Baal HaSulam, “Shamati”, 34, “The Profit of a Land“: It is known that nothing appears in its true form, only through its opposite, “as far as light excelleth darkness.” This means that everything points to another, and by the opposite of some thing, the existence of its opposite can be perceived.

Hence, it is impossible to attain something in complete clarity if its parallel is absent.

This principle is inherent in our lives and we use it instinctively, so there is nothing particularly Kabbalistic about it. We always need more light in order to see the difference between light and darkness in contrast. We may also need to darken something a little in order to see the light better.

We always learn about one compared to the other, for example about good and bad. We cannot measure any object or any phenomenon by itself but only in comparison to a state that is opposite from the phenomenon that we want to explore.

Question: Can we say that a person can be happy only if he was miserable before?

Answer: No. A person can be happy and feel miserable at the same time. The two components are created in him and he understands how happy he is now.

This is crucial since otherwise, we see how the state of happiness fades away, especially when it comes to two lovers. They do not understand and cannot appreciate that there can be a state in contrast to the state they feel. This is the reason they lose what they have.

A wise person sustains the two states internally. This is what is referred to by the expression “there is none wiser than the experienced.” This means that no one is wiser than the one who has been through all the opposite states and who can appreciate everything correctly. If he experiences a certain pleasure, he feels something in contrast to it at the same time, so his pleasure is whole.

Question: Is this the secret of a long life together with a spouse?

Answer: It is possible in marriage or in any other relationship in different states. You can appreciate something only if you lose it. There is nothing to be done about it. This is the reason that any early marriage and close relationships do not last long. Basically people with great egoism like today need experience.
[257917]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 12/15/19

Related Material:
From Misery To Happiness
What Is Happiness?
My Economics Of Happiness

Filed under: Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: Should we be afraid of losing the feeling of love, or the object of our love?

Answer: In reality there is no object of our love. It is an uncertain state. Love does not mean a person loves someone’s hair, physical features, or special qualities another person has, but is actually external to matter. It stems from the attribute of general attraction that exists in nature and is part of the Creator. Loving another is a gift from the Creator.
[259021]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 12/15/19

Related Material:
True Love
Is There Love Without A Cause?
Love Without Conditions

Filed under: Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Lesson Preparation

Lesson on the Topic “Concerning Above Reason” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 56

Lesson on the Topic “The Obligation to Disseminate the Wisdom of Kabbalah to Many” 

Selected Highlights

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Faith above reason is entry to the spiritual world. It is what determines our place. It is like an ID that testifies to who a person is, where he is in relation to humanity, his ego, the Creator and all of reality. Faith above reason determines the whole person.

The continued presence of the #coronavirus raises the need to establish a basic universal income for everyone—in exchange for contributing to the production of necessary food items, commodities, and enrolling in a global education program, leading to economic and social unity.

We are not abandoning #globalization—we have never yet experienced it. We simply had a large market! The virus has destroyed trade and production. We have grown up from the past, connections have been torn, barriers are in place, and countries want independence to bring production back from #China. Saying goodbye to the past is a joy!
From Twitter, 6/7/20

Related Material:
My Thoughts On Twitter 6/4/20
My Thoughts On Twitter 6/3/20
My Thoughts On Twitter 6/1/20

Filed under: Coronavirus, Thoughts on Twitter | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download:MP3 Audio

Filed under: Audio Version of the Blog | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Nationality or National Team?

Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah “The Giving of the Torah,” Item 5: We must first understand why the Torah was given specifically to the Israeli nation and not to all the peoples of the world equally. Is there, God forbid, nationalism involved here? Of course, only an insane person would think that.

There is no such thing as being chosen. The qualities of total bestowal, love, connection, and kindness are collectively called the Creator. And the opposite qualities are called creation.

Gradually, creation must reach the quality of the Creator. That is, without changing inside, where the same hatred and opposition remain, it must clothe itself outside with the quality of the Creator.

Question: Is the goal of this process to give one of the nations the methodology that they must pass on to all the rest of the peoples?

Answer: Indeed, the method was given, not to one nation, but to a group of people gathered from representatives of all nations.

Question: So it wasn’t a nation relating to the same family?

