Opinion: “If politicians don’t get a handle on it soon, the debt crisis will be a game-changer for the whole Western system. The economies of the United States and Europe will face years of stagnation and decline with regard to emerging nations in Asia and Latin America. In fact, the Euro Zone might break apart.

“These are some of the views Die Welt received in answer to questions it put to 17 winners of the Nobel Prize for economics who are gathered this week for the Nobel Laureate Meetings at Lindau….

“Edmund Phelps, a Colombia University professor who won the prize in 2006 for his theory on growth, says that during the past decades the West has lived above its means and in so doing has already consumed part of its future. That means that the United States, but also Europe now face a long period of stagnation….

“Other laureates also see the debt crisis as responsible for the terrible state of the economy. To Eric Maskin, government debt addiction is ruining the Western system and if politicians don’t wake up and act quickly economic turbulence can be expected to go on for years.

“James Mirrlees, who won his Nobel Prize for political economics research, rates the chances that the Western world will be facing a long period of stagnation as ‘very high.’ Myron Scholes agrees, adding that both the United States and Europe are looking at a fate similar to Japan’s lost decade if the present muddling continues….

“In one respect, the laureates feel that a decline of the West is already sealed: regardless of all and any political decisions that may be taken, the dominance of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency will fade. Its leading role will decline progressively over the coming decades.

“The economists see this as inevitable, like the devaluation of the British pound in the 20th century. They unanimously agree that the Chinese yuan will gain in stature….

“To save the Western system and its values, the laureates suggest better coordination among governments. Stronger institutions are needed to achieve results. And McFadden says that the United Nations cannot fulfill the role—in his view, it doesn’t have the support, nor does it enjoy the respect or clout, to do so.”
[52703]

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In the News (From washingtontimes.com): "…U.S. policy holds that Jerusalem is an entity unto itself. …it insists that the city’s disposition be decided through diplomacy. …

"’…the White House has apparently gone through its website, cleansing any reference to Jerusalem as being in Israel.’”
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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Everything Is Preordained

All the efforts of the Teacher should be directed not at attaching the students to himself, but at making them independent so that they won’t be looking at him at all, but through him would turn to the Creator. A student has to learn to be similar to the Creator, not the Teacher.

Indeed, our entire development is a kind of imitation of the Creator. As much as our properties and actions resemble the Creator, to that same extent we bring contentment to Him.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Meaning of Conception and Birth”
[51130]

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Shamati #22 “Torah Lishma (For Her Name)”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “VaYakhel (And Moses Assembled),” “The Ascent of the Prayer,” Item 145, Lesson 9
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Talmud Eser Sefirot Part 2, Chapter 2, “Histaklut Pnimit,” Chapter 3, Item 23, Lesson 18
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Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, Item 92, Lesson 43
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Nation,” (start with: “Indeed, the spark of nationalism was kept within us…”), Lesson 6
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[52552]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, The Book of Zohar

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Man begins with the unity of our thoughts and desires into the smallest possible vessel. And then it keeps growing larger as a result of the addition of newer and newer parts. In this way, he becomes man, Adam, stretched to the ends of the universe. And his connection, his mind and heart, is being built from all the broken pieces contained in each of us because each piece contains the mind and the heart inside of it.

The connection of these forces is similar to how matter forms in our world throughout the whole of the evolution on the still, vegetative, and animate levels. Matter started to unite in the same form. And when we start to unite our parts, we also go through the same steps, the still, vegetative, and animate, in the unity between people. These are called the spiritual states: embryo – nurturing – maturing (Ibur – Yenika – Mochin).

That is why all of our work depends on for the sake of what we are uniting—for the sake of the quality of bestowal to rule in us, meaning for the sake of the Creator, for the sake of His pleasure, or for the sake of ourselves in order to make it better for ourselves when we only think of our own condition in this world and about our bodies. Meaning that we are concerned with our bodily existence and not about gathering the image of man from our pieces.

That is why the “prayer of the 18 blessings” describes the spiritual path so well, the direction, the intention, the urge towards the next step, onto which the world, the human society has to rise to now. That is why the necessity for unity is being revealed. The only question is: For what sake does it happen?

And here, humanity divides into two parts. Those, who understand that unity is necessary for reaching the human level, the image of man. They are actively building this image. And the rest are related to the desire, and unite for the sake of a good life in this world.

This is the way they divide: the screen is called Israel and the desire is called all of the people who only need to connect to those who will do the work that is laid upon Israel.
[52557]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Shamati

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Everything Is Preordained

The Creator truly resides within the heart of every person of Israel, and that is from His side. Hence, what does one lack? Only to know that. And the knowledge changes, and the knowing completes.
– Baal HaSulam, A Sage’s Fruit, Vol. 1, “Letter No. 32”

All is set ahead of time and each and every soul is already in all its Light, goodness, and eternity. Thanks to the descent into the egoistic body and the return to its root, the soul is rewarded with the complete similarity with the Creator and a real adhesion with Him.
– Baal HaSulam, Letter No. 25
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We begin to develop and grow from this world, from the lowest possible reality, which descended from the world of Infinity through 125 degrees, through 5 worlds, to the very lowest point. Having reached this low level, the spark of light broke through to the very last spiritual degree into this world and began to form matter in it.

