A question I received: If love of others is a law, then how can anyone possibly fail to abide by it?

My Answer: A while back I knew a person who didn’t consider radiation a serious health hazard and believed that vodka would cleanse the body of it. So, he exposed himself to radiation a few times, and died soon after. The point is that there are forces in Nature that man doesn’t perceive, but they still affect him.

The science of Kabbalah reveals the whole of reality to man, including all of its laws, which invariably operate and cannot be escaped. We always exist in the same world, under the influence of the same laws, but we reveal them gradually. If we weren’t revealing certain laws now, it would be easy to ignore them and say that we’re doing ok.

Today we are revealing the Upper, Spiritual layer of reality – the unity between the souls and the place where the breaking of the souls occurred. Of course, we are free to ignore this, to pretend that nothing’s happening. But once we run out of food and are afflicted with all kinds of other miseries, people will quickly see that there is no choice but to recognize these things.

The Creator is a universal, active law – the general law of reality, and humanity must discover it. All the parts of humanity are completely interconnected, similar to the human body, where every part cares for every other part. This is the true meaning of love. People’s customary understanding of love is the pleasure that comes from fulfilling oneself, whereas true love is pleasure that’s felt from caring for others’ fulfillment. This is the meaning of being global.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: “Love Your Neighbor” Is the Condition Nature Has Set for Us
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Baal HaSulam Article: “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two”

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A question I received: What are the words of the old prayer that you mentioned during on of the lessons?

My Answer: It was probably this one:

אלי, תן לי את השלווה לקבל את הדברים שאין ביכולתי לשנותם, האומץ לשנות את אשר ביכולתי, והתבונה להבחין בין השניים

My Lord, give me the humility to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I should change, and the wisdom to distinguish between the two.

Related Material:
Kabbalah Revealed: “Know Your Limits”

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A question I received: During the lessons you often remind us that religious ethics is completely different from Kabbalah. But when Baal HaSulam wrote this, didn’t he mean the secular, Greek, or corporeal ethics? Aren’t the ethics of the sages passed on through the Light, in order to direct us toward the realization of evil, so we will know what to ask the Light for, and It will then bring us back to the source?

My Answer: Baal HaSulam uses the term Musar (ethics) to describe the opposite of one’s development using Kabbalah.

Related Material:
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The virtual lesson which took place on 04.12.09, from 4:00pm to 5:00pm Israel time, was the second in a series of lessons on Baal HaSulam’s article, “Peace in the World.” These lessons are translated from Russian into English, Spanish, French, German and Hebrew.

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A question I received: How can love between people be a law if love is about a person’s feelings?

My Answer: Desire is the material of creation. Desire is a force – a force of attraction and a force of repulsion. There are laws in the world that are obvious, and we obey them involuntary. Other laws are still concealed from us, and thus we do not obey them yet. But if they do become revealed, it is best for us to learn them quickly and start obeying them.

What is “love” in our world? It’s when something awakens a feeling in me that I might get pleasure from it. I then aspire to this thing, to this spark of light. I want to get closer to this light and connect to it, so it will fulfill me. The pleasure can come from food, sex, family, money, power, or knowledge. But what do I really connect to? I connect to the spark of pleasure that enters my desire for pleasure. This is what “love” in our world is.

In Kabbalah, “love for your neighbor” does not mean that you like someone’s face, personality, or status, although this is exactly how people interpret love for one’s neighbor in our world. The latter is not love for him, but just a feeling of attraction to something that fulfills you.

True love is when you fulfill the desires of another as if they are your own. This means that you love your neighbor rather than yourself. It is when you work with and fulfill his desire. This is love for one’s neighbor.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: “Love Your Neighbor” Is the Condition Nature Has Set for Us
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In the News (from AFP): “Asian summit canceled after protesters storm venue” Thai protesters smashed their way into a major Asian summit Saturday, forcing the country’s embattled prime minister to cancel the meeting and evacuate foreign leaders by helicopter. Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the beach resort of Pattaya after thousands of demonstrators stormed the summit.

My Comment: This is how all the world leaders will soon feel, because the furious, hungry masses will not only demand “bread and entertainment,” but also answers about the world’s situation. This is what they’ll want as they become more united.

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A question I received: I just looked at this course because I was going to suggest it to a friend who lives near Raanana. Then I was surprised to see that there is a charge of about $100 for 10 classes. One of the things I’ve been told that indicates authentic Kabbalah is that it should be offered free of charge. Granted, it’s the same cost as my synagogue charges me to take an adult education course, but doesn’t this compromise the idea of disseminating freely, especially in these times of financial hardship?

My Answer: Someone has to pay the rent and maintenance, or would you like someone else to pay them for you? The materials of the “Campus Kabbalah” are available free of charge on our website. When we give public lectures on our own premises, we offer them for free, even though we still have to cover the expenses.

Kabbalah favors the dissemination of knowledge about the world, but it is not missionary work at the expense of others.

Related Material:
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Projects and Expenses
About Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute

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In the News (translated from Gazeta.ru): “Enslaved Tyrants” The government leaders do not control their countries however they wish, but are obliged to consider the needs of the society. A leader has to adjust his actions to real life.

My Comment: Everyone understands this. And it is exactly why we need a broad public education system. Everyone without exception must be educated about the new laws of Nature, which are now being revealed in society. To the degree the public will be enlightened, the leaders will be able to make more efficient reforms.

Related Material:
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Two questions I received about religion:

Question (in response to the post, Why Religion Is Against Kabbalah): This is exactly why I left Christianity! I strongly disliked how belonging to one religion automatically excludes others. I’m so happy to have found Kabbalah! I didn’t know there was something out there that emphasized unity. But what about Judaism? Judaism does not try to convert people of other faiths and does not seem to “hate” the other religions.

My Answer: Kabbalah is the method of correcting man, making him similar to the Creator by obtaining the quality of bestowal and love. This has absolutely no relation to any religion. It is for everyone and does not entail any obligations, restrictions, observance of religious rituals, and so on.

Question: In some spiritual writings, religion is described in a positive way. In others, religion is not recommended as a path to enlightenment. Is religion better for some people than others? Is religion good or bad?

My Answer: Religion is useful only during the period of the Creator’s concealment. But even then, it is only good for confining people’s egoism. In our generation, religion is being replaced by Kabbalah, and will remain only as a social, cultural framework.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Religion Is Just a Cultural Framework In Our World
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A question I received: I am an orthodox priest and I have been interested in Kabbalah as taught by your Ashlag Research Institute for about six years. My question is: do the inexplicable phenomena of nature have spiritual roots? I have been a witness of a miraculous weeping icon. This happened to me three weeks ago in church while I was performing service at the altar. The streaks and drops of myrrh still haven’t dried, and still exude a very strong fragrance. I’m ok – there’s no need to call an ambulance. Besides, I wasn’t the only one to witness this phenomenon.

My Answer: All the “inexplicable” phenomena of nature can be explained quite simply: a person’s desires can make miracles a reality. If you really wish for something, anything can happen. The same is true for our inner expectation of miracles – especially in religious practices, even though we may not be fully aware of this expectation.

When we study perception in Kabbalah, we learn that the picture of the world is depicted inside us and by us. It is entirely determined by our desires. So, nothing is impossible. If a person thinks about something or desires something, it means there is a place for this thing in the world and it is possible in some form. Otherwise this desire or thought would never have emerged in him. However, the most important thing is to desire that which is good!

Related Material:
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