The days of Sukkot represent the building of our soul one Sefira after another. The first three days are devoted to the first three qualities: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—Hesed, Gevura, Tiferet (HGT). These are the first stages of the Creator’s work within the creation, and therefore they are called the forefathers.

And then we move on to the sons Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David and complete the entire structure. Therefore, the Sukkah that is built is called the Sukkah of David.

Moses is the main character of the Torah, the main quality. It is he who receives the Torah and passes it on to the people of Israel and the forefathers are the upper system. This is why it is so important to understand the work of Moses within our soul and within the Kabbalistic group.

The main thing is to allow the upper force that has already built the first three qualities, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to descend from HGT into our desire to enjoy NHY (Netzach, Hod, Yesod). And here all the work proceeds by faith above reason when I annul myself and wish for the Creator to control me and fill me, giving me everything that He has in the qualities of HGT—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, meaning to bring it into my ten.

Therefore, Moses’s work consists of total annulment before the first three qualities of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so then the qualities of HGT can be clothed into NHY. Moses is called a “faithful shepherd” because it is important for him to completely annul himself to what the Creator wants to realize through him, that is, with his help, with all the desire to enjoy, with all the people.

The Creator addresses the people through the qualities of Israel that are able to unite and strive for the Creator for the sake of bestowal and acquire His qualities, His form. And then these qualities become imprinted on all of humanity, on all of reality.

Moses’s work is in faith above reason because he is in the middle between the power of faith, the upper force of bestowal, and the lower force of reception. He is the very first of the Sefirot NHY where the upper force is clothed in the desire to enjoy, and therefore he stands in the middle between the Creator and the creation and plays such an important role in the Torah.

The entire Torah tells of the steps of Moses’s ascent. This is the most important practical action because it guides us through all the states and organizes the creations so we can acquire the form of the Creator. Moses’s task is to establish the correct connection between the Creator and the creation, and therefore the Torah is called by his name: The Torah Of Moses.

After all, the Torah is given for this purpose, so that we can gain faith above reason. The quality of Moses, faith, must always be above the desire to enjoy for us so that this desire takes on the form of Moses and begins to work in bestowal.

To imprint the qualities of the HGT within the Sefirot of NHY means to establish the power of the Creator within the creation. Let us do this in one desire and one heart, in a common connection. It is more important here than ever. This is already practical work in connection between us.

Moses was the greatest of all the prophets. A prophet is not a person but a special quality. A desire that is completely devoted to the Creator and takes on His form is called a prophet, i.e., it is the dressing of the Sefirot HGT in NHY.

This is why Moses is called a “faithful shepherd” because he shows us an example, takes care of us, and brings the quality of bestowal to us from above so that by revealing this quality inside us we could gradually build the form of the Creator within ourselves. The quality of Moses brings us to similarity with the Creator, to adhesion with Him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/6/20, “Sukkot“

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The spiritual Partzuf begins to build from Keter. Keter, Hochma, Bina—these are properties that come to us from above. And we need to reproduce them within us, in the connection between us, that is, not inside each, but in ten.

Therefore, the construction of the Partzuf begins with Sefira Hesed, the quality of Abraham. This means that all ten are working on the quality of Abraham in order to connect with each other through this quality.

It must reign in us and begin to rule us so that we understand and feel that the power of Abraham, Hesed (mercy), clothes in us. Abraham, which the Torah talks about, is a force of nature.

This is where the spiritual Partzuf begins, that is, the sensation of our soul. During the week of the holiday of Sukkot, we will try to realize within ourselves the properties of all the Sefirot: Hesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. Then they will manifest in us and begin to live. That is, we will feel this spiritual structure, a special atmosphere that connects us, and from it we will reveal all the new elements and forces of the spiritual world.

Ushpizin is an invitation of a guest, a new force to the group. It is when we make efforts to unite and want this force to be revealed between us as the beginning of our soul. It is known that such a force, the light of Hochma, cannot shine in us constantly, but oozes drop by drop intermittently, drip-drip, drip-drip. When we receive such drops of light, it means that good luck has come to us.

And in order to receive this light, we need to prepare a wide space between us, that is, a connection in the light of Hassadim where everyone is ready to open up to meet the other. The light of Hochma can shine only in the garment of the light of Hassadim. And the light of Hassadim (mercy) is called “wide,” as it is said, “wide heart” and “broad hand.”

