Our forefathers lived ages ago, but those who are most important for us are our relatives: our grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother. Our mother and father are undoubtedly the most important since it is through them that we connect to all the generations that preceded them.

This refers both to our corporeal parents and to our spiritual parents. This is also how we connect to our upper father and mother (AVI), our spiritual parents, in order to receive the power, the Light, through them. All our work is in subduing ourselves before them.

Everything depends on the extent to which we can take an example from them and our wanting to be like them, to learn from them, and to subdue ourselves before their greatness. Our ego is intentionally meant for us to criticize them, and our work is to ascend above this criticism, although we disagree.

It is natural to disagree with our father and mother because we are on a lower level, but when we ascend above all the doubts, the questions, the difficulties, and the disagreements with the upper level, it is thanks to this that we ascend.

First, we totally nullify ourselves and incorporate in the upper like an embryo. Then, we move to the phase of Yenika (suckling) and Mochin (mind) and become more independent. All these levels are based on self-annulment, the restrictions of the ego, the acquisition of a Masach (screen), and on working above the criticism that is invoked in us toward the upper.

Therefore, the role of the nation is to annul themselves before the sages, the Kabbalists, to listen to them and serve them in any way possible. We actually must use the Kabbalist’s reason and listen to his advice when he tells us which steps we must take in order to advance spiritually.

This is also how we should act with regard to the world. Israel is called Li Rosh (I have a head), and so those who are on the level of Israel and attain spirituality must fulfill their role with regard to others. We either belong to Yashar El (straight to the Creator), and thus guide others, or to the nation, and then we subdue ourselves with regard to this guidance and follow it.

This refers especially to our nation when we try to reach a state in which everything that is written in the Torah is actually taking place in practice. We are the first generation that is trying, that is making an effort, to fulfill the Torah as well as to set an example for others, which means to reach a connection that is equal to the form of the upper, to the Creator’s form.

Thus, we establish relationships in the group and outside the group, among the nation and outside the nation. Thus, everything is organized in levels, in the shape of a pyramid, and the one below who subdues himself more than others, ascends higher than others.

Now, he is below since he has a Reshimo (reminiscence) from the big Masach that he once had and which he fulfilled it in order to bestow. Now that the Masach is shattered, he fell to the lowest level.

If he annuls himself, his ego, rises above it, and each time attributes himself to a level that is higher than he is, he will reach the top of the pyramid. Thus, the whole pyramid becomes a circle, and we return to the state of Ein Sof (Infinity), of one vessel and one Light.

During the time of the corrections, the time of the work, we have no other choice but to subdue ourselves before the upper. Everyone should understand who his upper is and from whom he receives the method, the Torah, the guidance along the way. Then, all the corrections will become the same, which means that they all form a circle.
[138136]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/23/14

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Question: If it is necessary to apply the spiritual law of Arvut (mutual guarantee) twenty-four hours per day, why were we given this entire world with all of these concerns—work, family, and children—that take up 95% of our time?

Answer: Everything is arranged such that, from all these conditions, you will reach the realization of the goal. If it takes 95% of the time, then 5% of the time is probably enough for spiritual work.

Ninety-five percent (95%) of the time you must work in the material world, and 5% is left to you for inner work and dissemination. This means that you are under conditions where the Creator says, “I will take upon myself 95% of your spiritual work!” Instead, you go to work, the market, the bank, the family, and so forth, and all that comprises this 95% of your time will be considered as if you were engaged in spiritual work.

However, during the 5%, you must be involved with spiritual work with all your might. If you do that, then 100% of your life will be dedicated to attaining the spiritual goal and correction.
[137402]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/13/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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In the News (from ABC Net): “In a commentary piece in this week’s Nature, Dr Robert Costanza, chair in Public Policy at ANU, and his colleagues argue that GDP should be replaced with a more sophisticated metric that represents a more comprehensive account of a nation’s economic well-being. …

“Whatever you think it is that makes life worth living, as Robert F Kennedy pointed out in 1968, it’s almost a sure bet that it isn’t measured by Gross Domestic Product, or GDP.

