Audio Version Of The Blog – 10/22/24
Posted on October 22nd, 2024
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I believe that in our days the people of Israel will rise and unite. After all, the external pressure on us is growing day by day, squeezing the ring around us more and more tightly. And the nations of the world’ seem to support this pressure, making claims against us that we are not fulfilling what is assigned to us.
We have no choice but to understand the reason for this attitude toward us, which has been going on for thousands of years and has recently become simply critical.
There has never been a time when other nations have blamed the people of Israel and wanted to completely erase them. We have to start changing; there is no more time to wait because everything that the prophets and Kabbalists wrote about has already happened to us. However, no unity emerged among the people. Apparently, a group is needed that will reveal the need for this connection and lead the entire Israeli people and then all nations to correction.
The people of Israel still do not live up to what they should be. You have to learn this. The main problem is that we do not understand our mission, the purpose of our existence, or our duty toward all nations of the world, all mankind.
We must study all this, accept it as a law of nature, and fulfill our destiny. Otherwise we will not be able to continue to exist here. The whole nation is obligated to unite as one man with one heart; there is no other solution.
The solution lies only in the correct unification through which we will raise ourselves above all and be able to show all other nations an example of what the only correct form of existence for all should be. This is the kind of unification that Kabbalists talk about; that is, complete unity as one man with one heart, when everyone is a friend to everyone else and has no other aspiration in life than to be one nation.
When more such groups strive to unite within themselves, they will also find a way to connect with each other. This help will come from above. And when those who understand that humanity must take a step forward toward common unification come together, we will be able to move toward a general correction of creation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam Newspaper “The Nation”
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Why is it said that a soul like Baal HaSulam descends into our world only once in ten generations? The fact is, this soul is incredibly great, and its attainment requires tremendous effort.
Therefore, it descends into the world only once every few generations when there are many souls ready to rise from one spiritual degree to another. Through their collective effort, they can reach the heights described by Baal HaSulam.
Through all our efforts in studying the wisdom of Kabbalah and our actions toward unity, we wish to include ourselves in his soul, and to the extent that we achieve this inclusion, we can touch, even slightly, his greatness. Everything depends on our desire to rise above our current state and reach greater unity, through which alone we can attain spirituality.
By reaching a certain level of attaining this degree, we must try to clothe ourselves in Baal HaSulam’s spiritual garment, which is exceptionally high, hoping that the Creator will have mercy on us and allow us to understand, feel, and somehow glimpse this state.
That does not depend on us alone, but on the desire of the upper to reveal itself within us and, through us, influence all of humanity. We must not forget this, so that together we can feel this immense responsibility and strive to bring the whole world closer to the Creator.
Our group is the result of the work of the great Kabbalists who lived before us, who have extended to us the end of the thread that connects us to the Creator. We must grasp this thread and use it to ascend.
Through our closeness to one another, through connection and mutual inclusion, we will be able to feel more elevated qualities and higher states, and in doing so, we will oblige the Creator to raise us up to Him. That is already near, and we hope we will succeed in achieving it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/13/24, Baal HaSulam Memorial Day, Rav Yehuda Ashlag
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Question: Perhaps the most important day for Jews is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It unites religious Jews and secular ones who do not follow any laws or commandments. This day brings us together.
Before this day, there are ten steps known as the Ten Days of Repentance. Please tell us what these steps are leading up to Yom Kippur.
Answer: These are gradual realizations by a person about how they live, how they have lived, and how they plan to live moving forward. Essentially, it is when a person reflects on themselves: who they are, what they are, and why they are.
Therefore, Yom Kippur is a special day. Everyone observes it in some way. Even if it is not outwardly observed, inwardly, a person still reflects on it.
Question: We ask for forgiveness on Yom Kippur. I might not even know exactly what I am asking forgiveness for, but I ask. How does this affect my life, even if I do it automatically?
