Prophets, Joshua, 23:1: And it was after many days, after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and come along in years.

“The Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies” means that He gave the people the strength to establish the intention to bestow above all egoistic desires that are our enemies.

“Joshua was old” means that almost all of his egoistic intentions turned into altruistic ones. It means that Joshua, who used to fight with himself and with others, became a wise old man. Although he fulfilled his mission, he continued to lead the people until the kings of Israel replaced him.

Question: Wisdom—is that  what he corrected?

Answer: Yes, that is wisdom, that is strength. But at the same time, his degree exhausted itself, and he must give way to others.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/30/21

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Comment: It is generally believed that Jews are not liked. But I recently heard the following reaction from one of the readers: “You might think that Jews love someone. Even in their sacred books, they do not recommend close communication with other nations. Go to any Jewish site and you can see a mixture of nationalist hysteria and praise of their own merits—both true and imaginary.”

My Response: Absolutely. Open the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Laws) and you will read there that you must stay away from other nations, deceive them, have nothing to do with them, and so on.

But we must understand that all these laws were written for our inner world where each person breaks himself into two parts. One part wants to correct itself and be called Yehudi, Jew— meaning uniting with the Creator—and ascend to the level of bestowal.

And in everyone, regardless of their earthly origin, there are egoistic properties that still need to be corrected and one should stay away from them, twist them around the finger, deceive them into correction. That is, we are talking about a person’s inner corrections.

In general, the entire Torah, the entire Jewish religion speaks only of this. And the fact that it is used in the literal sense and associated with earthly customs generated all misconceptions about it.

All primary sources speak only of the inner properties of a person: This in me is called Goy, this is Yehudi, this is Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. And then it explains what I have to do with them: deceive, kill, raise, correct. But when this is transferred to the world around us, then everything takes a completely wrong form.

However, if a person reacts correctly, then he transfers everything to his internality. And so people slowly begin to understand: everything that they see shows only a person’s inner world.

And there is nothing to say about our external world. How can we fix something in it? Our world is completely ruled from above, and therefore, we must just exist in it to the minimum. And all corrections can be done only with the help of Kabbalah through the higher management system.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Expulsion” 12/11/09

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Question: Why, with the changing socio-economic formations, does a person increasingly discover that he is already interconnected with everyone else—first within the family, then within the city, then the country, and finally between countries?

Answer: Selfishness is growing. My village is not enough for me, I need a large city, I do not need a large city, I need a state, I do not need a state, I need the whole world.

And all this because I feel that I can be connected with the whole world, feel, understand, receive from it, and give something in return, but only when necessary. From this, in principle, all our current means of communication arose, the need for them and the connection between all.

The fact is that egoism is built on continuous expansion, absorption, acquisition, and inclusion in oneself. It is a natural physical force of nature.

The development of capitalist and socialist countries was built on selfishness: to swallow everything around you, to not give up the once-conquered territories. Look how England and France did not want to part with their colonies, or Russia did not want to let go of other republics. This is a natural absorption process.

And today when these countries discovered that the process was going against them and they still had to provide for their colonies, they decided: “Why do we need to provide for them? We will take cheap labor from there, manufacture products and sell them, and profit from them.”

In fact, this is a different type of exploitation, only more modern and more hidden. Therefore, they liberated the colonies: “Live as you want. All the same, you will need our goods. And for this we will exploit you, pump out everything that is possible.” The same is happening today with the whole world.

But the world is becoming more and more interconnected, and therefore, a problem arises. There is nowhere to go further, as we have absorbed everything, divided the whole world. Now, if there is a new division of the world, it will be not for territories, but for sources of information, meaning an information war. All this is an expansion that naturally breaks out of our egoism. And there is no getting away from this until we discover that this is a dead-end path. Now it is gradually starting to open up.
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From Kab TV’s “Close-Up. Reference Point” 9/9/09

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Question: Ludmila Kozakova writes to you: “You say that a person becomes a spiritual embryo when he stops thinking about himself. But when he stops thinking about himself, he is considered a fool. What to do about it?

Answer: It doesn’t matter what they think. What difference does it make what they think? If I paid attention to how I am regarded or not regarded, what, should I sue them? Well, what else to do? We must still seek the truth, constantly sharpen it, and live with it.

Comment: Isn’t it harsh what you are saying: when a person stops thinking about himself, he becomes a spiritual embryo? He stops altogether!

My Response: No, that is incorrect. He wants to completely unite and dissolve in the upper force that he is seeking constantly and he wants to feel it more and more.

He disappeared in this and that is why is called the embryo. And then he grows even more and becomes not a fetus but an infant, an adult, and rises to the same level as this upper force. Can you imagine what this means to a person who reaches such a state and rises to the level of nature—upper and lower! It is incredible! On one hand.