GDP simply measures a nation’s raw economic activity in terms of production and consumption. It makes no attempt to factor in the depletion of natural resources or the degradation of the environment. It cares not for income inequality and all the ills that come with it. It doesn’t pretend to discriminate between beneficial economic activity (new infrastructure, investment in education, disease prevention, etc) and negative activity (the cost of crime, pollution, etc). And it entirely ignores whole swathes of fruitful activity, such as housework or volunteering in the community.

“One sign of how destitute GDP is as a metric of well-being is that it tends to go up after a natural disaster. Reconstruction and remediation spur intense activity that is registered by GDP, while the destruction, lives lost, suffering and disruption to families and communities in the wake of a flood, cyclone or bushfire are ignored.

“One of the frontrunners to replace GDP is the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). It was proposed in 1989 and has been developed since to accurately measure not just economic activity, but also how that activity impacts the well-being of individuals living in that economy, and how sustainable that activity is.

“It effectively uses GDP as its foundation, but then scrutinizes economic activity in more detail, making subtractions for negative activity and adding in beneficial activity that is overlooked by GDP. …

“It also factors in the environment, in terms of the cost of pollution, the loss of wetlands and farmland, the depletion of natural resources and the emission of carbon dioxide. It also takes account of the cost of crime, not only in terms of direct impacts, but also the cost of policing, prisons and even the amount of money spent on locks and alarms.

“GPI isn’t the only alternative to GDP, but it is one of the most respected by economists and public policy experts around the world. The question now is: what’s stopping us from adopting it?

“’It’s going to take some therapy to make the transition to a sustainable economy that isn’t based on growth or GDP but on improvement of well-being,’ Costanza said.

“While the unbridled pursuit of GDP growth has not done much to increase our well-being over the past few decades, it has been a triumph for big business and the finance sector, i.e. those who disproportionately benefit from raw economic activity. Not surprisingly, as a result of this windfall, these sectors – and the politicians who serve them – are likely to resist any move to a more comprehensive metric of national economic well-being.”

My Comment: No matter what is measured or how what is important is the principle, the purpose of development, for what? It is necessary to curb appetites, take from nature only what is needed, and use our free time to re-educate humanity. Otherwise, we are heading to a looming confrontation with nature, which will be reflected in all aspects of our life.

Usually people understand nature of the world around us at the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate, and exclude ourselves from this definition. This is our fault; after all, we are also under the control of nature and under its laws. We use these laws erroneously, harm ourselves, and use the intelligence that was given to us against ourselves. Kabbalah warns of the impending retribution for our disregard of nature.
[138155]

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In the News (from Global Research): “We are living through a chronically tense and, in wealthy parts of the world, a desperately self-indulgent era. Advertising teaches that fulfillment comes with compulsive consumption. News media trivialize history and turn current events into a competition of spectacles and personality cults. Addicted to fads and the quick fix, frightened of the future and cut adrift from the past, millions of people flee from imagination and look for meaning in pre-digested realities.

“Societal narcissism has reached the epidemic level. Capitalism has turned self promotion into a growth industry, with success often resting on the ability to project a ‘winning personality’ and often false image. Relentless self-promotion, whether by conservative demagogues or their liberal counterparts, meshes neatly with an idealization of powerful people who represent what the narcissist seeks.

“The abdication of responsibility to various bureaucracies has meanwhile promoted character traits consistent with a corrupted culture, and this in turn has accelerated the excesses of corporate capitalism. The result is a kind of mass neurosis. Images of a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ parent, objects of love and hatred, are formed early, internalized, and become part of the self-image of children. But rather than fusing into a super-ego that also contains social values and self-confidence, these early images often melt into a harsh, punishing super-ego.

