Audio Version Of The Blog – 4/10/26
Posted on May 10th, 2026
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Question: What is the meaning of the holiday Lag Ba’Omer?
Answer: Lag Ba’Omer is a special holiday; it is a festival of light, the day when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of The Book of Zohar (a work unparalleled in all generations of humanity), passed away from this world.
Within this single book, all the laws of the spiritual world are described, together with the entire network of connections that governs us from above, and determines the whole process we undergo in this world.
The spiritual world is the upper system that activates our world, which is completely governed from above. Our entire world emerged from a single point of the Big Bang, expanded, and developed over 14 billion years.
In the course of this evolution, the Earth was formed with its solid crust surrounding a raging fire. The cooling of this crust allowed life to exist on the surface, together with all surrounding nature.
But the question is not how the still, vegetative, and animate levels developed, but how we develop and where we are heading. This is what The Zohar speaks about. It truly speaks about everything, including the formation of the upper worlds that influence and govern us.
This can also be seen in The Zohar and in the writings of Isaac Luria, the great Kabbalist from Safed in the 16th century. Therefore, the wisdom of Kabbalah has much to say about the counting of the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer). But in essence it speaks about the correction of a person who must transform himself to become a spiritual being.
Question: What must he correct?
Answer: It is written: “I have created the evil inclination, and given the Torah for its correction, for its light returns to the source.” We are initially created from the evil inclination, an egoistic desire to receive, and therefore we consider only ourselves, not others. In this form, the world exists, and we see where it is heading.
The purpose of creation is, that through the process of our development, we eventually come to the realization that our ego, our egoistic desire to enjoy, is actually causing us harm; that we have reached a dead end in development and are no longer capable of moving forward; that we are destroying our lives, our families, and the lives of our children, with no hope for a good future.
Comment: This resembles the current situation in Israel.
My Response: Indeed. But all of this is intended to bring us to a state of repentance regarding our egoistic development, to make us realize that our ego is an evil inclination that is leading us to destruction.
At that point we come to feel a need correction: “How can we correct our nature? How can we treat others with friendship? How can we live in love, unity, and bestowal?” This is the only way can we exist in an integral world, a world where we are all interconnected and mutually dependent. How can we be connected if we are mired in mutual hatred?
In such a state, the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed; it explains what the Torah truly is. For this very reason Kabbalah is referred to as the true Torah. It is through this science that we learn how to correct ourselves. To correct oneself means to relate to others according to the main rule of the Torah: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is well known, yet rarely observed.
To love your neighbor means that I must just as I love myself. This seems unrealistic, and indeed it is beyond human ability. Yet it is written: “I have created the evil inclination, and I have given the Torah for its correction.”
This means there a force called “Torah” exists; it is not merely a book as commonly understood, but a method of correction through the light, as it is written: “its light returns to the source.”
“Torah” (from the Hebrew “Hora’a” – instruction) is also referred to the science of light or the wisdom of Kabbalah. When a person uses it correctly to correct themself, they awaken a force hidden in nature, which begins to operate within them, and they feel how they change.
This is a positive, benevolent force of nature, the force of bestowal and love; it gives a person a good feeling and a kind attitude toward others. Through it one exits their ego, rises above it, and becomes bestowing, kind, and good toward others.
The instant this force is revealed in a person, they begin to perceive reality differently. Instead of this world, one perceives the upper world.
We begin to perceive reality through newly acquired qualities, qualities not of reception, but of bestowal; no longer driven by a constant urge to receive solely for our own sake, exploiting everyone else in the process, but by a desire to act for the benefit of society as a whole. We see that everyone is interconnected like one family, and it is impossible for one to be well while another suffers.
Today we have reached a state where we must embark on this process of correction. We see that it is impossible to continue as before. Consequently, the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed, which explains how we can correct ourselves and build a society connected by good relations.
Question: How is the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer connected to this process?
Answer: This is precisely where correction occurs. Kabbalah explains that our egoistic desire to receive—to absorb everything into ourselves at the expense of others—is an evil force within each person. Therefore our soul is called “shattered,” and we must repair it.
It is known in Kabbalah that the soul consists of 49 parts (7 X 7). There are 7 main qualities, each divided into 7, making 49 in total. Each must be corrected.
