During the recent European Convention in Berlin, I gave a number of interviews to the German media. In the picture below, you see my interview with a reporter from the German newspaper “Jüdische Allgemeine.” As a result of our conversation, the newspaper published a lengthy, serious article about the convention and our movement.
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As any other science, Kabbalah is based solely on experiment. Look at a little human being, how he grows—this is how we used to develop in the past.
Over the course of millennia, we continuously summarized all of our observations and gradually turned them into the sciences. However, all of them are based solely on experiment, and nothing more. These experiments comprise the foundation of all sciences.
If something is not tested experimentally, it is not a science. It could be a product of your imagination, and another person could come up with something else. Only strictly recurrent data, results of experiments, can be turned into a science.
Suppose today I’m in my lab and I study a certain property or phenomenon. Consequently, I write an article for a scientific journal about the behavior of the phenomenon under question. Later, the results presented in the article are tested in other laboratories and places, and scientists write their feedback. Science is made up of all these elements.
This is how it was over the course of millennia. But today, we do not develop the science of Kabbalah, but rather apply it.
As of today, the wisdom of Kabbalah is already explicated, set out on paper. We have nothing to add, except for the materials that we write to help ourselves and people like us. That is, suppose there is certain upper physics, and then it is written out for students, for schoolchildren, for laymen, or for various practical applications. The same applies to Kabbalah.
Today we read The Book of Zohar, the works of the ARI, which are set forth and commented for us in the books of Baal HaSulam. Essentially, we have nothing to add to this. There are also articles and letters, meaning other material which we received from Baal HaSulam. Practically, this is it.
Beside this, we can only write about what we observe, see, in ourselves so as to assist other people who advance together with us or will follow us. That is, we do not develop the science, but adapt it for those who will come to it.
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From Lesson 3 Berlin Convention 1/28/2011
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A Kabbalist Is A Scientist Who Studies The Upper Nature
In the wisdom of Kabbalah, we study the upper world, how all creation is made, and what forces expand into our corporeal world. In the upper world, there are forces whereas in the physical one, there are objects that are affected by and are the product thereof.
The upper forces are called “roots,” and the lower ones (those manifested in our world) are “branches.” There is nothing else below our world and worse than it. That’s already good.
Everything that happens to us occurs under the influence of the forces that descend to us from the upper world, from the roots. There isn’t anything in our world that wouldn’t derive from Above. Therefore, it is pointless to blame someone for something: each other, other nations, the government, and nature since all of it is governed by the upper forces from Above downward. If we look at the entire picture logically and realistically, we will see that everything comes from Above.
It turns out that any problem we encounter, no matter what it entails, can be resolved only if we ascend to the level of these upper forces and start influencing them. Thus, we will be able to draw a different influence upon ourselves. That is, we will be affected not by the first forces, but rather by some type of their derivatives and the effect we instilled. Only in this manner will we cause changes in our world, and by no other means.
We tried, over the course of thousands of years by using all kinds of methods and practices, to affect our fate. And we see that it isn’t worthwhile. There is no point for us in appealing to the Creator: He (someone whom we imagine as the Creator) doesn’t hear us. And none of our actions in this world produce any results anyway. In the end, everything takes a course that it was supposed to take.
We, who have lived in this world long enough, see all this very clearly; therefore, we can agree with the wisdom of Kabbalah which states that at the level of our world, there is no solution to anything. Our world is the effect, and all the solutions are at the level where decisions are made: in the upper world.
Thus, namely in our time, when humanity, having arrived at the integral, global crisis, is realistically facing a serious problem, and when everything that is happening to us below is already part of this integral picture, only then do we receive an opportunity to influence these general forces by coming together.
Essentially, we have to affect only a single force since there is only one upper force which simply splits into its multiple sub-forces, the individual forces that impact us.
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From Lesson 5 Berlin Convention 1/29/2011
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When studying spiritual properties and structures, we discover very peculiar groupings, combinations, and characteristics of these forces. They group among themselves. Each force and property groups with others by Sefirot and Partzufim.
A Partzuf is a system that spreads its influence downward on our corresponding projection here, in this world. And the Partzufim link together into complete, more global mergers called the worlds. Thus, in the upper world, there are worlds, Partzufim, and Sefirot.