On the other hand, this is our goal, and we must achieve it against our will.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 8/12/21

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Question: What is truth and what is illusion for a Kabbalist? Is the corporeal body, for example, and the way he feels it an illusion?

Answer: There is no illusion or something that does not exist for a Kabbalist. He relates in a totally serious manner to everything that he feels, but according to his level. Part of what he felt before becomes an illusion and then it disappears completely.

It happens this way because new vessels of attainment and new feelings appear in him.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 8/18/19

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Question: How does one achieve a state of “There is none else beside Him” (Deuteronomy 4:35) in order to make our work easier?

Answer: This is very simple. There must be a formal approach. Every time something happens with me, through systematic exercises I try to return to the thought that the Creator is doing all of this. This is done mechanically with the help of the friends in the group who remind each other about this.

Everyone tries to return to this by making notes on paper or on the cell phone. At one time, I wrote reminders on my hand because then there were no means of communication like there are today.

This is a long way that takes several years until you begin to feel how important the Creator is. That is why we are learning the concept of the “greatness of the Creator,” because if He is important to me, then I remember Him and I don’t forget. For example, my little child is important to me and so I think about him constantly, I remember him and want to do something for him. Importance determines everything.

So, it is necessary to think about this and talk with each other, even if just mechanically. Don’t worry about it seeming to be automatic. That doesn’t interest anyone, it doesn’t particularly concern anyone. In any case it works. Even when we are dealing with this automatically, without emotion, without desire, yet as it is said, “A penny and another penny combine to a great sum” (Baba Batra 9b).

The main thing is the importance. So, it is necessary to constantly bring up the Creator, talk about His being the first and the last, which is to say He both begins and locks in the entire chain of cause and effect where we are found.

On my part, I must constantly make efforts to determine that He is the only cause and try to discern Him behind everything that is happening. Suppose someone says something, I see something, I grasp something emotionally. It is all from Him.

I feel the Creator through some kind of intermediate system: people, events, nature, it doesn’t matter what it is. There is some kind of inhibition, a block in the connection that conveys the influence of the Creator to me. I must constantly aim toward Him. That is the most important thing!

When I tune in accordingly and try to feel that behind every phenomenon, every sensation, behind every thought of mine is the Creator (a thought is much more difficult to connect with the Creator and a sensation is much easier), and all this is correlated with Him, then in this measure I am already rebuilding the broken system, thereby bringing joy to the Creator, and beginning to work together with Him.

Here very serious, entirely new relationships begin to appear between me and the Creator.

So, the main thing about our connection is that He will suddenly become important to me. I remember how it began with me: The Creator suddenly began to be revealed behind everything, not just behind the group, not just in this world, not just with the friends, not just in positive or negative influences on me; rather, He was apparently found to be the origin of influence.

This is a very important point, and we must develop it. The moment you determine that the Creator is the origin of everything that is happening with you, you will begin to become stronger in it. So, every moment, in every event, thought and feeling, try to bring everything back to Him.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 2/13/19

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Question: Does the Creator know exactly what I will attain and when I will attain it? Does He simply watch the movie in which I am trying to attain it and suffer?

Answer: No, the Creator doesn’t just watch us. He has arranged, organized and created everything so that we will consciously participate in our movement forward together with Him and become partners. This means that He actively participates in our movement upward.

Question: What is the compass and what is “North” in spiritual space?

Answer: Only the group. The Creator is in the center of the group.

So moving toward the Creator means getting closer to each other in our desires for Him, which means to the center of the group, and then you will never go wrong. You will see that the Creator helps you and makes you His partner.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 8/18/19

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash, “Letter 16”

Selected Highlights

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How can one reach a prayer that will come from the very bottom of the heart and will reach the Creator? We need to imagine that we are inside the Creator, the only force, apart from which there is nothing.

And therefore everything we receive and feel, everything that happens in our thoughts and desires, comes to us from the upper force, the good who does good. And if I don’t perceive it as good and benevolent, then I feel suffering and have to ask the Creator to change my perception.

I have nowhere else to turn. I can’t change myself because I didn’t create myself. I can only ask the Creator to help me change. Moreover, I ask not to change my desire to receive, but to add to the desire given to me by the Creator an intention for the sake of bestowal. In all my qualities, desires, and aspirations I want to work for the sake of bestowal.

I’m not asking to change my desires, but rather my intentions. And to the extent that my intentions are similar to the Creator’s intentions, I will reveal Him and His desire to bestow to me. We will meet with Him within our intentions, and there I will reveal my merging with the Creator.

There are no personal calculations on the part of the Creator, everything depends only on us. The Creator is absolute goodness toward everyone. He is always in absolute bestowal, without any delay. Therefore if we are ready, we will get His answer. And if we are not ready, then we have nowhere to receive and feel His attitude to us; every moment He tries to advance us to merge with Him.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/21, Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #24 “He Will Save Them from the Hand of the Wicked”

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