Answer: The thing is, asking for forgiveness is hard work. It forces a person to think about his life, what he thought a year ago, and how he lived this past year. Essentially, it is a day when a person judges himself.
Question: Yom Kippur is also called the Day of Purification. What are we purifying ourselves from?
Answer: From egoism, from the things that spoil our lives and prevent us from being a united nation, striving toward the Creator. It is a very challenging day.
Question: Why is it important for us to ask forgiveness from other people before Yom Kippur? This is called Selichot.
Answer: Because it is said that if you are not forgiven by other people, even the Creator will not be able to help you.
The most important thing is to reach a level of connection with others where you ask for them and they ask for you.
Question: Should I ask forgiveness from others with the thought that they will forgive me? Or is it just because it is a tradition for this holiday?
Answer: No, you need to reach a state where you genuinely ask others to forgive you because no matter how strictly we judge ourselves, we often overlook things.
Question: What about when others judge us?
Answer: We must be sensitive and show maximal politeness, as every person in the community is completely equal to others. No one can escape their egoism or the harm we might cause each other.
Question: This is very interesting. It aligns all of us, right?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Whether it is an ordinary worker or a prime minister?
Answer: There is absolutely no difference.
Question: Is this through the act of asking for forgiveness and judging ourselves?
Answer: Yes, all members of society and the nation are neither higher nor lower. We understand that just as each of us stands before this great call from above, so must we act.
Question: We have been progressing step by step, and now we have reached the point where we fast on Yom Kippur. There are five prohibitions, things we cannot do on Yom Kippur. Could you please explain the essence of the fast? What is the meaning of these prohibitions?
Answer: The prohibitions on eating, drinking, and so on are all connected to the idea that people should humble themselves a little to realize that there is the upper force, and they must stand before it, completely detached from their egoistic desires, impulses, etc. This is the main point.
Question: So is this an external attempt to restrict oneself?
Answer: Yes, it is an external attempt, but it greatly affects people. When a person refrains from eating or drinking, reads specific texts, or participates in certain actions with others, such as praying, he elevates himself to a different level.
Question: Could you please explain what it means to be inscribed in the Book of Life? We often hear about being inscribed in the Book of Life. What does it mean?
Answer: The Book of Life is a book with blank pages where our deeds, whether good or not, are written down.
If you act righteously, then your name is inscribed in the Book of Life. There is the upper will, a hand that (as if) writes your name in this book.
Our actions are recorded, meaning they leave an imprint on the surrounding nature. We illuminate this nature with our deeds, and everything depends on how we understand which actions are good and which are evil and how we treat others—with good or evil.
Question: Could we imagine that all of nature is like a blank page, and we leave an imprint on it?
Answer: Yes.
Question: What is desirable? Should we enter it with white letters, or…?
Answer: Ideally, with white.
Question: Why is sincere repentance before oneself as important as repentance before others?
Answer: It is an important act that a person can bring himself to—genuinely repenting for his actions and misdeeds over the past year. In this sincere repentance, he can ask not to be judged harshly for his actions.
Question: What is a person afraid of when he wants to be justified, not judged, as you say? What is he afraid of?
Answer: The most important thing is if the person wants the Creator to forgive him because he does not want to be distanced from the Creator. That is the main concern. Everything else is secondary.
Question: So is my fear of being distant from the Creator what I fear most?
Answer: Yes.
Comment: And everything else—health, money, whatever else….
My Response: Those things come and go.
Question: When we talk about being inscribed in the Book of Life, is this what it is about?
Answer: Yes, it is about not being distant from the Creator and constantly trying to get closer to Him.
Question: You mentioned that people judge themselves—whether they have the right goal in life and so on. Yom Kippur is just one day a year. Does it help a person find the path to the purpose of life and how he should live?
Answer: Yes, of course.
Comment: But it is just one day!
My Response: It does not matter; it is 24 hours. If a person spends them in contemplation, he can correct many things he has done.
Question: In just these 24 hours?
Answer: Yes.
