opportunity. As you know, women have never been able to ask questions during the morning lessons.

My Answer: I assure you that many women ask questions through the Internet during the morning lessons, providing male names. In addition, we have sections for women and children on our website, where you can ask anything you like.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A Woman Is a Full Fledged Half of Society and More
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Article: “Coming Together – The Real Meaning”
Article: “The Power of Women”
A Talk About the Spiritual Advancement of Women

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In the News (from The Investment Blog): The debt to income ratio [in the US] went from 70% in the 1990s to 140% now. Retrenchment of the U.S. consumer will result in a painful rebalancing in the economy and a cumulative contraction of personal consumption close to US$600bn.

My Comment: These numbers are correct if we don’t change the world with our attitude to it and to all our debts. We need to perform a universal revision, and jointly make a decision about how to live, according to the laws of Nature that govern us. Then we will understand how we can easily come out of the recession together.

In the News: (from BBC News): Japan’s parliament has passed legislation to give a cash hand-out to every resident in attempt to boost the recession-hit economy. Most people will get at least 12,000 yen ($121; £86) under the $20bn plan.

My Comment: Actually, people will just put this money away for harder times.

Related Material:
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YrzjrmuaUI]

My Comment: For now, this is the only conclusion that the G-20 participants are able to reach. But even this is a good thing, since it allows them to feel their total interdependence.

After holding a few more of their pointless meetings, they will realize that it’s necessary to learn to live differently in order to feel secure, and to be sure that no one will get you where it hurts the most.

They will then have to teach themselves, their people, and the whole world about the world’s globality and the condition of the mutual guarantee (Arvut), until reaching the sublime goal of, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

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In the News (from Gallup): “Religion Provides Emotional Boost to World’s Poor” Gallup Polls in 143 countries reveal that among countries where average annual incomes are $2,000 or less, 92% of residents say religion is an important part of their daily lives, [whereas] among the richest countries surveyed ($25,000/yr or more) – that figure drops to 44%.

Societies naturally grow more secular as they modernize; religion is in fact a powerful positive force for disadvantaged populations – a literal form of “social security” – in times of crisis.

My Comment: The time of enlightenment isn’t here just yet. Kabbalah will enable humanity to reveal all of creation – this world and the Upper World together, and then the age of unfounded faith will be replaced with the age of Knowledge, as it is written, “And all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest.”

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A question I received: Everyone knows that you smoke, and that Rabash and Baal HaSulam did too. Can smoking really cause cancer or other severe illnesses, as we are told? You have said that you aren’t sure that all the commotion surrounding cigarettes is justified, but if science affirms that they are harmful, then they are harmful. I am fond of smoking, but I am afraid that it harms me and those around me. What can you say about this?

My Answer: I use nicotine in “moderate doses”- 2 to 4 cigarettes a day. I believe that a few cigarettes a day aren’t harmful if combined with exercise, such as fast walking for 1 hour a day, bicycling twice a week for 1 hour, stretching, massage, and swimming 400 strokes in 1/2 hour (this is what I do at 63 years of age).

Related Material:
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A news report and questions I received about the future:

In the News:(from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty): A Levada Center poll released on March 5 found that 50 percent of Russians believe the country faces an external military threat.

My Comment: The crisis will force the entire world to unite, and then such suspicions will vanish.

Question: In recent times, books propagating war and mass destruction are in high demand, and people take them seriously. Will we be able to prevent the suffering that extremist organizations have in store for humanity?

My Answer: This is exactly why Kabbalah has been revealed to humanity: to enable us to go through the phase of correction peacefully, through realization, instead of suffering and wars.

Question: Why are you convinced that the third world war will be “nuclear”? Why aren’t you viewing the present situation as a third economic world war?

My Answer: This is what Baal HaSulam wrote almost a hundred years ago, before the atomic bomb was even invented.

Question: “And they will prevent Israel from returning to their own land until the merit of the children of Ishmael shall have become exhausted. And the sons of Ishmael will fight mighty battles in the world, and the sons of Edom will gather against them, and make war against them, some on land, others on sea.” What is the Kabbalistic explanation of this excerpt, which is about the end of days?

My Answer: It is about the end of the world’s egoistic existence.

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Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace In the World“

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