Question: You receive a lot of criticism on your position that Kabbalah isn’t a religion and has no connection to Judaism. Please explain to me why the great Kabbalists who lived in our times Baal HaSulam and Rabash were Orthodox Jews and in no way said that God is just nature and not a personality.

Answer: Baal HaSulam explained this in the best way in his article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose.” We know more from Ramchal (Moshe Chaim Luzzatto) about the wisdom of Kabbalah for people who are not Jewish. And all of the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks only about the development of love for others, and religion talks about the carrying out of corporeal Mitzvot (commandments).

The definition of the wisdom of Kabbalah is: a system to reveal the Creator to the created beings in this world. Religion doesn’t aspire to achieve the same goal (revelation of the Creator through love of others) as Kabbalah. Thus it is not the same thing.

Thus your proposal that God is a personality simply makes me wonder if maybe you are an idol worshipper.
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Question: Why must we receive the Torah every year during the holiday of Shavuot if we already received it at Mt Sinai?

Answer: It isn’t a physical action and about being physically at the foot of Mt. Sinai. We are told that a person should see himself as if he is coming out of Egypt every day. He must hear the Ten Commandments every day as if he is receiving them over and over again. It is because our ego, our desire to receive, is renewed every day. In contrast to this, we continuously must awaken the desire to bestow, the power of love. This is the reason that the Torah is given to us on a daily basis.

Now, however, we are in exile, which means that we don’t feel the good force which is concealed from us. We only can reveal it through the wisdom of Kabbalah, which was also intentionally concealed until not too long ago.

Question: How is the Torah related to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah is called the wisdom of truth, the wisdom of the Light, since it is actually through this wisdom that we can attain the force of goodness, the force of love and bestowal, and fulfill the mutual guarantee and unity between us. We have been trying to do that for decades in the state of Israel, but things are getting worse and worse. We already have reached a point in which the situation is unbearable.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, on the other hand, reveals to us the force of goodness, the force of love, that ties us together and allows us to use it. We begin to feel how we must balance evil wherever it is revealed by the force of goodness. Then, we have two forces by which we can advance in the right direction to unity and love, and can develop in a good and wonderful manner.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 5/17/15

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Torah, “Leviticus” 23:9 – 23:11, 23:15: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the Land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring to the Cohen an Omer of the beginning of your reaping. And he shall wave the Omer before the Lord so that it will be acceptable for you; the Cohen shall wave it on the day after the rest day… And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the Omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete.

An Omer is a sheaf that is gathered from the produce that is harvested and tied together.

In spiritual work, the meaning of the term, “Omer,” is a share (a count, a numbering) of the levels that are attained by us—seven levels of the development of connection in succession. On every level, the connection becomes more and more intense, and so we constantly count our seven Sefirot: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut.

In the Torah, each one of them is composed of another seven Sefirot: Hesed of Hesed, Gevura of Hesed, Tifferet of Hesed, Netzach of Hesed, and so on. Seven times seven equals 49, meaning 49 days, seven sevens, which are talked about in the Torah.

At this time, we examine all of our inner characteristics connected to one Omer with all the rest. But this is not the same connection that existed in Egypt that helped  people exit it. The counting of the Omer begins from the second day of Passover, when each one examines himself, “With this I correct something, in a Sefira like this, in a state like this.”

Greater and greater connection begins to be realized between us until we attain such a state that, specifically within this “bundle,” this connection, the powerful ego that is called “Mount Sinai” (the mountain of mutual hatred) is revealed. We reach this during the process of our correction on the fiftieth day of the counting of the Omer.

In other words, our natural egoistic state is discovered in us that does not allow us to unite. Yet, on the other hand, an immense desire is revealed in us that is called the advancement toward mutual Arvut (Mutual Guarantee).

We want to be connected to each other in one Omer, but we don’t have the power to nullify our egoism. So, we agree to the conditions of the Torah, accepting its method to correct the ego gradually, and not kill or destroy it.

Ultimately, the Omer is only the beginning of our correct advancement toward unity. We understand that the future is in unity by whose side stands our immense egoism that doesn’t let us unite. The greatest internal contradictions and oppositions torment us. Our inner point can rise up to Mount Sinai, whereas we, ourselves, are unable to.

Mount Sinai is, in fact, the same tower of Babel, but now it acquires an absolutely different form because people already have passed through the departure from Babylon and Egypt, and are beginning to understand that if they climb above the ego, then on its summit, they will discover the Creator in their unity.

In this manner, we attain a very serious state. On the one hand, our egoism is revealed to us: pride, arrogance, and our failure to control it. On the other hand, we agree to bow our heads and accept the correction upon ourselves under the same conditions that it will be given to us.