We correct them through the light that reforms, a special force that is hidden in nature. During the days of the Omer count, we reveal specific egoistic desires within ourselves that cause harm to others, and we seek to correct them.
We draw the light that reforms and it corrects each of these 49 parts of the soul.
In this way, we correct these 49 parts, from the holiday of Passover to Shavuot. But on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, Lag Ba’Omer, there is a special state. Its uniqueness is that if we reach this stage in correction, we can be assured we will continue and complete it.
For this reason, it was on this day that Rabbi Shimon completed his work and departed from our world, and we celebrate the elevation of his soul.
Question: You say the soul has 49 parts. Can they actually be counted?
Answer: Yes. This is how we perceive them as we correct the soul. Even a simple religious person recites which Sefira he is correcting daily during the Omer, although he may not feel or understand it.
But those who study Kabbalah not only say these words, they realize these corrections within themselves.
Comment: The 49 days of the Omer conclude on the 50th day, the holiday of Shavuot, when it is customary to eat dairy and wear white.
My Response: Shavuot is both the giving of the Torah from above and its reception from below. The giving has already occurred; the reception depends on us.
It is written that every day a person should say that the Torah has been given to him. The problem is only in receiving it, that is, in feeling that I must correct myself, and therefore I need the light that reforms.
Then I accept all the rules of the Torah: to be “as one man with one heart,” “love your neighbor as yourself,” and “do not do to another what is hateful to you.”
Let us hope that ultimately we will understand that we have a powerful force in our hands that is capable of correcting us and elevating us above this entire reality.
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From Kab Radio 103FM
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Question: If one entity devours another in nature, yet nature is in harmony, is it possible that our devouring one another is also an absolutely harmonious state?
Answer: Yes, but only on the animate level. The inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels of nature are structured on the principle of mutual consumption amidst a struggle against each other. This struggle constitutes evolution.
On these levels the use of one by another is not considered shameful or blameworthy. One animal, when it eats another, does not feel any pangs of conscience. Suppose a human acts against another human, he may rationalize in order to justify himself, to somehow explain to himself the purpose and reasons for his actions. But animals do not have this; they have a simple calculation: I must eat the weaker in order to continue my own existence.
All this, on the animate level, is considered the norm. But now we are rising to the level of Human. And here a problem arises. We must begin to move forward, not by devouring one another, but precisely through connection with one another, by rising above our egoism and not indulging it.
I hope that people will begin to understand this because otherwise we will not survive. Of course, we will continue to exist, but in very bad states.
Therefore, we face a monumental task: to spread the message as widely as possible that we must come to a collective resolution regarding how to advance toward the goal of creation. And the goal of creation is to bring human society to a harmonious state, to mutual fulfillment, to the right connection between us.
And then the rest of nature (inanimate, vegetative, and animate) will also come to harmony. Then we will be able to restore our ecology, an issue that causes deep concerns for everyone. If we come to a balance among us, everything will be wonderful.
Since we are on the very highest level of development compared to the other levels of nature, we will compel them to come into balance too. The time of the human level is coming.
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From Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 1/13/19
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Question: Should I correct my path in accordance with criticism or not? What do you think?
Answer: I think you should not. If this criticism ties you even more strongly to your root, then it is good. This is what you must check!
Question: So I have a path I am following, and if criticism binds me more tightly to this path, then…?
Answer: Go.
Question: Go. And then can one relate to the critics with warmth and kindness?
Answer: Of course. It is from the Creator.
Question: That is, if you are criticized, let us not use harsh words like “hated,” but criticized, or if they try to knock you off the path; then you must hold on to this path even more?
Answer: I cannot tell each person in what exactly.
Question: And what would you say to anyone who is being pressured from all sides? How can he hold on?
Answer: If you are being pressed from all sides, then the best thing is: disconnect, step aside, and look from the side at yourself and at them. And you will see to what extent you may be right, to what extent not. And then make your decision.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 3/19/26
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Question: How does the intention for the sake of bestowal differ from an intention for the sake of receiving?
Answer: The intention for the sake of bestowal and the intention for the sake of reception only alter the importance of what impresses a person most. That is why Baal HaSulam writes that the difference between working for yourself and for the sake of bestowal is purely psychological. In spirituality, “psychology” is a crude word because here we are talking about change on an animate level.