“The decay of older traditions of self-help has eroded competence in one area after another, leaving the individual dependent on the state, corporations, and other bureaucratic structures. Narcissism is the psychological dimension of this dependence. Popular culture feeds on narcissistic fantasies, encouraging delusions of omnipotence while simultaneously reinforcing feelings of dependence and discouraging strong emotions.”

My Comment: Overdeveloped egoism is incurable. It will continue its mutations and bring us to complete cultural degeneration. The only obstacle in its path will be continuous integral education.
[138256]

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Rabash, Letter 24: You know what Baal HaSulam said, that from the relationship between man and man one learns how to behave in the relationship between man and the Creator. This is so because the Upper Light is in complete rest, and it is necessary to always evoke the love, “Until the love of our wedding pleases.”

That is, it is shown to you from above that you have to keep awakening the love of the Creator in this way and that you must always stand guard, all day and all night, when you feel a state of day or feel a state of night.

It follows that you must evoke the heart of the friends until the flame rises by itself. By that, you will be rewarded with awakening the love of the Creator upon us.

It is known that in analog systems, all of their parts are absolutely linked with each other, as in the human body where the life of every cell depends upon the cells around it. This cell lives solely and only thanks to the sustenance that it gets from outside.

So a person cannot live alone either. If he throws himself into a forest and wants to live like a hermit detached from the whole world, he shouldn’t complain later that he cannot satisfy all of his needs. After all, we get everything required for life from the environment.

From the Shevirat HaKelim (shattering of the vessels) we see even more clearly how much each one of us is not personally ready to attract and receive any illumination, neither from the Light that Reforms, nor from the Light of fulfillment of a person who is already corrected. For all correction is in connection with others.

After this, connection is realized and exists to a particular degree, then it is possible to speak about fulfillment. So the only thing that we require is to be concerned about connection. This is because the inclination to connect is an inclination towards the Creator who is revealed within the connection.

Everyone must awaken the heart of the friend, provide him with an example of how he can himself be awakened and can yearn for the friends. It is necessary to awaken and ignite envy in each other’s heart, an inclination towards respect, and to use all means that will influence a person so that somehow he will push him forward towards connection.

We need to see our lives as a sequence of moments that come from the Creator to show us new observations all the time by placing us into new situations where we awaken our environment. For we have no other work besides awakening our environment with the goal of discovering the Creator within our mutual connection.

Serving the Creator becomes more and more concrete and concentrated in a very limited area. So Rabash writes that “all day and all night,” meaning in both of these situations, the good feelings and the bad feelings, we must understand that the Creator is giving us an opportunity at every moment to awaken the friends to mutual connection between us.

Only according to the manner in which I awaken the environment does the environment awaken me. I have no power to connect with the friends myself and I have no desire to ask for it. I get it only to the degree that I awaken them to connection. All of our work begins from this.

I cannot turn to the Creator by myself, I cannot yearn for connection, and I cannot yearn for correction. This is possible only through my awakening the others. Certainly, we first work on this within our inner circle. But we go out to external dissemination with the goal of awakening people so that they will also begin to move towards that point of connection.

To the degree that each one of us succeeds in awakening the friends, his inner circle, and the whole world, which is the outer circle, to this degree he will himself receive a desire to connect with them and will reach a place where the Creator is revealed.
[138163]
From the preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/14

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In realizing the integral method, we distinguish two circles: The inner circle is us, people with the “point in the heart” who are managed by a Reshimo, a spiritual spark, that belongs to a connection with the Creator, and the outer circle is the main mass of humanity, the level of the nations of the world.

We have an inner struggle, all kinds of negative and positive discharges, because internally we are in constant Brownian motion, with annihilation, with all kinds of problems of spiritual growth, while among the masses, there is no growth.

They come to integral learning only because it is good for them to be in a collective like this. A person goes to work recharged in his circle. He has an excellent mood and normal pressure, and the problems with the boss and in the family are significantly reduced. It’s kind of a spiritual yoga.