These are the ten, essential Mitzvot (Commandments), the ten Sefirot, the ten Kelim, with whose help we acquire the ten indelible names of the Creator. Attaining the name of the Creator is not anything but attaining His characteristics. Above this is found only one single name, Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey (YHVH).
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 5/28/14

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Question: I heard that many Orthodox Jews have their hearing checked before Purim so that they can be sure that they hear the Mitzva (commandment) “remember what Amalek did to you…”

As far as I understand it is a totally new interpretation of the observation of the Mitzva. What do you have to say about it?

Answer: Because in our world a person is made of a body and a desire, he can fulfill what is required of him either physically or in his heart (desire). There is another way of observing it by the soul, by the intention of bestowal, Lishma, for its sake, but it is accessible only to those who seriously study the wisdom of Kabbalah guided by a teacher.

In any case, the more carefully a person observes this Mitzva and hears it through his ears or his heart, the more he feels that he is righteous… The wisdom of Kabbalah, on the other hand, calls a person to attain a level that is higher than the ear or the heart (both of which are in the ego). It speaks about ascent above the ego, above the intention of for my own sake, to the intention of not for my own sake (Lishma).
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Baal HaSulam, Letter #16: “…prior to making a Mitzva [commandment], one must not consider private Providence at all. On the contrary, one should say, ‘If I am not for me, who is for me?’”
A Mitzva is the correction of a person’s desire since in the state he is in, he is detached from the Creator.

He wants to connect this state to the Creator as the one upper force, “There is none else besides Him,” “the good and the benevolent.” Thus, he restores this state to the state he was in before the shattering.

This is how he collects these states time after time, as it is written, “until many pennies accumulate into a great sum,” and he completes the correction of his soul.

We were given 613 corrupt desires to begin with, which we try to restore to adhesion. Before we perform a Mitzva—when I understand that I am in a corrupt state because I am not in adhesion, in unity, with the upper force—I mustn’t think about private providence, but, instead, we should say, “If I am not for me, who is for me?”

…But after the fact, a person must reconsider and believe that it was not by “My power and the might of my hand” that I made the Mitzva, …

This means that I perform a Mitzva, that I exert myself as much as I can and use all the means—the Rav, the group, the study, dissemination, everything—in order to please the Creator and to tie myself to “There is none else besides Him.” At the same time, I take into account only “If I am not for me, who is for me,” and that I must take all these actions by myself.
However, having succeeded in something, I must say that this success was predetermined and ready, and that the Creator has prepared this for me in advance. If I am adhered to “If I am not for me, who is for me,” and eventually to, “There is none else besides Him,” it is the complete means to reach adhesion.
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From the 1^st> part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/15/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The Torah, “Leviticus,” 19:19: You shall observe My statutes: You shall not crossbreed your livestock with different species. You shall not sow your field with a mixture of seeds, and a garment which has a mixture of shaatnez shall not come upon you.

In our times we do exactly the opposite by creating genetically modified food products. This phenomenon has entered into the general destruction of humanity. We have changed greatly and don’t even imagine how the consumption of these food products is influencing us.

If I buy a kilogram of tomatoes and keep them in the kitchen at room temperature of eighty-six degrees and they remain as they were when I bought them a month ago, this is a sign that they are not alive. It is something that has no vitality in it!

Tomatoes like these aren’t growing or vital and are food that in principle the body doesn’t need, for in fact, this is a collection of all kinds of chemical elements. And even though they nourish my body, this is not at all what should be from nature. Finally, we are only now beginning to discover in what manner these actions influence us, whether there is a connection between them, social morality, and our world view.

Together with this, within me there could be a replacement not only of the internal programs but also the elements of my body themselves. There was a time, 10-15 years ago, when we thought that hackers who inserted viruses into a computer could only harm the computer programs but not the system itself. Eventually, we became aware that they can also harm the computer itself.

We don’t imagine the consequences of consuming genetically modified food. Nothing in the world should be changed in such a manner. But on the other hand, in distancing ourselves from nature, we are beginning to understand what kind of a blind alley we have entered. In other words, this is the law of denial. And even though our “beast” isn’t particularly suffering, the “human” in us will become worse and worse. And that is how it will be with everything! Otherwise, there cannot be any recognition of evil.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/9/14

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Question: What is the meaning of the commandment: “Thou shalt not hate your brother in your heart?”

Answer: The Torah commands us not to hate our brother since brothers naturally hate each other, which is revealed naturally.

A brother is your reflection on the next level and therefore you shouldn’t hate him since he shows you what you must complete in order to become whole,

Question: Does this mean that it is my reflection according to which I prepare my ascent?

Answer: It is a whole system. Why does Jacob have twelve sons, for example? Abraham had only one son Isaac, because Ishmael is a totally different system. They didn’t complement one another mutually. This will only be discovered later at the end of times.

Having many offspring indicates the incompleteness of the parents. Jacob had twelve sons because he wasn’t perfect. In order to attain the level of Israel he had to make all twelve levels perfectly adaptable, since they were still separated.

