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Question: Can we say that as soon as even a little criticism and disapproval of our friends arises in us, it is already called that we are in a descent?

Answer: Maybe not. Maybe you are seeing things correctly, but it needs to be discussed together.

Question: Can we ask the Creator to remove all the flaws that we see in our friends?

Answer: No, don’t ask them to be removed, but for them to be corrected.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/3/24, Writings of Rabash “The Meaning of Exile”

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We overlay our faces with tons of make-up. We get Botox and even starve ourselves to become that perfect size. We try to fix something but you can’t fix what you can’t see. It’s the soul that needs the surgery (Julie Roberts).

Question: Why does the question about the soul not arise in people immediately? We gradually age, we are not as beautiful, we do not play as much, and so on, and the question about the soul suddenly begins to awaken. Why then and not earlier?

Answer: A woman has many such strings and connections to our external world. She must look good, she must attract, she must entice. She must be relatively successful in her career. And so on. That is, she has many more worries. This is until about 50, even maybe until 60 years old.

Then, the regret begins: “Where is my soul? Where did I lose it along the way and what should I do with it? I cannot be the same as I was at 20, of course.”

Question: But through the soul, maybe I can?

Answer: Through the soul, yes.

Question: So this moment is very important for her, the transition from external to internal, as she says, to the soul?

Answer: Yes.

Comment: This of course is hugely popular on the internet. There are millions of views when Hollywood stars and famous people suddenly start talking about the soul.

My Response: Because such a person who has achieved relative success in life, shows to all others that despite all his achievements, fame, money, and so on, his connection with the meaning of life, with the Creator, still needs correction. This means a lot. Dozens, hundreds, millions of women follow her. But, of course, it is all relative.

Question: What does “working on the soul” mean to you?

Answer: Working on the soul for me means that a person begins to constantly, every minute, ask himself throughout the day, every day: “What about my soul? What about me? Where am I?” Here one’s need for the Creator, begins to unfold, the need to unravel the mysteries of the universe, its purpose, and its puzzles. And so on.

Question: So, is this called “working on the soul”?

Answer: Yes, who am I? What am I here for?

Question: Julia Roberts continues: “How can you expect someone else to love you if you don’t love yourself? You have to be happy with yourself. It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

What does it mean to love myself?

Answer: To love myself means to love what I am filled with, what I think, what constitutes the meaning of my life, its fulfillment, and so on.

Question: To love my thoughts, etc.?

Answer: Everything except one’s appearance.

Question: When a person feels emptiness inside, as she says, what should they do? What does “I am empty” mean?

Answer: They need to urgently clarify the meaning of life for themselves.

Question: Does emptiness awaken for this purpose?

Answer: Yes, this is a serious question!

Question: Is this a good state?

Answer: I would gladly find myself together with her in a television studio or somewhere else to talk with her.

Comment: There is indeed a lot to talk about the soul and emptiness.

My Response: There is a lot to talk about, but it is unlikely that it will turn out as it should.

Question: Does emptiness arise in a person who is already fulfilled, when such a demand arises?

Answer: When there is a demand without an answer. But I would have had to rescue her. There would be no conversation. It would have turned out that it is not nice to leave her in such a state, that I cannot ask sharp questions, and so on.

Question: So would you still corner her first?

Answer: I would a little, on the edge. But then I would yield all the time.

Question: Is this the right way to conduct a conversation with people? Do you first ask questions, corner them a bit, and then help?

Answer: Yes. But very cautiously.

Question: She continues: “Today, I declare: I will no longer wear makeup, I do not want to wear someone else’s face. I am well aware I have wrinkles but I want to see beyond that. I want to embrace the real me and I want you to embrace who you are, the way you are, and love yourself just the way you are.”

When a woman decides to age naturally, is this the right decision?

Answer: No, a woman should always maintain herself as she has always desired. But there is no need to spend more time in front of the mirror now than before. This still elicits a different response from others.

Question: What if a woman still does a little grooming?

Answer: If a woman is beautiful, if she is attractive and knows how to present herself and is not someone neglected or downtrodden…

Comment: So, a little make-up is okay?

My Response: This is the right thing to do. She is not doing it for herself but for others. Before, she did it for others but for herself. So, it all depends on her worldview.

Question: Accepting a person as they are. If you were to say, “Accept me as I am,” what does that mean?