Sefirot are the smallest enterprises, associations. A Partzuf is a more global one. And a world is a bigger, global merger. The worlds comprise a single upper world. And all of this in order to channel the unique Upper Light, the Light of the Creator, to us, those who reside here at the bottom, in our world.
Hence, while studying Kabbalah, we can envision what is the best way for us to get organized in order to build our society, our family, home, education, relationships between husband and wife, men and women in general, the nations and the world correctly.
What can we do to correspond and to be adequate to our roots? In the degree that we are equivalent to them, we will feel more comfortable in our world. And if we achieve some general correspondence to the upper world, the upper Partzuf (albeit not with entire humanity, but a certain group or association, for now), then we will start sensing the upper world and ourselves as one whole. It is regarded as our ascent to the upper world.
Since there is only one force that influences us, it impacts practically the entire world at the same time. Therefore, the closer all the components of our world are and the more harmoniously they interact with each other, the closer are we going to be to this integral force. This is the general rule.
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From Lesson 5 Berlin Convention 1/29/2011
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Question: Kabbalah is an experimental science. Can we relate to the current convention as to an experiment?
Answer: Each of us is a Kabbalist and a scientist in a sense that he carries out an experiment on himself and experiences the application of Kabbalah, its conclusions and correctness personally.
Some 30 years ago I was reading the well-known book Shamati (I Heard) and I understood, perhaps, one one-hundredth of a percent from it. Then, with each year, re-reading it and feeling its result on myself, I compared what was going on with me to what was written in the book and was astonished to discover that this book really described everything that was happening with me. And so I keep re-reading Shamati over the course of 30 years (I received it in 1979), and each time I discover that this book talks about me.
Even after ten years this book will reveal itself to me as a source that describes everything about me. Everything! This is because the person who wrote it began from the bottom, as do all people, and then ascended spiritually and wrote it from a spiritual level which I am not able to reach yet.
And if I were to rise higher, then I would suddenly discover that this book no longer speaks of the states I am going though. It would become clear to me; I would clearly see that the author reaches only up to a particular level and no further.
We see this with some of the Kabbalistic book authors, although it does not depreciate them in any way! They wrote up to the level which they had attained, and it is the same with each one of us.
On the other hand, what right do we have to interpret, write, and add to the writings of the great Kabbalists of the past? The truth of the matter is that we write what is correct at our levels. It is precisely because we are small that we can write all of this through this level. This way, it is easier for the people who come to Kabbalah to find contact with our material, rather than with the great works of the past because those Kabbalists wrote them from a great spiritual height.
But, ultimately, today we are truly carrying out an experiment on ourselves, and we will keep carrying out this experiment throughout our whole life until we reach the very end of correction. That is why Kabbalah, as compared to the rest of the sciences, does not work outside the person. You are not studying something that is outside of yourself, but rather on yourself, within yourself. So, let’s experiment!
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From Lesson 3 Berlin Convention 1/28/2011
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Question: Can we say that now, after the convention in Berlin, we are united?
Answer: We have reached a new state in our unity. I am happy about what took place in Berlin and after that in Paris. We have reached unity, cohesion. For the first time we discovered many friends in Europe who already understand the path and feel the development. I was really pleasantly surprised by some events.
Ahead of us we have an April convention in New Jersey. Let’s hope that we will come to a new degree of unity in the United States as well. Thus, by uniting during the conventions we will accumulate the necessary force for the revelation of the Creator to the creature.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/4/2011, “When the Creator Loves Man”
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Question: The motto of the Berlin Convention was “Harmony.” What does a Kabbalist imply under the term “harmony”?
Answer: When speaking about harmony, a Kabbalist implies complete similarity to the upper degree: the supreme energy, information, the so-called Light that surrounds us, with which we have to come into full contact and in which we have to dissolve. But at the same time, our “self” doesn’t disappear. On the contrary, our “self” and the Light completely merge into one whole. This harmony is our goal.
All of humanity descended from the degree regarded as the “world of Infinity” or harmony, where everything was as one whole. Gradually, coming down along the five worlds of Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya, we reached our most opposite state: “our world”. Obviously, there is no harmony here. This is the world of chaos and darkness.