The light of Hochma is called Ushpizin, a guest who comes and dresses in the light of Hassadim. And if there is no light of Hassadim, then the light of Hochma cannot come and clothe in us.

We are talking about ten friends who want to experience the spiritual. Therefore, they must unite with each other in mutual bestowal in order to relate to each other “with a wide heart and a broad hand,” which is called the quality of Abraham. If they organize such a connection with each other, then the force of Abraham is clothed in it, the first sensation of the disclosure of an upper force, a higher world, the Creator.

We do not allow any criticism of our friends, no verification, and thus we build the basis of the Kli called Abraham, Hesed, within which we feel the first spiritual revelation. The light of Hochma begins to unfold within the light of Hassadim that we have created.

The main thing is not to make any calculations except for our good association and trying from the bottom of our hearts to treat comrades as equals and to think only about how to give back to them. This means that I try to prepare a place for them for the disclosure of the Creator so that He opens up in each of them. This will mean that I am doing a merciful deed for them.

There can be nothing negative in the property of Hesed (mercy). It is above any clarifications and criticism as simple love for one’s neighbor, only a kind attitude.

We must constantly make efforts to maintain such an attitude, Hesed, because this is the basis of the spiritual Kli, the condition for being in the spiritual space. Therefore, Abraham is called the father of the people. All the spiritual people, that is, everyone who wants to come closer to the Creator, must acquire this property.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/3/20, “Sukkot”

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Question: In recent decades, personal growth training has been very popular in the world. People are taught to achieve new goals, get out of their comfort zones, and literally change their lives. But it is interesting that these trainings do not work, and frustration from them is growing. People cannot change anything, despite the fact that they invest huge resources in it.

How do you really become the master of your own destiny?

Answer: To do this, you need to know what life is, who controls you, and what goal nature leads you to. And then you will be able, in accordance with this, at least understand what is happening to you. And then take an additional course of correct interaction with nature in order to achieve the goal of life.

Question: How do you achieve success in any endeavors, in any desires, in any goals?

Answer: Do not go against nature but go with it, that is, know where it is leading you to, what your personal goal is (from the side of nature), and do everything in order to realize it.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 9/1/20

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Question: In classifying interpersonal relationships, the main thing is considered to be the contact between man and nature. What is the basic principle of the connection between man and the upper nature?

Answer: The principle is very simple: a person must bring himself to convergence with the upper nature. The upper or inner nature is based on the quality of bestowal, love, and mutual assistance. In this, it is the opposite of a person who is in egoistic love for himself. If we attune ourselves properly to feeling nature, then we will discover it.

Question: How should a person relate to himself, to his “I”?

Answer: As to a certain detector, a receptive device, that is located in certain conditions and must use itself and these conditions to reveal the essence of everything that is happening, the real nature of our world.

Question: Most of the time a person talks to himself, conducts an internal dialogue. Although this happens unconsciously, is there any way to control what this dialogue should be about?

Answer: In Kabbalah, there is a whole technique about the inner dialogue of a person with himself, with friends, with a group, with the world, and with the Creator. In this regard, we must always be in the continuous flow of information.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 7/30/20

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Question: Governance is the observance of the laws of communication. You are constantly in contact with people, gather a team, manage them. How do you see the difference between a boss and a leader in relation to subordinates?

Answer: A leader has nothing to do with his subordinates. He gives out his vision of the world, his plans, prospects. He is not very interested in the attitude of people to his idea, because how to perceive it is already the concern of subordinate managers.

Question: As a rule, the boss is appointed from the top and the leader grows from the bottom. Do you agree with this?

Answer: The boss is appointed from above because they see which of the subordinates is capable of solving practical problems. And the leader is set by the higher governance or as we used to think by chance. This is a person with a philosophical, forward-looking view of the world, who perceives the whole world as something of his own.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 6/11/20

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Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic of “Bereshit“

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot, Vol. 3, Part 8, Item 1

Lesson on the Topic of “The Law of the Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

Selected Highlights

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Thrive Global published my new article: “Has Covid-19 Killed American Pop Culture?”

