It is forbidden to nationalize property before the public reaches this moral level. Before there is a reliable moral factor in the public, the collective will not have fuel for work.

The whole world is one family. … However, the actual process is gradual (Baal HaSulam, The Writings of the Last Generation) 

Comment: Baal HaSulam points out several prerequisites before people can move to an altruistic society.

My Response: If I am not sure that 90% of what I have made with my own hands, have extracted from the ground, and so on, goes to society and ultimately to me, then I will not be able to work.

Question: So is this process likely to take hundreds of years?

Answer: I would not say it would take hundreds of years, but a couple of generations, yes. About fifty years.

The realization should be in steps: first in the form of knowledge, then in awareness, and then in the realization itself.
[333324]
From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 8/8/24

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Question: We know that approximately 10% of the world’s population are altruists. Among them, there are effective altruists who aim to track the results of each donation, every dollar spent, and make it as effective as possible.

How do you feel about this approach to altruism and donations?

Answer: It is good. Naturally, I welcome it. Humanity, at the very least, will know that it is investing in its future, and this future is real. The result is what matters here.

Question: Unlike other types of philanthropic activities, how important is connection to the result when giving? Let’s say I donated money to charity and do not know what happens to it. But my ego is at peace, I have no moral dilemmas about whether what I did is right or wrong.

In this case, however, I constantly have to think: was it effective, was it not effective, did it bring benefits, or did it not? Is this attachment to the result normal?

Answer: Yes, it is necessary. To achieve some more or less positive result, we need to calculate its possibility.

Question: If we talk, not about achieving a result, but about the act of giving, about charity from the point of view of human egoism, is it still normal?

Are additional formulas or calculations needed? Or is it like a regular business?

Answer: I think it is enough to use the principles of regular business. Although, many additional tools will appear to determine the effectiveness of the contribution.

It is still unknown how much investing in science and culture gives a positive result. Here it is necessary to clearly think through how the right answer will come.

Question: In what direction should we at least direct our thoughts?

Answer: In the direction of what we desire from our investment, what the gain should be: in resources, in money, in increasing connections, and so on. We need to clearly define what we consider a positive result.
[331568]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: There are two opposites in Israeli society. On one hand, we are a stiff-necked people with rigid walls separating us. On the other hand, we feel that we are one nation, and this has been preserved for thousands of years. The sense of community is strongly manifested in times of danger and tragedy.

What type of altruism, the most genuine mutual assistance, is needed for Israeli society? What should we strive for in order to direct a part of our lives toward altruism?

Answer: Throughout thousands of years we have experienced many twists and turns in our history. The most important thing for us is to be ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the overall connection of the entire society, the entire nation. This is what Kabbalah calls for, and I believe this is correct.
[331999]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: If you look at the process that is happening now in the development of humanity with slightly different eyes, is it correct? We see how people’s lives have become easier. Society limits egoism. If earlier you could go out and do whatever you want with impunity, today the individual is very much protected. In principle, this is correct, is this progress?

Answer: This is progress, but of course it is still not enough.

Question: Yes, this still does not lead to the recognition of the evil of human nature. From the point of view of what Baal HaSulam writes and what we study in Kabbalistic sources, recognition can only exist when there is some kind of standard. What could this standard be? What should we look up to?

Answer: Kabbalists describe this as an example of the last generation, as an example of human society reaching some new milestones so that we climb them like degrees of a ladder, and at each degree we master new rules, new obligations, new types of connections between us.

We cannot yet implement the principles set forth in Baal HaSulam’s article “The Last Generation,” but we can compare our current state and relationships in society with the way it should be.

Question: In other works, Baal HaSulam writes that the Creator Himself is the standard. But we cannot take Him as an example since He is concealed and everyone deciphers the Creator as they wish.

Therefore, I ask: How can a person come to the recognition of evil if he has no standard, no society with correct ideas from which to take an example?

Answer: No, we will gradually build such a society, starting with nurseries, kindergartens, schools, and ending with higher educational institutions and society. We are trying to introduce an educational image, an educational force into all these institutions, to give them the right leadership. Still, the world is changing.
[331762]
From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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Question: Effective altruists believe that the lives of future generations have the same value as the lives of people currently living. Therefore, they focus their activities on reducing future risks to human development.

That is, I can equally invest in improving life now or, say, in two generations. Is this the right approach?

Answer: No, we must strive for greater productivity from our investments. So, I do not think it should be like that.

Comment: If we expand this question from a business point of view. There are local goals and global, strategic goals that businessmen try to calculate for a long period of time. That is, strategically, I want to calculate something that will take a long time and will bear fruit perhaps in a generation or two.

Answer: I believe that it is impossible for us to calculate this now. Maybe this will be possible with the development of artificial intelligence. But even this is just the beginning of a new movement.