These mutual relationships apply to the whole family, to all the seventy souls. The twelve sons of Jacob are the twelve attributes that stem from him that have to merge into one integral whole. Only then will they become Israel (Yashar El), straight to the Creator, aimed at the Creator. Thus they discover what and who they have to correct along the ascent up the many levels of correction.

Jacob must have the hatred appear between the brothers, and Joseph must go down to Egypt. Then Pharaoh will appear between them and will keep them apart, and despite their ego, they will have to connect above it. As a result of the connection of the twelve tribes, the one general soul will be corrected, although we are yet to witness that.

Question: You say that the separation between the brothers stems from the fact that the parents are imperfect.

Answer: Of course, otherwise there would only be one single continuation. But it can only be fulfilled along the middle line. This is where the right unity takes place each time that it is aimed straight at the Creator.

The twelve tribes will establish their common basis called the land of Israel to the extent that they begin to connect correctly. This will include all the human attributes and all the parts that are distant from one another. They will gradually begin to connect until they reunite again at the one point of connection with the Creator. But this point, in the third phase, will be on the Creator’s level.

There is an initial hatred for others in people that was given to us by nature. Ask any person who has sons whether they always get along, whether they are always together, and you will get a negative answer. Brothers always compete, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

They can be together only when there is a great force, a great reward that pulls them forward and for which they connect. This reward nullifies their natural hate.

In our world there can only be strong unity between brothers for a cause. If the cause disappears, they separate again since the internal hatred always exists. So, the Torah isn’t wrong.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book”

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Question: Do you consider the Commandments that Moses gave to the Jews the key to inner peace, that is, balance between altruism and egoism?

Answer: Of course. The most important of them, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” is the foundation of the entire Torah, which is a handbook on how to achieve this condition. Unfortunately, those who consider themselves adherents and believers by observing the Torah do not always pursue this goal.

Question: The commandments, which Moses passed on, included only good deeds and warned not to commit the bad ones. But there was nothing said about how it would be rewarded.

Answer: No compensation should be asked for fulfilling the commandments. If you want to love your neighbor and treat him well, you must do it absolutely unconditionally. Then the inner satisfaction that you receive from it will be your reward.
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From KabTV’s “A Special Opinion” 8/17/14

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Question: The external performance of the Torah, is this descent or not?

Answer: External performance of the Torah is the result of the exile of the people of Israel. Before that, it did only internal work because everyone was in attainment of the Creator. Yes, there were problems, troubles, wars, but all this was part of a powerful internal analysis.

And then in the days of Rabbi Akiva, the people of Israel fell from the degree of brotherly love into unfounded hatred. If in the past, everyone had understood the Torah in a spiritual sense since their vessels, desires, were in revelation, after falling to the material level, they began to understand the Torah in the material sense. As a consequence, they started to perform it as we see today: strengthening themselves only by actions, not by intention.

The vessels of Israel have Galgalta ve Eynaim, part that is engaged in intentions and AHP, part that is engaged in actions. So it happened that there are two Torahs:

• For the vessels of Galgalta ve Eynaim, it is the wisdom of Kabbalah, called the true and also hidden science because it is revealed only to the one who lifts the veil over it;
• The science of explicit material actions, performed by part of the people of Israel, belonging to AHP.

We are not going to evaluate anyone, to judge anyone. There are no clever or stupid, good or bad. No one should be punished or despised. Simply, these are the facts. We should have come to this after the breaking of the vessels and exile. This is the way how the vessels, desires, are arranged in the process of its correction.

But now the question arises: How can we collectively become awakened to the true work of the Creator?
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/12/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Why is modern humanity yearning again for religion?

Answer: There is a crisis in the world. After the last world war, which was less than three generations ago, the population of developed countries with predictability, stability, and confidence in the future. Whereas now, with the appearance of the global crisis, it feels uncertainty, instability, a lack of a quest, certainly lack of a future, and a lack of hope for success.

Moreover, this feeling encompasses the entire planet. This feeling summons waves of concern all the time. Nothing is stable, not the future, nor any plans. After losing all hope, only one hope remains, which is hope in the Creator, an image ready to take the first position in the world and  to stabilize it. So a person creates the Creator for himself.

The wisdom of Kabbalah says that there is nothing in the world other than nature, the force of bestowal and love that creates everything, directs and develops us to a state where we can understand our difference and opposition to this force and want to resemble it; which is to say, to acquire the characteristic of bestowal and love. Therefore the goal, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Vayikra 19:18) must become the principle for all of our activities.

Religions heard this commandment and forgot it, because in order to implement it, they had to change the egoistic nature of the person to an altruistic one (to bestowal and love for all). There is no profit in altruism; therefore all the religions speak about “And you shall love,” but not one of them implements it or understands its intent, because within the egoistic characteristics it is not possible to understand the characteristic of bestowal..

If they would understand what “And you shall love” means, then all religions would disappear and everything that separates people would disappear. The modern yearning for religion will lead to its reassessment by humanity and its replacement with a religion called, “love.”
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Also see the article, “The Essence of Religion and its Purpose”

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