If we start navigating through these turbulent seas, seeking how to meaningfully connect above our drive for momentary pleasures, then we can rest assured that our ship will reach a safe shore.

This might be the beginning of a cultural revolution. American entertainment and sports have shaped US society and influenced and appealed to the interest of a global audience for decades. This, however, seems to be changing. Media analysis shows that ratings of the once most popular programs are hitting historic lows as a result of the coronavirus crisis. I would not pay it particular attention were it not for pop culture’s predominance in people’s lives. Undoubtedly, it indicates a turning point, a shift, a new quest for more meaningful fulfillment that can only be achieved through human connection.

Just recently some of my students asked me about what might be the deeper reason for the low viewership of the 2020 NBA finals. Earlier this year, viewing of the Oscars and Emmy awards plummeted to all-time lows. How can this significant trend in the Covid-19’s era be interpreted? Particularly if we consider the prominence of pop culture in America and its influence around the world mainly through the media, music, and film industry until now.

The reason is that the pandemic has marked a before and after in people’s priorities and sources of enjoyment. Prior to the virus’ impact on all realms of our society, our generation lavished in excesses of entertainment and sports more than any other. We placed them on pedestals and showered their proponents with our attention, adoration, and respect. However, all such ways of enjoying and fulfilling ourselves wane at a certain point, especially now since they appear to be ephemeral and non-essential.

This new situation responds to the evolution of the human desire to enjoy which constantly grows and demands new and different pleasures as soon as the previous ones are fulfilled. While all kinds of influences can grab people’s attention, from a major tournament one minute to popular celebrities the next, they will eventually find those attractions do not appeal to them anymore.

The reason is that our desire has outgrown what previously gave us enjoyment. Similar to children outgrowing their toys, we too will start feeling drives for more mature and meaningful fulfillment—to genuine human connection and answers to deeper questions about our life’s ultimate meaning, which will itch away at us more and more.

Sailing the Titanic to a Safe Shore

The coronavirus struck our lives, highlighted our vast interdependence all around the globe, and placed us all into a common global situation. It is as if we found ourselves aboard a new global Titanic without any clue as to where we are heading or what will happen next. As we float along together on this giant global ship, nobody really knows where to turn or what to do; some sharply turn right, others turn left, and we find ourselves in an increasingly polarized society.

Therefore, as our desires start outgrowing what previously fulfilled them, and while we increasingly realize our tightening interdependence and interconnectedness worldwide—as we share one common global problem—it is no wonder that the interest in what used to be the most popular shows and games has declined so drastically. It will improve only if the entertainment industry transforms itself and champions warmth, mutual care, and connection.

We are growing up. I am optimistic that we will become more aware of how our human nature operates on us, how it is growing to new heights, and how it starts demanding different and more meaningful kinds of fulfillment. If we start navigating through these turbulent seas, seeking how to meaningfully connect above our drive for momentary pleasures, then we can rest assured that our ship will reach a safe shore.

I am also hopeful that we will succeed in providing our more mature needs the fulfillment they seek, realizing the need for deeper and more positive human relations, and by doing so, feeling a much fuller, more expansive and authentic reality compared to our current one.
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— Published on October 11, 2020

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The Sukkot holiday symbolizes the beginning of building the soul. The soul begins from the quality of the Creator, the quality of Abraham, which is called Hesed, bestowal, an open heart, everything that is aimed at loving the created beings for their benefit.

Obviously, it is impossible to reach the purpose of creation in this form because the quality of Abraham does not yet have the quality of creation, the will to receive, which must be present in all this process. After all, that is what it was devised for.

We need to correct ourselves because the purpose of creation is to bring a person to the degree of the Creator, to adhesion and equivalence with Him. The quality of Abraham is not enough for this; we need to add to it the matter of creation, the will to receive.

The quality of Abraham, Hesed, fills the entire space created by the Creator. The Creator wants to see all the created beings there, connected with each other in love and unity together with Him. However, there is no creation there yet. Creation appears only after the birth of Isaac, the will to receive that joins the quality of bestowal of Abraham.

Abraham and Isaac are opposite to each other. The result of their combination is also not enough to reach the goal of creation and complete adhesion with the Creator, but it is still a great step that gets closer to this. This is mainly due to the sacrifice of Isaac, the main action performed on this quality, on the will to receive, to which the second day of Sukkot is dedicated.