Matter began to concentrate, form, and unite one particle with another. In this manner began the return to the source—the correction of the breaking. From thereon began our Universe: the still, vegetative, and animate levels of nature.

All these degrees are a result of the unification of matter into more and more complex structures, all the parts of which act in benefit to each other. The power of Light, the power of nature, unite separate elements, and thus form inanimate matter in all its inner diversity. Matter is formed due to the unification of opposite particles according to particular laws.

And then even vegetative matter arises, where opposite particles connect into even more complex structures. They are much more spread apart from each other, but they unite nonetheless. Then animate nature emerges, each part of which feels separate and wishes to maintain its existence in an egoistic form. However, due to the force of nature, each of them still unites with others, and all together they create the animate—an animate body that is able to exist in spite of the fact that inside it exist a contradiction and unification of polar elements.

They are united by a special force—the force of Light, the force of the Creator, the force of mutual bestowal, in spite of the force of creation, an egoistic force that exists inside each. These two forces begin to act in common harmony.

Harmony is impossible if there are not two opposite forces that nonetheless unite for the sake of one goal, a common interest, and some higher state. A higher state means common interests of the body: the vegetative or the animate body. And then, due to development of matter on the animate level, it reaches the level of the human being of this world, which is an even more complex creature—a more aggressive and egoistic one. Every creature from this degree “human being in this world” finds that he is opposite to all other people.

And when he reaches the end of his egoistic development, he reveals that if he wishes to exist further, he needs a second, opposite force—the force of bestowal. The force of egoism developed in him, but what is he to do it with it now? It only destroys us.

At this point we understand that we must receive the force of bestowal, the force of unification. The feeling of the lack of the force of unification, without which we cannot continue, is in fact that feeling of a crisis, the breaking, the destruction of former values. It is revealed directly inside our existence, our life. We discover in absolutely all areas of life, in all the activities of a person in this world, that we cannot reach balance, harmony, and so-called “life.”

After all, life is built on the basis of two forces: reception and bestowal. We cannot exist by acting only with the one force of egoism. Therefore, as a result of our development, our gradual evolution, step by step nature brings us to the conclusion that we also need a second force: the force of unification.
[52548]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Shamati

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In the News (From economicsnewspaper.com): “Against the background of the debt crisis in Europe is a growing distrust among banks. They borrow less money….

“The mistrust of banks taking each other for the assessment European Central Bank, given the debt crisis in Europe. ‘Banks prefer in certain regions of the euro area to its to deposit excess liquidity with the ECB, rather than to other Banks borrow,’ said ECB chief economist Juergen Stark to the ‘Handelsblatt’ in the Monday edition. ‘The signal we take seriously.’

“Alone between last Thursday and Friday, the offshore banks Stark’s statement after 90.5 billion euros at the ECB, rather than the money other banks to borrow. The situation was not yet comparable with the Situation in fall 2008. After the bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers was at that time the so-called interbank market, on which the Financial institutions provide liquidity to each other, in a state of shock fallen. The report shows that at times were in the € 200 billion ECB depot. (Abendblatt.de / dpa)”

My Comment: Since increasing mutual dependence is manifested in the world, the alienation of the banks from each other will lead to the collapse of the whole system. However, namely because of this, from the realization of their death, they will understand that there is no other way out but connection in the form of “mutual guarantee.” Through these crises (sufferings), Nature (the Creator) will bring humanity to correction.
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Question: If there was a restriction on reception, why don’t we feel shame raising requests and prayers (MAN) above?

My Answer: We don’t feel shame because we ask for help for us to achieve bestowal, and not for our own sake. That’s nothing to be ashamed of!

You can counter, “but the entire correction occurs because of the shame felt by Malchut of the world of Infinity!” However, I don’t feel shame raising this request because I don’t demand for myself; rather, for myself I ask only the bare necessities, so that I could bestow the rest!

There is no shame in this. Just the opposite, there is honor here for me, because I will be able to bestow to others what no one else can give them! Everybody has such unique abilities in that the work performed by a particular individual cannot be performed by anyone else. That is because everyone has their own personal root in the common soul.

Therefore, it is allowed to ask for strength to live and be healthy, to receive knowledge and abilities—if these things are needed to carry out actions of bestowal. This is precisely what “life” is in the world of truth.

Such is my existence: My life is possible only to the extent that I can bestow. My actions are exclusively bestowal. And the spirit that flows through me sustains my existence, which is intended for bestowal. This is what is called a spiritual state.
[52522]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/11, Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

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