However, a person has to work on this because there are advantages to the importance of one or the other. If the Creator is important to me now and everyone around me is talking about it, then no matter how many thousands of different things are offered to me that previously seemed unimportant to me, it will not help. I could have devoted my life to this, or I could choose not to.
So what is the difference? In all other things except those concerning the Creator, my body will support me. But in what concerns the Creator, the body will always behave like Pharaoh. And if I am truly moving toward connection with the Creator, then from the beginning to the end I need the Creator to help me build a connection with Him, whereas I can achieve other things on my own without His help and support. The group and I acting together can provide that for me.
In everything I do in life, the Creator must be my partner, my source of strength, the goal, the reason, the empowering force. If this sequence is absent, then it is defined as a material action.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/26, Rabash, “Moses Went”
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When a person is standing on the street carrying a heavy load, and he is asking a passersby to help him lift the sack onto his back, everyone tells him they have no time.
But if a person is carrying a heavy sack on his back and the sack is dropping off and is about to fall to the ground, and people pass by him and he is asking for their help to put the sack on his back so it does not fall, we see that at that time, when the sack is about to fall off his back, no one will tell him, “I have no time; ask someone else to help you.” Rather, the first one next to him will immediately help him (Rabash, “Moses Went”).
Question: What compels any passerby to rush to help someone carrying a heavy burden?
Answer: The example of the burden that Rabash gives is very clear for one who intends to walk in faith above reason. Above reason means that I do not close my eyes to the obstacles, and I am even glad that they come. Even if I do not feel this way, I understand with my mind that it will ultimately be for my benefit.
When the Creator sends an obstacle, He is showing me precisely the point where I can find a connection with Him. I only need to begin working with this obstacle and, despite it, constantly strive to connect with Him.
At first, I try to connect with Him using my own strength. Then I see that I am unable to do so; I require the correction of Hessed.
After this correction, I want to reach a state where I am connected with Him and connected with the obstacle. Not only does the obstacle no longer disturb me or disconnect me from Him, but I already want to use it in order to receive for the sake of bestowal so that it will lead to an even greater connection than before it appeared. And then I demand His help.
But until a person cries out that his burden is about to fall and that he can no longer resist the obstacle that disconnects him from the connection with the upper one, the Creator will not help him. This is because the person has no Kli to receive the help and cannot properly use the obstacle.
The state in which he fears that the burden will fall from his shoulders and cries out is a very good state. For this, several factors are required: the burden must be very heavy and he must greatly fear dropping it. Although his body does not care whether it falls or not, for the goal, it is crucial. He understands that if the burden falls, he will not be able to connect with the Creator.
That is, first of all, a person must arm himself with a feeling of the greatness of the Creator; this must be extremely important to him. All these factors create a state called “standing in the middle of the street and crying: ‘Help!’”
Thus, from what seems like a simple situation (so what if the sack falls from his shoulders, what would happen?), he turns it into the most important matter in life. Then salvation truly comes; he receives help.
Moreover, he is given a feeling that it is not important, not frightening. He must increase the importance of the connection with the Creator from zero to the point where nothing is more important than this, and if the burden falls, it would be a catastrophe. Then the burden becomes the means by which he can reach the desired place.
Who needs this burden at all? The fact is that the will to receive was created precisely in order to build a connection upon it, to construct a screen above it and establish the coupling by striking (Zivug de Hakaa) with the light.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/19/26, Rabash, “Moses Went”
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Question: How should one choose a Kabbalistic partner?
Answer: A person’s partner is the Creator. With Him we must attain unity, complete adhesion. That is all. That is the partner. Everything else is only a means to that end.
All the fellow students, the friends, serve as what might be called “witnesses of your adhesion with the Creator”; they are the ones that provide your contact with Him.
Question: You are speaking now about friends. And a woman? Does she play some role in this?
Answer: A woman must understand your work, its importance, and must not hinder it.
Question: Isn’t she the spiritual woman with whom I can advance?
Answer: You should not think about a “spiritual woman.” Your spiritual partner is the group.
And a wife, it is desirable that she understands you, that she herself aspires to this, and does not hinder you, although disturbances can also be a help along the way.
Comment: Now you are speaking about a woman as a disruptive element. But recently you said that she is a very important element.