Millions of people in the world practice yoga in the morning to calm their nerves, and then they go to work. Who benefits from this? Not the nation, not the person himself, and not society.

Integral circles should be a morning exercise for the general public. The whole nation will sit together in circles and look at each other with love.

We want to add even more pleasure in life to people so that they will be relaxed, will not fight with each other, and will be freed from tensions. Everything will be okay for them in the family. The closer that they come to the Light, the more orderly and flourishing their lives will become. They will have no contradictions with the Light.

Adam (man) is a yearning for the Creator, and with the general public, this level has not yet been discovered. This is because they are on the level of the beast in which there is no contradiction. There is no second line that causes a need to create a third line. So, they evolve according to another principle that is different from ours.

If we and our inner world have changed within the past twenty or thirty years, their image of the world will change within a few months because they have no inner struggle with opposites. They have no collision of two worlds, the upper and the physical. They don’t have problems like we do: struggles and scrutinies. They put themselves under the influence of the Light that is conveyed through us, and it will be good for them.

They don’t need twenty or thirty years to be changed. A month or two is enough for them. We sit, we talk, we dance, we smile at each other, and this is all. With this, they become similar to the Light, and we must bring them to this state of equivalence that exists on their level.

For a human, there is not a full, natural instinct as there is with an animal, in order to be similar to the Light that comes close to him directly as it does with a child. We need to add this, and then they will combine together with us into a single whole.

After this, Reshimot, spiritual sparks, for attaining the Creator will be discovered in them, and then a huge mass of people will appear that will summon the Upper Light, which will be immeasurably larger than what we can summon.
[138013]
From the Sochi Convention 6/10/14, Lesson 2

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Question: We have a huge world group, but each one in his country or in his region doesn’t know what the others are doing. There is no cooperation between the groups so that we can carry out the same thing in parallel.

Answer: It could be that this isn’t bad. A more rapid scrutiny of all kinds of different questions is happening.

It is impossible to carry out something as an order. When you feel the necessity for each other, then this will happen. But the imperative will appear only from the need to increase the spiritual intensity of your mutual cooperation. You will feel that you cannot advance forward without feeling the other groups.

Certainly it is possible to adapt to this artificially, but the feeling of a necessity must still come from within. You can begin to work together, and after that you will see.

For example, when we organized a large dissemination activity in Israel, we began to feel how much all of our groups were necessary. We began to join them to a common work and they all went out together to the same activities, each in his own region. From this we began to feel closeness. We began to think: “How can we still connect?” Then we began to organize a convention.

We dedicated an entire evening to this. We sent buses all over the country at our expense, we brought people to us. We fed them for free, both physically and spiritually. We organized workshops, joint activities, and we prepared a nice artistic program. We began to feel that we were involved with one shared enterprise and we felt ourselves as one whole.

So first of all, you must share the same work: you with yourselves and other groups with themselves. This is because in the beginning you need to create a common basis, and only after, can you send one group to another group and exchange experiences.

Question: In this connection many contradictions appeared with us regarding what love of friends is.

Answer: You don’t have any love of friends! You are now thinking about love for them because everyone says that without them you will not get what you want. But if you could get it, you would not remember them at all! We should really look at things. Therefore, it is necessary to develop mutual participation throughout.
[138118]
From the Sochi Convention 6/10/14, Lesson 2

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Question: Baal HaSulam wrote in the newspaper The Nation about the threat of the Holocaust almost eighty years ago. Is our situation today better than it was then, or does it only seem that way to us since hatred and anti-Semitism have just kept going and growing everywhere?

Answer: The situation today is much worse than what it was before the Second World War. This is because the threatening situation that is being created today is everywhere and not just for one nation and some of its allies.

This was a small area in relation to the entire world, and the Jews could rely on the help of other people and nations. Today, there is nobody and nothing to rely upon. Even the United Nations, which is the representative of all the nations, is against Israel. So, we have nowhere to flee.

