Prophets, Joshua, 22:12; 22:16: And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.

“Thus said the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that you have built an altar that you might rebel this day against the Lord.

The two and a half tribes of Israel, who left Shiloh, reached the outskirts of Jordan and built a huge altar there.

The altar is that point of connection between us from which we raise all our thoughts and desires to the Creator. This is not a structure that burning is performed on. In spirituality, it has completely different functions.

In other words, the most important thing for the Israelites was to limit the places or, if I may say, the thoughts regarding the sacrifices: Why I am doing this? And this can only come from the one place that unites the whole people.

Therefore, the children of Israel rebelled very strongly and rose up against those who had gone beyond Jordan, because the altar should be the single place for the whole world. This is the place where all desires of all people are connected with intentions directed toward the Creator.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/23/21

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Prophets, Joshua, 20:4: And he shall flee to one of those cities, and he shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city to them, and give him a place, and he shall dwell among them.

If a man considers himself ready to get in touch with other desires, with other people, to rise to the next level of correction, to greater connection on the path to the desire of Adam, then he should decide this only in the court of elders.

Elders are those who have attained the highest degree of GAR. They sit at the gates of the city and decide whether or not to let him climb the next step. He must pass this exam.

Question: I do not want to mix this world with the spiritual world, but nevertheless, in some eastern villages such councils of elders still exist. Can we say that this is a projection onto our world?

Answer: This is the natural state of humanity when it appoints elders as its judges.

Question: Will we come to this someday?

Answer: It will come automatically but not in this form, of course: a city, a gate, old people sitting on stones, you come to them, and they begin to discuss something.

Question: Still, the Torah speaks of a city of criminals. What decision do the elders make? That a person has transgressed the law unintentionally?

Answer: No, there are different states and different settlements, cities. If a man wants to be judged fairly, correctly, then he goes to such people, and they make their own judgment about him.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 8/16/21

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Question: How can women influence men by their desire so that we will draw the upper light and will really do this work?

Answer: The influence of one part of our vessel on another flows not by physical but by spiritual contacts. We can study in different places and not be in any physical contact but still influence each other.

We do not need to take joint actions. They are needed in dissemination, but the spiritual process does not require direct physical connection in the group, which can distract us from correctly aiming at the Creator.

Question: And what is the right way to influence each other correctly in the spiritual work?

Answer: We have to want to help each other, and when we want it, it makes no difference whether it is a man or a woman. It is revealed beyond any gender differences. It is simply a desire for the Creator.

A man will never understand what is revealed in a woman as part of her nature, and she will never understand what is revealed in a man. But we connect as one in the Creator, which is why it is said: “A man and a woman, if they are rewarded, the Shechina [Divinity] is between them.”

In order to attain the right union between us, we need to connect through the Creator. The Creator is between us and is our common source. It is only through Him that we can be connected correctly and permanently. It is the guarantee for a successful union both between men, between women, and between men and women.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 2/13/19

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Question: People have long been interested in the establishment of countries. There are nine widely accepted theories on the subject. Kabbalah considers this process to be the development of the desire to receive. What is this process?

Answer: I am neither a political scientist nor an expert in formation of states. But when I listen to scientists, I see how abstruse they are: each has his own theories, and there are many of these theories, scientists are full of them.

Kabbalah explains everything much more simply. The matter of creation is the desire to enjoy, that is, an egoistic desire.

In the inanimate, vegetative, and animal world, this desire manifests itself in a primitive form, in the preservation of its existence. Crystals, minerals, and metals strive to preserve their structure, like the crystal lattice or the structure of atoms or molecules.

A plant, naturally, strives to survive in order to exist according to the principle of the best fit for its desire to enjoy, to be filled with life. While animal organisms also have the ability to move, to reproduce in a specific way, because their egoism requires such realization.

As for a person, this manifests itself in him in envy, jealousy, suffering in comparing himself with others as he acquires new desires through; absorbs them by looking at others. That is, he has an infinite ability to develop due to an inflow of extraneous desires. Because of jealousy and envy, he always finds new goals for himself.

Therefore, the human level is very different from others. For example, inanimate nature, which was formed after the Big Bang and the further expansion of the universe, develops according to certain laws, and there are no problems with that.

Vegetative nature exists, dies, gets reborn, and so it has been changing for millions of years. In animate nature, too, nothing special happens; we know the habits and characters of animals. True, different animals and even their various types have relatively different characters, but it’s nothing like a person who goes through significant changes throughout his life.

People build, not natural, but some incomprehensible combinations between themselves. This is not just a family, as in the animal world where a pair give birth to cubs, bring them up, and such is the purpose of their existence.

Animals live according to the instinctive law of nature, which is expressed without fail, in the construction of their specific groupings or larger flocks. But all this, ruled by instinct, never changes. The leaders change, but the lifestyle itself is set for each type of animal.

Not so for a person. As his egoism changes, so does what he creates around him. Once people lived like animals in groups. Perhaps they had common children, common wives, and common husbands.

With the manifestation of greater egoism, it began to be shared. But when the need to support each other, protect themselves from wild animals, or go hunting together disappeared, people began to separate from each other and create their own households. This is how, gradually, specialties got established: one is a shoemaker, a blacksmith, and so on.