My Response: I said that one must choose a wife who will be close to you and similar to you in her understanding of family life rather than someone who pursues a lifestyle and earthly goals that are completely at odds with yours.
We know that the basis of spiritual development is your similarity, common aspirations, common mentality, and common language. Similarity in your parents’ families is already a guarantee that further on there will be mutual understanding rather than disagreements, because all of us are drawn to those values that we received in our upbringing.
In addition to this, similarity in the spiritual goal is necessary, the goal that fills our life and stems from the spiritual understanding of the state. A spiritual state consists of a vessel and a filling.
The vessel is everything that is familiar to me, what I understand as life, that is, the existing conditions, values, and earthly habits. The filling is what I want to fill my life with so that all this will more or less suit both her and me. Then everything will be fine.
Besides that, one must look at what environment I am in, so that it will be suitable for both of us. I cannot find a suitable partner and then go somewhere to Asia and join an Asian group. This too must be more or less suitable for us, so that a person will not feel too great a contradiction. Although in our groups this is not so sharply expressed. Today the world is very close in all its ways of life.
We must strive precisely for such similarity, and through it for similarity to the Creator. Attaining complete similarity is the most comfortable point.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Spiritual Couple” 9/15/10
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As one ascends the spiritual steps, the descents become more profound. No spiritual renewal, deeper revelation, or ascent is possible without first falling. I detach from my previous state and feel as though I have never been spiritually elevated and never will be; I experience darkness, helplessness, and fear.
This fear is triggered by trivial, imagined reasons. I am frightened not even by people, but by shadows, like a small, scared child or animal.
This happens at all spiritual levels; the higher you rise, the more clearly you are shown that you are lower than everyone else. Everyone around seems to be fine, while you suffer from problems that are so trivial they are even embarrassing to speak about, yet at the same time, they are frightening. It is the feeling of a terrified infant who wants to hide in their mother’s arms.
One must value such states, understand their benefits, and try to work with them correctly. Then we will overcome them very quickly and return to the realization that “There is none else besides Him, the good who does good,” is the one who is playing with us. And so we unite and present our unity to Him as our response to this problem, and thereby rise above it.
Then the problem disappears and a new one appears, an even smaller and more insignificant one, yet one that frightens us even more. For the higher the ascent, the deeper the descent. This process continues until the final correction; through it we can increasingly clarity regarding the true nature of our states. There is no other way to understand our nature.
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From the Kabbalah Congress Preparation Lesson, 4/26/18
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Comment: I thought that the law of mercy emanates from above, and that everything is held by this law. I thought this was the main law of life.
Answer: Why would it be so? I look at inanimate, vegetative, and animate nature and see no observance of such laws there. No, but humans, with their imagination, have scribbled countless books and theories about it. But generally speaking, no.
I think the worst human trait is inventing a future or surrounding reality for oneself based on one’s own desires.
Question: So this is a kind of violence? A person commits violence against nature?
Answer: Yes, and then he makes demands from nature: “Give me this!”
Comment: In other words, “You are merciful, and I want everyone around me to be merciful.”
My Response: Yes. If we reasoned soberly with nature, we would not make demands of nature, but we would demand of ourselves the correct attitude to ourselves, to others, to nature, to everything. And then, perhaps, we would get a hint about how the universe exists and in what way we can rise above it.
Question: So rather than demanding that the universe be merciful to me, I should demand that I be merciful to others?
Answer: Yes.
Question: “Merciful,” did I use the word correctly here?
Answer: It can be used like that, yes.
Question: Then what should be put into this word if we indeed come to being merciful? That I must be merciful to others, what should I invest in that?
Answer: I must do for others all the good and kind things that I would wish for myself. And under no circumstances should I imagine think that I will receive some kind of reward for it. Absolutely not!
Comment: This second part is very difficult: receiving nothing in return.
My Response: In this, in fact, lies the whole point of the first part.
Question: Then will I come into balance with the universe if I begin to move in this way, as you say?
Answer: If so, then yes. And then there will be no destruction, no self-destruction.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 3/17/26
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Preparation to the Lesson
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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 44 “What Is the Reason for which Israel Were Rewarded with Inheritance of the Land, in the Work?” (1991) (10.4.2002)
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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”
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