Besides this, the situation today is much worse than before because it was founded on and has grown on the basis of a general breakdown, the global crisis, in everything and in all aspects. Humanity is going to lose all rational direction and lose everything. When it finds itself in such a bad state, it will blame the Jews for all of its problems and failures. We hear about these accusations from everyone because the crisis is global.

This is such a terrible situation that in comparison Hitler will seem like a little child playing pranks in his backyard. The present Holocaust could spread around the entire globe.

Question: We see that many European nations who supported us before are now united with our enemies, and so we need to mobilize all of our forces, and it could be that we are doing this, but I don’t see true understanding among the public. Everyone is more concerned about money and property, and doesn’t want to hear us that much. How do we awaken people and explain that the situation today is similar to the situation that existed before the Holocaust?

Answer: Try to bring this to people. Baal HaSulam didn’t succeed, but we must succeed in doing this. He did everything possible, and he published a newspaper when everyone was afraid of saying a word. The haters broke his windows with stones many times.

We are facing dissemination operations that are broad and powerful in scope, but we must prepare ourselves for them by searching and finding points of contact with people and influential points both in Israel and the entire world. We are succeeding every day in making our explanations more accessible. It might also be worthwhile for us to publish a newspaper and distribute it both on the street and on the Internet.

It is necessary to try to do everything possible. I am looking at the future optimistically. I see the great rate with which we now have begun dissemination. The main thing is not to reduce the rate or pressure and to organize workshops in circles and  roundtables. Then we surely will succeed and can advance people towards the goal of creation more rapidly than the troubles that come at us and overtake us from behind.

If we advance even more rapidly, then these troubles will become helpful and will serve us as a support. In the beginning, we only run away from them, and after that, we completely turn them around. We yearn for a state of “bestowal for the sake of bestowal,” and after that, a state of “reception for the sake of bestowal,” and then we use the troubles and problems for our own good.
[137920]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/20/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Baal HaSulam, “The Nation”: Hence, we have taken upon ourselves the publication of this paper, to stand guard and warn of the trouble, and explain it to the public until all the segregating elements will be silenced.

Question: It is no secret that in our day publications are undergoing a crisis. Will newspapers survive in the future?

Answer: It is difficult to say how much longer they will last considering the strength of electronic formats. Today a person essentially doesn’t need a newspaper or a book, he sees everything on a computer screen conveniently and comfortably where one can adjust the font and style of the text.

Today it is possible to take electronic devices everywhere, like a newspaper. And tomorrow we will really be able to open an article and keyboard in the air in front of us, in the form of a hologram generated from some small device the size of a wristwatch.

So I don’t see a future for the printed materials, not for a newspapers or books, besides our books, even though most of them will be transferred to a screen format.

Humanity is creating electronic instruments according to its desire, and this is becoming more sophisticated all the time. So I suppose that there won’t be a return to the era of print.
[137960]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/22/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut”(Mutual Guarantee): The work in Torah and Mitzvot is expressed in the words, “and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests.” A kingdom of priests means that all of you, from youngest to oldest, will be like priests….so will the entire nation be organized so that the whole earth and everything in it will be dedicated to the Creator only.

It turns out that he who harvests his field in order to feed his fellow person is the same as he who sacrifices to the Creator. Moreover, it seems that the Mitzva, “Love thy friend as thyself,” is more important than he who makes the sacrifice….

The closer a person’s actions are to serving the physical needs of others, the higher his work is. If I have stitched sandals for a friend with loyalty and love, like Rabbi Yochanan, the Shoemaker, then with this I have done work that is greater and more important than the work that the High Priest does in the Temple in the Holy of Holies on the Yom Kippur (Day of Judgment).

All the more so, if I go out of my way, out of my surroundings to the wider public in order to explain to a person the goal of creation and to attract him to it, to give him a little knowledge about it, to give him support, to lend a helping hand, then there is no more important work than this. It is even impossible to compare how important this work is compared to all other work.
[137784]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/18/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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