That is, various groups and clans were formed, a very complex system of relationships between people was established, lawyers, economists and other specialists were needed.

All this existed even in the ancient world to protect the system of interconnections: courts, army, tax collectors and everything else.

The human body, which is constantly developing due to its internal egoism, requires a new, increasingly complex and confusing organization from us that is incomprehensible to a common person.
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From Kab TV’s “Close-Up. Reference Point” 9/9/09

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #19 “What Is, ‘The Creator Hates the Bodies,’ in the Work?”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 63

Selected Highlights

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Kabbalists write that the Creator reveals Himself in the connection between us, in the center of the group. And everything that happens between us in the center of our group is perceived at the degree above us, which is called the Creator.

We are on a spiritual ladder that we need to climb up to the next degree above us, and then another, and yet another even higher. And we always receive instructions, lights, signals, and awakenings from the upper degree.

Therefore, it is necessary to strive to establish a connection with the upper degree and to become incorporated in it. This connection is achieved thanks to the greatness of the upper degree.

The upper degree relative to the lower is always considered as the Creator relative to creation. We have descended these degrees from the world of infinity through the Partzufim of Galgalta, AB, SAG to the degree of this world through five worlds, with five Partzufim in each world, and five Sefirot in each Partzuf,  which makes a total of 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 degrees.

We climb back up the same degrees. And the upper degree relative to the lower one is always called the Creator. First of all, this is so because it really gave birth to the lower degree when descending from top to bottom. And also because we can ascend back through it and attain it, “Come and see” the Creator, Bo-Re. And we will be able to climb even higher from it and move forward.

For every ten there is a thread extended from the world of infinity. And by this thread we must ascend to the world of infinity, to the end of correction. If we follow the advice of Kabbalists, then every time we rise from degree to degree from Malchut to Bina and again from Malchut to Bina.

The lower degree is called Malchut in relation to the higher degree called Bina. The elevating force is called faith above reason, the force of bestowal, the force of Bina, above the force of Malchut, the desire to receive. If we prefer the desire to bestow and connection with friends, then we can rise from Malchut to Bina, from the lower to the highest degree.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/7/21, Shamati #14 “What Is the Exaltedness of the Creator”

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My new article on Linkedin “The Pandora Papers Will Not Make the World a Better Place”

A few days ago, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released what it defined as “An offshore data tsunami.” The nearly 3 terabytes of “data trove,” as the authors put it, “exposes the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from more than 200 countries and territories. These are people who use tax and secrecy havens to buy property and hide assets; many avoid taxes and worse. They include more than 330 politicians and 130 Forbes billionaires, as well as celebrities, fraudsters, drug dealers, royal family members and leaders of religious groups around the world.”

The goal of the ICIJ is admirable, and so are its efforts. Regrettably, even such successes as this exposure will not make the world a better place.

For all its size, this “trove” is a drop in an ocean of illegal and fraudulent money movements happening around the world. Today, when the ego is running amok, we cannot know what lurks underneath the surface.

The desire to possess is the worst, and wildest expression of the ego, but it is human nature and we should not judge those people until we are in their shoes. If we could amass millions of dollars with no effort and without being detected, would we be able to resist the temptation? And if we did, for how long would we resist it?

Despite its material manifestation, greed is actually a spiritual desire. It makes you want more and more until you give up on it altogether. But until then, it is insatiable. Our sages wrote about this in the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah): “One does not leave the world with half one’s wishes in one’s hand, for one who has one hundred wants two hundred; one who has two hundred wants four hundred.” So precisely because it is insatiable, greed brings on itself its own end.

When we give up on satisfying ourselves, we will realize that happiness cannot be found in accumulating wealth and possessions. You cannot take with you any of it when you die, and you’re never satisfied with what you have since once you have it, you want twice as much.

Even so, humanity must go through this stage of excessive greed and lust for power, and no “data trove” will stop it. The only thing that will change the world for the better is when we realize that chasing wealth and power does not produce happiness, but rather more hunger: spiritual hunger for the rich, and physical hunger for the poor that they abuse.

From the look of it, we have more learning to do before humanity is ready to move to a higher and more humane stage in its development.
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My new article on Linkedin “Germany-Israel Relations after Merkel”

After her 16-year term as Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel’s farewell visit to Israel on Sunday could mark a change in the friendly relationship between the two countries. Whether that change will be positive or negative depends solely on the Jewish nation. Our unity determines the state of the world, its fate, and the way we are treated by others.

Olaf Scholz, the leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party, narrowly won the majority of votes against the ruling center-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU). It appears that he will soon be able to form a coalition with the Greens and liberals to replace Merkel.

The new government’s foreign policy towards Israel remains to be seen, but its most immediate headache is to deal with matters at home. Police registered 2,351 cases of antisemitic offenses last year, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year, the highest number on record since 2001. Most recently, German authorities thwarted a potential terrorist attack on a synagogue in the town of Hagen. Just days ago, another incident caused an international uproar. A German Jewish musician claims he was denied check-in service at a Leipzig hotel unless he concealed his necklace bearing a Star of David.