The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David, are not people, but are the main spiritual qualities that exist in the system created by the Creator through which we can correct our souls.

However, every person also has to go through all these changes within themselves: first to completely annul themselves before the quality of Hesed, then to awaken a critical attitude a little and allow the will to receive to reveal itself. Then one begins to combine the quality of Abraham, Hesed, with the quality of Isaac, Gevura, by faith above reason.

This means that we use our will to receive only in order to establish over it the control of the desire to bestow. Only in this form do we allow ourselves to work with our egoism. When we correct it in this way, the middle line, Jacob, will come out of it.

How do we ensure that the left line in the ten obeys the right one? Everyone bows their head and lets the others be higher. We are competing by who nullifies themselves the most. The one who will be the lowest will gain the most and rise the highest. This is a competition in who uses more their will to receive in order to bestow.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/4/20, “Sukkot”

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The Times of Israel published my new article “Science Proves – Disunity Kills”

As much as we may dislike one another, science has proven that curbing Covid-19 requires national solidarity. The inconvenient truth is that the pandemic does not distinguish between left and right, orthodox and secular, Jews and Arabs; we are all equal before the virus. If we stand together, we will defeat it. If we don’t, it will defeat us. This is as true for every country as it is for all of humanity.

A few days ago, Eran Halperin, Professor of Social Psychology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Ron Gerlitz, CEO at aChord – Social Psychology for Social Change, published an Op-Ed piece in The Jerusalem Post titled “To slow coronavirus, disparate groups in Israel society must come together.” The piece mentions a recent international study where more than 100 researchers from all over the world examined tens of thousands of citizens from 67 countries, among them over 1,200 Israelis, “to understand what would most influence their willingness to obey pandemic-related instructions.” The researchers found “that the key factor motivating people to adhere to distancing and hygiene guidelines is the level of their national-group identification; that is, how connected they feel to their national group and how central they consider it in their identity.” Judging by this conclusion, the fragmentation in the Israeli society is the culprit behind our failure in overcoming the virus, and not the policy of the government or the disobedience of this or that group to instructions. We are witnessing the beginning of a social breakdown in Israel. If we don’t rise above our sense of righteous indignation, we will inflict an unprecedented catastrophe on our country.

The people of Israel emerged from people who belonged to different, often rival tribes and clans from all over the Near and Middle East. These “refugees” left their countryfolk because they believed in the idea of unity above differences. Under Abraham’s leadership, they found a place where they could live out their idea.

Today’s people of Israel are nothing of the kind. We are fragmented once more, divided in every aspect—religion, culture, ethnicity, education, language, politics, and every other aspect you can imagine. Except for our name, we are not a nation anymore. We have returned to being strangers, aliens to one another. If we want to merit our name, “the people of Israel,” we have to start over.

Back then, Abraham’s group continued to develop until, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, having experienced the ordeal of the exile in Egypt, the Hebrews united “as one man with one heart” and established their nationhood. Soon after, clashes and conflicts began to rage within the people and the newly formed nation struggled to maintain its core value: “Hate stirs strife, but love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12).

Two millennia ago, we suffered a bitter defeat to our hatred and were exiled and dispersed all over the world. Wherever we went, we were regarded as outcasts, outsiders.

Even when we returned to Israel and reestablished our sovereignty, we did it only to protect ourselves from the odium of the nations, and not because of the initial value of unity above differences that had fashioned our nationhood. To this day, many Israelis feel out of place in Israel. They see it as temporary residence until they find a calmer place to live in.

But without a sense of belonging to a single nation, Israel will disintegrate. We can already see how a pandemic that we could have curbed had we all participated in defeating it is tearing us apart. It is not because the virus is so terrible; it is because there is no solidarity among citizens and no trust between citizens and government. The lack of affection and trust leads to inaction, which in turn leads to contagion. And contagion leads to loss of lives.

The introduction to the article just mentioned states simply that “the logic underlying the basic individual behaviors required for curbing the contagion … is grounded in belonging to [a] collective.” We have no sense of a collective, and we are paying for it with our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in our small country.

It doesn’t matter what we believe or who we think is right. If we don’t come together, then we are all wrong, we are all paying, and we will pay much more.
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