Answer: I am accustomed to being in this form. So if I needed to appear before a million people, I would go out like that too.

Question: This is external. What about internally?

Answer: Internally, a person should always be himself provided that he is understood correctly.

Question: So, does this external aspect exist, do I still think about people around me after all?

Answer: Of course. After all, I speak differently with children than with adults, and so on.

Question: Saying “Hello,” “Goodbye,” being polite, and so on, is it necessary?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Julia Roberts continues: “You have no idea how much money cosmetic companies make on you. They have managed to convince you that you urgently need to invest finances to delay what is inevitable.”

Should I even care about how they profit from me, or shouldn’t I?

Answer: What matters to me is what I want. If I want to achieve this goal, if this goal is achieved through makeup, through performing in front of an audience, and so on, then I do it. The goal and its achievement are what matter.

Comment: Julia Roberts concludes: “I choose to say to myself: stop! The external shell is the last thing we should care about. Only our soul matters. Remember this forever.”

My Response: Of course. Having lived the life she has, any woman can say this. And then she can finally calm down.

But in general, of course, you still need to try to maintain the style, the level that people ask of you, demand of you, in order to convey to them some of your new messages and wishes.

Question: Even in order to convey this message about the soul to them?

Answer: Yes, you still need to do it while remaining yourself, in good shape.

Question: Is that why we need our external shell?

Answer: Yes.

Question: When ancient texts, for example the “Song of Songs” talk about how a woman dresses up before her master, what is it saying there?

Answer: Of course about inner beauty.

Question: What did King Solomon write about when talking about the woman who waits for her beloved?

Answer: He wrote about the female part of humanity, so to say “female,” which should approach the male part of humanity and in the right connection between them reveal the Creator.

Question: So basically, it is a song of songs to the Creator?

Answer: Yes. Of course! “Song of Songs” is the highest song! That is why it is called the “Song of Songs.”

Question: If we draw such a conclusion: external, internal, a woman who should always remain beautiful—what does that mean? How to achieve that?

Answer: I do not know. I do not equate appearance with inner achievements.

A person spends 50, 60, or 70 years of their life absorbing and creating within him the right vessel for sanctifying the Creator through him. It is his job. So what does external makeup have to do with it?

Comment: But still, you said that if we are talking about a woman, then a woman should maintain herself.

My Response: Yes.
[327014]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 2/26/24

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Question: What should be the conditions for the quality of the people of Israel in us to hear the call of Mordechai: either connection or death?

Answer: We must feel that as a result of the entire historical path, we have reached a state where the Creator (nature) sets a task: either you unite with each other and become higher, more developed than everyone else, and then everything will work out, or your end will be here.

Question: The fact is that although our lives are in danger every day, we cannot say that any sensitivity has awakened in us. How can we develop it?

Answer: Special sensitivity can be developed only by all possible actions to unite. Then we will see how much they help us and benefit every person and the whole nation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/21/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “There Is a Certain People”

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Question: What gives the Creator greater pleasure: our advancement in faith above reason or the creation of a Kli for His revelation?

Answer: Both of these actions complement each other. One cannot be without the other.

Question: We must build an intention for every action, even in the material world. It constantly slips away during the day. How can we keep the intention without forgetting it?

Answer: Write a memo on your hand, paper, or phone, and you will gradually get used to it.

Question: The problem has been dragging on for many years when a person enjoys himself in the ten and then, unfortunately—shouts and pushes his opinion. How can we work with him? Or is it not worth working with him at all?

Answer: Those who do not have patience, who do not understand the importance of such a state, let them not work. But in general, this is a good condition, and those who patiently endure it will receive new large Kelim.

Question: The restriction of pleasure and simplification of life, minimalism in everything, happened to me as if by itself: in clothes, in food, in necessary furniture, even in the number of desires. What is this process?

Answer: This is universalization: a person is satisfied with little. That is his wealth. Therefore, it writes that the rich are the ones who are happy with their lot.

Question: Our daily activities are connection, reading articles, intention, and prayer. Is this enough to adhere to the Creator, or is there a need to add something else?

Answer: The connection between you is the most important thing for the Creator. He is waiting for this to manifest in the center of the ten. That is the first purpose of His attitude toward us.
[327404]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/30/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Purity of the Vessels of Reception”

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