Answer: It is believed that there are 70 nations in the world. Therefore, the method was given not to one nation, so that the other 69 nations would remain without it, but to representatives of all the nations gathered from those who followed Abraham on their inner inspiration.

Comment: Later, they were joined by a huge number of people.

My Response: Anyone can join them. Everything depends on the natural desire.
[264660]
From KabTV’s “Systematic Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel,” 7/22/19

Related Material:
Theory Of Anti-Semitism, Part 5
Theory Of Anti-Semitism, Part 4
Theory Of Anti-Semitism, Part 3

Filed under: Israel, Nations of the World | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: If a person who studies the wisdom of Kabbalah integrates with ordinary people does this help his or her point in the heart to awaken?

Answer: Yes it awakens them, but they do not know it. What is more, he does not need to integrate with them.

He can integrate only with friends who share his views around whom a special spiritual field is created which ordinary people are attracted to, not really knowing why. They suddenly find something. Their point in the heart suddenly awakens.

This field spreads in waves from people who study the wisdom of Kabbalah and others already get closer to them.
[260960]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/9/20

Related Material:
The Way To The Final Correction
Us And The Rest Of The World
Gather The Parts Of The Collective Soul

Filed under: Kabbalah Dissemination, Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: Can we say that when we begin to discern and accept our shattering, the point in the heart awakens?

Answer: No. The point in the heart awakens if a person has a resolute demand to discover the meaning of life. As for the shattering, we do not really understand it. It is revealed when a person begins to understand that he is made of an egoistic force and the altruistic force sometimes illuminates in him and he runs about between them. This is not the case at the moment.

Question: But according to what you say, the point in the heart is the spark of the singular soul. Is it right to accept it this way?

Answer: Of course.
[261031]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 2/9/20

Related Material:
The Point In The Heart Is The Trampoline For Leaping To The Creator
The Common Point In The Heart
A Point That Leads Us Forward

Filed under: Meaning Of Life | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Baal HaSulam, Shamati, “Article 138”: When fear comes upon a person, he should know that there is none else but Him. And even witchcraft. And if he sees that fear overcomes him, he should say that there is no such thing as chance, but the Creator has given him a chance from above, and he must contemplate and study the end to which he has been sent this fear. It appears that it is so that he will overcome and say, “There is none else besides Him.”

But if after all this, the fear has not departed him, he should take it as an example and say that his servitude of the Creator should be in the same measure of the fear, meaning that the fear of heaven, which is a merit, should be in the same manner of fear that he now has. That is, the body is impressed by this superficial fear, and exactly in the same way that the body is impressed, so should be the fear of heaven.

Question: So, by invoking a sense of fear in us, does the Creator invite us to switch our attention to Him, to be in awe before Him, or have some other attitude toward him?

Answer: And how else can the Creator awaken an egoistic person who is locked within his petty goals so that he would start paying attention to his development and ultimately to the Creator?

How else can this be done if not by awakening all kinds of anxieties, fears, and troubles that supposedly take place? All this is similar to how we scare a child: “Do not go there! A grey wolf is hiding there.” We must somehow stop him.

Therefore, we have to understand that the Creator is playing this way with us small egoistic creatures in order to direct us toward Him.
[265313]
Form KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 4/26/20

Related Material:
Turning Fear Into Advancement
“Fear Must Adhere To Love”
As We Ascend, The Fear Will Defuse

Filed under: Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Question: The concealment of the Creator is the concealment of the fact that everything is sent by Him, that He is within us, He arranges everything. Why does He do this?

Answer: In order for us to demand His revelation. After all, by wanting this, I want to reveal the qualities of bestowal, love, and the qualities of connection in me. And it turns out that then I change myself from an egoist to an altruist.

Question: Is concealment not understanding His goals and plans, even if it is clear to me that He arranges everything for me?

Answer: This is a very complex system of relations, so I cannot answer unequivocally. If we carefully analyze this issue, then we must come to understand what “faith above reason” is.

There are many alternative states that can exist between a person and the Creator, and there are many more than between people.
[265357]
From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 4/26/20

Related Material:
What Does The Creator Conceal From Us?
Why Is The Creator Hiding?
I Exist Because I Do Not Exist!

Filed under: Spiritual Work | Add Comment / Ask Question →