I think that so far, we have no serious grounds for this. We are unable to assess the future in a generation or two.

Question: Is it better to really invest in what you have now rather than make illusory plans for the distant future?

Answer: Yes, we see that in our time, no matter what we invest in, there is a certain percentage that is not fulfilled and do not provide profit in any form.
[331665]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: In principle, the usual investment of funds in some projects is usually a big problem because the money often just disappears, and we see no results.

However, effective altruists want to see results. Their approach is criticized because it is extremely difficult or almost impossible to predict the results on several levels.

We have many examples of this. Suppose anti-mosquito nets are donated to overcome malaria, and the effectiveness of their use can be calculated. But they are also used for other purposes; for example, fishing in Africa, which pollutes the environment. That is, there are unforeseen consequences that could not be calculated.

Usually, people can calculate the consequences on one or at most two levels. If we are talking about more distant consequences, these must either be wise decisions or it all turns into hypotheses.

How important is it to move toward more advanced calculations: the second level of consequences, the third, the fourth?

Answer: I do not think it is necessary at all. After all, if we had vast resources and invested them for a long time, such plans would obviously be very helpful.

But we see that all our plans evaporate very quickly, and we have to look for something new. Or, on the contrary, there are such changes in science and technology that what we had high hopes for is completely ineffective today and we need other levels of development. I think this is not the way to approach the development process.

The strategy should be like running in spurts: once we have a small achievement, we make the next calculation; another small achievement, another calculation.
[331714]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: The effective altruists movement has websites that allow a person to build their future life. They advise young people who have graduated from high school what occupation to get, how to build a career, and how to plan their lives on the basis that part of their actions will be aimed at bestowal. Is this the right approach?

Answer: This may be the right approach, but it must be proven in action. Then it will be possible to rely on its requirements and descriptions; otherwise, it will float in the air without any basis.

You still need to prove the value of your approach, which must be accepted by the majority.

Question: It seems to me that the idea of effective altruism will be accepted by a person from an early age. Even when the majority accepts it, should there still be a test of viability? Or are the opinions of people who can serve as an example for others enough to make such a judgment?

Answer: Here we must take into account what the majority means, who creates it, who controls it. After all, we can talk about huge amounts. I think that only a wide circle of completely different people can evaluate and recommend this or that direction in supporting some special actions.

Question: As I understand it, the general public includes people who are outstanding in some areas. Do you think that they can reach a consensus on some issues? We see that this is not happening much in the world.

Answer: This is a problem. The fact is that we do not yet have a firm assessment of what real, good altruism means, how to evaluate it, weigh it, measure it, and what we can do with it in the future.

Altruism and the future, these states develop in a person and in society in such a way that society cannot really judge it.

Therefore, I do not think that we are already approaching a point where it is desirable for us to evaluate our actions based on the principle of altruism.
[331835]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: Effective altruists believe that giving is as relevant to those who do not have billions of dollars as to those who do. That is, anyone can donate to charity. And if he does not evaluate how effective it was, he is doing his job wrong.

They say directly: “Giving is work.” Do you agree with this?

Answer: Indeed, this is a big job, and we must weigh it correctly.

Question: Although you said it is too early to discuss the criteria for such work, what are they?

Answer: Working for bestowal should be understandable to as wide a circle of society as possible, even to the point of broad, open voting for specific steps. Then we can be more or less sure we are acting correctly.

That is, for each person voting the result is not directly related to him, so some kind of assessment in the right direction is possible on his part.
[331948]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: The income strategy for effective altruists involves a high-paying job.

Modern philosophers have developed the idea that there is no need to consider the possible unethical actions of a person while earning money since the benefits of what a person earns and donates will be much greater than the unethical actions while working. What do you think about this approach?

Answer: I do not think that is an excuse. No way! We must act as it is said: “A wise man has only what his eyes see.” What he sees, he can take into account, evaluate, and make a decision about; this is the most important thing.

Question: What should people do in border areas when they need to know whether it is ethical or not to take a step left or right?

Answer: We must act as ethically as possible and, in no case, succumb to the general flight into fantasy. A person must have a system of values that cannot be crossed.
[331795]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: Effective altruists, on average, donate significantly more money than is accepted in society. Some of them feel they have a moral duty to alleviate the suffering of others through donations unless those donations would bring a comparable level of suffering to themselves. This is their formula.

How much do you think a person should donate? Is there any criterion?

Answer: No, there are no criteria. I think some reasonable limit is necessary so that a person does not suddenly begin to get carried away by absurd ideas and sacrifice for such things that will show their inconsistency, if not today, then tomorrow.

Question: Should we give everything that comes to us so that we simply level ourselves out?

Answer: No, not in any case! If we begin to give away what we have earned and deserve, we will turn into the same beggars with an outstretched hand as those who expect alms from us. Therefore, I think this approach is wrong.
[331759]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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