We ended up here, in this state, and over the course of many thousands of years, our entire history, we have been evolving at the animate level. But today, we are beginning our ascent to the first degree of our spiritual evolution.
All of this global mess that exists in the world, all this chaos that we are now beginning to experience, this mutual hate amidst our total interdependence, emerges in us from our first spiritual degree. By now we must all be interconnected with one another at this level in 1/125th degree of our complete oneness.
This degree is already illuminating us from afar, and this is why the corporeal world seems to us so frightening, divided, antagonizing, residing in absolute hatred, and totally incapable of getting together to find a way to get along. As usual, the heads of the governments come to Davos and then somewhere else to only realize nothing is up to them. And nothing will be! No way! No treaties will help! Humanity will face a state when it either destroys itself or unifies. The question is how?
This particular question: “But how?” will arise. And then they, too, will realize that there is no other chance but to employ the method of unification that was revealed as early as ancient Babylon for this very reason. That is when people will turn to Kabbalah indeed.
But first, they have to face this most horrific question. It arises either in those who had internally matured for this and come to us individually or in the entire world after it has come “to a dead end.” So, this sensation of chaos, darkness, and lack of harmony arises as a state opposite to that higher evolutionary degree that we must reach, where we are illuminated by harmony, oneness, and integral existence.
Today we are already experiencing both of these states. Hence, in this transitional state our world is moving toward the first spiritual degree. To break through is the most difficult stage.
If we, our world Kabbalistic group, hundreds of thousands of people, will gradually, from convention to convention, create such tension and bond between us; if we undergo all of the states of desperation and still demand oneness from within; if we, even the smallest part of humanity, manage to realize it, it will be the life saver for the entire humanity. And the harmony they will feel coming from us will draw the whole human race to us like a magnet. That’s what we must achieve.
Therefore, harmony that Kabbalah discusses is a state where all people are unified as one whole, one collective image regarded as “Adam”: the collective desire, the integral soul, within which the higher degree, our eternal, perfect state, is revealed. And this can be done. It is all up to us.
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From Lesson 1 Berlin Convention 1/29/2011
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On the path, we frequently err. We think that there are some other forces besides the Creator, which can help us. We suddenly immerse ourselves in our occupation or hobbies again. Having lost faith in spiritual advancement, we start relying on ourselves and the others in our circle.
We are surrounded by many obstacles that carry us away: a little religiousness, a little mysticism, and some other ways to jazz up our existence. But all of this is temporary. In the end of such quests (which could be quite lengthy), a person still finds himself in the same place. He realizes that he is faced with a wall here and that he definitely must reveal the Creator no matter what. And the problem is not in the fact that he doesn’t want it.
The upper state a person has to be brought to is a special one. I must rise above egoism not so that I may feel good. In that case, I simply choose from two states the better one, which means that I act based on the old egoistic principle. A person is expected to wish for something else.
Baal HaSulam describes it in the article “There Is None Else Besides Him”: If a person has committed a sin, he must certainly regret it and be sorry for having committed it. But here, too, we should place the pain and sorrow in the right order: Where does he place the cause of the sin for that is the point that should be regretted.
Then, one should be remorseful and say: “I committed that sin because the Creator hurled me down from holiness to a place of filth….”
The same is true for the state of ascent: A person should clearly realize that it occurs solely because the Light is elevating him at the moment.
Spiritual ascent occurs in two stages. At the first stage, a person feels completely dependent on the upper governing force. The second stage is when he realizes that everything that governs him both on the outside and on the inside is the very same force. Both good and bad are still it. There is neither reward nor punishment. And naturally, there is nothing ahead since everything is programmed and he is a mere implementing instrument in the hands of the Light.
Later on, the point in the heart awakens in a person, with the help of which he is brought to the environment. The correct environment is comprised of the teacher, the Kabbalistic texts, and the group. By making an effort to work with them based on the old rules, a person still cannot receive anything spiritual since he connects with them through his egoism.
Why do we need all these stages? And there are many more inner, much more sublime degrees on top of that. All of them are designated to demonstrate to a person that there has to be another solution: to act not so that you may feel good in your egoism, but so that you bond with the environment foreign to you, with the force that seems as external to you: the Creator.