So what change can we expect in the near future? For a positive answer to that question, we can only look to the people of Israel to understand that it dictates the course of history and to carry out this responsibility correctly.

Whether aware or not, the ball is in our court. Through our unity, we allow unity in the world as we stream into it the positive uniting force it so desperately needs. Conversely, our separation denies humanity this power and invokes within it hatred toward Jews.

In the words of Rav Kook, “The genuine movement of the Israeli soul at its grandest is expressed only by its sacred, eternal force, which flaws within its spirit. It is that which has made it, is making it, and will make it still a nation that stands as a light unto nations, as redemption and salvation to the entire world for its own specific purpose, and for the global purposes, which are interlinked.” (Letters of the RAAIAH 3)

Today’s hostility toward Jews must remind us of our task. Only if we rekindle the brotherly love we cultivated centuries ago and share the method for achieving this with all, will we be able to stop antisemitism.

Which way the scales tip is in our hands. In his essay Mutual Guarantee, Baal HaSulam writes, “The Israeli nation was established as a conduit to the extent that they purify themselves [from egoism], they pass on their power to the rest of the nations.” Jewish unity tips the scales toward pleasant relations and the power of peace flows into the world. Conversely, our separation blocks this flow to humanity and invokes hatred of Jews with its absence.

Therefore, neither Chancellor Angela Merkel nor her successor will determine the acceptance or rejection of the people of Israel. Neither will any other determine whether, God forbid, Germany will eventually be governed by a tyrant like Hitler. No political figure can determine our fate. Everything depends on how we Jews behave toward one another, on our capacity to connect, thus unleashing the positive force of nature upon us and all humanity. Then we will fear nothing, no electoral outcome or other occurrence in any part of the world because hatred will be replaced by peace and quiet for everyone.
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My new article on Linkedin “The “Opinion” of Kamala Harris Isn’t Really Hers”

A couple of weeks ago, Vice President Kamala Harris visited George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, to speak about the importance of voting. During her lecture, a student commented that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, to which VP Harris nodded in apparent agreement and said that the student should not suppress “her truth.” The next day, Harris apologized and said she does not believe Israel is committing genocide. It was too late; the impact of her nod had already gone viral and created backlash. The question is not whether Harris is or is not antisemitic, but rather to what extent her gesture represents the position of her party and country. The answer, in my opinion, is that her nod represents them quite sincerely. It is her apology that’s spurious, not her gesture to the student.

A government does only what serves the interest of its country, or at least its ruling party. There are no friends in politics. In Israel, we used to think of America as our greatest friend and ally. But that was only our perspective, not the perspective of America. In truth, Israel matters to no one. The world would readily be rid of us if it only could.

For example, look at what is happening with the Labour Party in the UK. A day before Harris’ talk with the students at George Mason, UK’s Labour Party passed a motion that defined Israel as an “apartheid state.” Here, too, the Labour adopted a position that serves its interest. The UK is flooded with Arabs, the influence of Arab countries is very dominant in the UK, and the Labour Party needs the Arab constituency. Therefore, it is in its interest to declare that Israel is an apartheid state.

Not only countries, but even worldwide Jewry is turning against Israel. Among young American Jews, about half, if not more, would prefer that Israel would not exist, and the number of anti-Israel Jews is only growing.

But things will not change in Israel’s favor before we, in Israel, change ourselves for the better. People will not like us before we like each other; it’s just how it works.

The reason that the people of Israel have survived for millennia is that there is a purpose to our existence. Our nation consists of members of countless nations who formed a nation that believed in a revolutionary ideology. Thousands of years ago, those representatives joined Abraham’s group because they believed in his message of mercy and unity of all people above differences. German-Israeli historian Yitzhak Baer wrote in his book A History of the Jews in Christian Spain, that “Inwardly, Israelite society was founded upon the fundamental qualities of simplicity, brotherhood, and love.”

Because our nation consists of “representatives” of other nations, the world feels it has a “stake” in us, that it has a right to tell us what to do and demand of us to set a good example, which it does not demand of any other nation. This “double standard,” which is the principal indicator for “detecting” antisemites, is engrained in the core of every non-Jew on Earth.

This is why as long as we cannot tolerate each other, the world will not tolerate us. Since our hatred for each other has been intensifying for decades, so has the world’s hatred for us. Abraham Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), aptly defined Israel as “the Jew among the nations.” Accordingly, the nations will relate to us as humanity relates to Jews: When we are united, there is affection and appreciation for Israel. When we are divided, the world despises us and wants to do away with us.

Because our ancestors come from many nations, when we detest each other, we unwittingly infuse this hatred in all those nations of our ancestors. This is why the nations blame us for spreading hatred, causing war, and why they demonize us. However, if we relate to one another positively, it percolates to the rest of the world. In that case, as much as they despise and hate us now, they will appreciate and love us then.

Therefore, we should not expect non-Jews, including Vice President Harris, not to hate us as long as we are hateful toward each other. They cannot help it. Through our love or hate for one another, we determine how humanity feels toward us, and through our love or hate for one another, we determine whether love and peace, or hatred and war, prevail around the world.

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