Question: You made a correct clarification here, 24 hours gives me a completely different feeling. And if we break it down further into minutes and seconds, it is even more profound.
Tell me, we try to cleanse our hearts on this day, just one day a year. What prevents us from doing this every day? Something is preventing us.
Answer: Our egoism! It pulls us in different directions toward different goals, and we lose focus. But on this day, the entire nation around us is doing the same thing. People gather in prayer houses and read special prayers, and thus, there is a greater opportunity for people to delve deeper into themselves.
Question: Is it possible to take the feelings we experience on Yom Kippur and somehow carry them into every day of the year, extend them throughout the coming year?
Answer: Yes, there is a part of our actions that we experience as a kind of “small Yom Kippur.” In each daily prayer…
Question: After Yom Kippur? Daily?
Answer: Yes, there are elements present when we judge ourselves, feel that we are in the wrong, and ask for forgiveness.
Question: So is there a “small Yom Kippur” in every day?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Is this the way a person should live?
Answer: That is the way a person should live, of course.
Question: So should we judge ourselves every day?
Answer: This is present in our daily prayers, though not as intensely as on Yom Kippur.
Question: Indeed, the prayers of Yom Kippur carry such power! Can the prayer on Yom Kippur change a person’s destiny if he engages with it wholeheartedly?
Answer: I believe it can. It is a special state of the world, of nature, of the person, and the nation. Therefore, Yom Kippur can change everything.
Question: So, if we truly invest ourselves in Yom Kippur, could we even stop wars?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Does Yom Kippur help a person begin to live in a new way?
Answer: Possibly. How much it helps depends, but fundamentally, if a person wants to change, he should not wait for Yom Kippur. He should begin now. Then he will see that everything can truly be changed and that any day of the year is suitable for that.
Question: We have not spoken about Yom Kippur like this in a while. Tell me, you were talking about Yom Kippur just now, but there is a feeling that you were not just talking about a Jewish holiday, but about the entire world. Is that how you see Yom Kippur?
Answer: Absolutely! It is a day of atonement for the entire world. If a person treats the prayers as a kind of self-judgment, then in principle, it will cleanse him.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/7/24
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Question: How can we correctly build a chain of connection from our unity through you with Rabash, Baal HaSulam, and all the great Kabbalists?
Answer: Through prayer.
Question: Is the connection with the Creator and the connection with the great teachers throughout the generations the same?
Answer: No, first, there is connection with the great teachers and through them with the Creator.
Question: The generation of the ARI before Baal HaSulam and Rabash is considered the last generation. Does that mean that we are not waiting for anyone else?
Answer: Actually, we do not have to wait for anyone. Everything the Kabbalists revealed in the past lies before us. We can use all this to rise together to the Creator and achieve the highest state through it.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/13/24, Baal HaSulam Memorial Day, Rav Yehuda Ashlag
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Today we commemorate the memory of the great Kabbalist, Baal HaSulam. Rabash wrote about his father and teacher: “Baal HaSulam made it so that if an ordinary person follows his way, he can achieve Dvekut [adhesion] with the Creator just like a dedicated wise disciple.”
Over time it has become easier to fulfill this requirement of coming closer to the Creator, understanding and feeling Him, and establishing some contact with Him. In our days, every person must strive to attain adhesion with the Creator, and this is why we learn through the methodology of Baal HaSulam and Rabash how to achieve this.
Baal HaSulam brought about a tremendous change in the methodology of studying the wisdom of Kabbalah. Before Baal Shem Tov it was generally unclear how to advance in order to come closer to the Creator and establish a connection with Him. Thanks to the work of Baal Shem Tov, this methodology became clearer, but it was still not meant for ordinary people; it was only for great Torah scholars who had dedicated their entire lives to this. There were significant limitations on this path.
However, thanks to the work of Baal HaSulam, this goal became more achievable. Even a simple person, by learning from a wise Kabbalist, could now come closer to the revelation of the Creator.