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From Lesson 4 Berlin Convention 1/29/2011
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The program of creation gets carried out in us under the influence of two opposite forces. On one hand, we have been advancing by way of egoistic development so far. On the other, at a certain moment, an additional force unfolds within us: the “point in the heart,” a desire to aim at equivalence with the Creator. This desire, albeit unconscious and confusing for now (why, what for, how?), begins to push us forth.
With time, it will emerge in all people. Based on what is happening in the world today, the process will go very quickly. After all, we don’t have that much time left: 229 years until six thousand years expire. It isn’t a long time when history is concerned.
The wisdom of Kabbalah states that there is no need for these centuries either. When the point in the heart begins to emerge in humanity, even in small part of it, literally a few years is enough to correct and complete everything, to reach the final stage of integral correction.
In that case, our whole world will rise to the next level in terms of its internal fulfillment. Nothing will happen to it; we will simply ascend in our sensations, perceptions, and in what will get revealed to us. In our life, we will rise to the higher dimension where we will feel truly infinite and complete.
Nowadays, the points in people’s hearts are “hatching” progressively fast. A person gets more familiar with this new sensation and aspiration and feels as if being drawn to or rejected from something. In beginners, this manifests as good or bad sensations: I feel good or I feel bad.
One falls into depression, after which something gets better in life, some purpose surfaces, and some light glimmers ahead. And then everything is crushed again, followed by the re-appearance of the Light, step by step.
Baal HaSulam describes this in the article "There Is None Else Besides Him": And the benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a need and a complete desire for the Creator to help him since he sees that otherwise he is lost.
In other words, the Creator is wearing us down. He, step by step, over a long period of time, for as long as necessary, keeps “terrorizing” us: a little better, a little worse, and so over and over again. Sometimes, we think that it can’t be better, and another time that it can’t be worse. Then we start getting used to one and the other and begin to realize that it is all transient. But is there an end to it, or is it an endless process? Frequencies change, so what?
And this is where free will steps in, the freedom to move forth. I cannot force my own advancement. I will be going in circles, shifting from foot to foot, state to state, better to worse, worse to better, and so on. I will be able to move on only if I increase my desires and impressions thanks to the environment. My point remains a point. I will never be able to enhance it myself. It will not “expand” and turn into a vessel comprised of the ten Sefirot, in which I will feel the spiritual world.
It will remain a point until I start connecting with others, with those around me. I must keep doing it. Therefore, when a point in a person’s heart gets formed, after a while, he or she is brought into a group. But even in the group, a person does not immediately comprehend what is happening with him and what he should do. What he must do, however, is build a connection with others.
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From Lesson 4 Berlin Convention 1/29/2011
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Question: I would like to ask about the scientists who discovered Kabbalah through external science.
Answer: Over thousands of years many scientists including Plato and Aristotle came to Kabbalah. We can’t even imagine to what extent all ancient scientists were connected to one another and knew Kabbalah.
Newton learned Hebrew in order to study Kabbalah; he has entire works and articles based on it. Kabbalah isn’t an ancient, outdated science. In reality, it is a well-known science with the exception of the last couple of hundred years when instead of dealing with real science, the scientists got involved with technology.
Some scientists attained Kabbalah due to the fact that they studied from the ancient Kabbalists. This is especially true for the scientists who lived from around 800 years BCE until the Common Era. During these 700-800 years many external scientists came to Kabbalists to study. This is when philosophy and all other sciences came about.
The scientists of the Middle Ages arrived at this on their own. They didn’t have the practical attainment of Kabbalah, but felt what this wisdom really was. They had no one to learn from because at that time everything was concealed. From the 16th century CE and on, Kabbalah started to become revealed once again.
We know that the Ramchal, a great Kabbalist of the sixteenth century, opened Kabbalah centers throughout all of Europe. Parallel to him, a great Kabbalist Abraham Abulafia literally “furrowed” the entirety of Europe in spreading Kabbalah and even taught it to a Roman Pope. They went to all extents in order to speed up the correction process.
However, these “external” scientists achieved everything mostly through their own effort. They felt that Kabbalah is a source of general knowledge, but no more than that. Although in their works we can see genuine admiration of Kabbalah, I don’t feel that they attained it internally. However, what they did is a great feat.
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From Lesson 3 Berlin Convention 1/28/2011
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