That is, the strict condition that existed previously (of requiring one to study the entire Torah in order to proceed to the study of Kabbalah) that allowed only a select few to attain the revelation of the Creator and adhesion with Him is no longer in place.
After Baal Shem Tov this task became simpler and more accessible to a greater number of people. By virtue of their desire and aspiration, they could break through this barrier and through their prayer achieve contact with the Creator.
This simplification did not happen by chance but because the world is advancing and the entire nature of creation is revealed more and more. People evolve and are capable of understanding and grasping more. The desire to reveal and attain the Creator and to connect with Him is increasingly awakening in ordinary people who had not previously studied the Torah.
This awakened desire draws them to the study of Kabbalah, to reveal the Creator with its help. The only thing required of a person is to give their heart to this, to feel that their heart needs it. That is, a person simply needs a desire for revelation, as strong as possible, which draws them toward the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/13/24, Baal HaSulam Memorial Day, Rav Yehuda Ashlag
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Question: You once said: “If other people do not forgive you, the Creator will not help you.” Whom and how should we ask for forgiveness; do we ask directly or is it a work in the heart?
Answer: In whichever way. It is work in the heart and a direct appeal with words. You must surely cleanse yourself before others and then you can be the same before the Creator.
Question: What is the main thing in asking for forgiveness?
Answer: You should realize your mistake or bad quality and ask for forgiveness, that is, the opportunity to rise above it.
Question: Is asking for forgiveness a correction?
Answer: Yes, a person should apologize for the state he was in.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/24, Writings of Rabash “The Sorrow of the Shechina – 2”
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Question: What is faith above reason in absolute form—when no manifestations in this world can influence the perception of the spiritual path?
Answer: It is not true that manifestations of our world cannot influence us. On the contrary, through a person who feels them, we can influence the manifestation of spiritual forms of all kinds of connections between us, receiving or giving.
Question: Can we then say that faith above reason is complete confidence in the plan of the Creator? That is, it is a state when a person does not doubt that regardless of his problems and material desires, the plan of the Creator is the absolute good.
Answer: Yes, that is absolutely right.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/29/24, Writings of Rabash “Happy Is the Man”
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Question: What should I do to bestow to the friends and to the Creator?
Answer: You must relate to the friends in the same way you relate to the Creator. By this you will delight Him.
You will ask the Creator to give you the ability to bestow upon Him in the same way that you want to bestow to the friends, and vice versa, to bestow to the friends as you wish to bestow to the Creator.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/2/24, “Rosh HaShana”
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Question: Baal HaSulam writes that the foundation for the future society will not be education and public opinion but something more serious. After all, education and public opinion only will not be able to convince egoists to become altruists. What can it be?
Answer: It will not just be education and public opinion. In such a system, everyone must consider what contribution they need to make to the common fund and receive from it only what is absolutely necessary for them.
Entire organizations will work on this, ensuring that each person gives their share into the so-called common pot.
Question: Baal HaSulam also says that a higher value, the upper force, can become such a basis. As we know from Kabbalah, the upper force is the quality of bestowal and love. It will become the highest ideal for humanity, and everyone will agree with this. How can this happen?
Answer: It is very simple, because people who feel that they are bestowing because they want to help others, to fulfill them, they will in turn receive a spiritual fulfillment, which will bring them to a higher level of existence.
And so, society will gradually elevate itself with all the controlling bodies, all the calculations, and will reorganize itself in such a way that there will be no need for police, overseers, or anything of the sort. Instead, there will be voluntary and honest accounting by each individual.
In other words, humanity will reach a state where it will feel the upper force. Working for it, manifested through working for others, will essentially become the fuel for a person.
Question: You are talking about some ideal state when people feel this. But what if a person does not feel that?
Answer: If a person is on such a level that he does not feel spiritual actions at all, then he needs to be engaged in them. Society must embrace him and show him: the more good he does, the more goodwill society will show him; the more evil he does, the less society will tolerate him.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 8/8/24
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