Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Discrepancy between Man’s Nature and the Nature of the Creator

When one emerges out of the bosom of creation, one is in utter egoism, self-love, and his every movement is without a shred of bestowal upon others. Thus, then one is at the farthest distance from the Creator, the property of absolute altruism. Therefore, his situation is regarded as being at the lowest point of creation.
– Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah), Item 12

Although the will to receive is a mandatory law in the creature, it nonetheless completely separates it from the Emanator. There is disparity of form to the point of oppositeness between the creature and the Emanator, between the will to receive and the will to bestow.
– Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 13

Evil, in general, is nothing more than self-love called “egoism” since it is opposite in form from the Creator who hasn’t any will to receive for Himself, but only to bestow.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”
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Filed under: Egoism, Kabbalistic Sources - 1 Comment →

Question: How should the nation of Israel living on the material level of this world participate in the general correction?

Answer: Together with correcting the spiritual Israel, we have to correct its material “hypostasis.” It is the result of the reincarnation of the souls of Israel, whereas the spiritual Israel is all those who have a point in the heart, a spiritual aspiration by which they join the process.

The difference between them lies in what they are drawn to: a person with a point in the heart is drawn to spirituality, whereas a person who does not have this point is not. Still, if a person without a point in the heart belongs to the nation of Israel (Yashar Kel, meaning those aimed straight to the Creator), then he is obligated to work on correction.

True, there is a principle stating that there is no coercion on the spiritual path. But nevertheless, this obligation is incumbent on Israel. The Torah says, “You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for Me.” And the time has come.

Of course, the responsibility of those members of Israel who have a point in the heart is different from the responsibility of those who do not have this point, who have not been awakened yet. However, this obligation is incumbent on everyone, and the external pressure of AHP, the nations of the world, is aimed precisely at making Galgalta ve Eynaim correct themselves. This pressure will only keep growing. The more we fall behind, the more AHP wants because egoism constantly grows and becomes more and more empty. That is why the pressure on Galgalta ve Eynaim will become stronger. That is how the nations indirectly incite Israel to accelerate its correction.

Therefore, people with a point in the heart, meaning the spiritual Israel, and just the Jews, the material Israel, have to actualize the correction upon themselves and attract the Light for AHP. You can’t do anything to change this fact because we are talking about a single vessel whose parts are interconnected in this way.

Question: Does this mean that two processes have to occur simultaneously?

Answer: I don’t see two processes occurring here. At the end of the “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Baal HaSulam writes about two parts of Israel: the internal and the external. The inner part are “the workers of the Creator,” those who desire to serve Him. They also divide into two parts: the inner part, those who wish to attain the intention for the sake of bestowal, and the external part, which makes material actions. Besides them, Israel also includes people who don’t know anything and aren’t interested in anything.

Similarly, the nations of the world also include two parts. The inner part wants to join us and belongs to Israel, even though it is called “Israel in the nations of the world.” And the external part is indifferent to this and feels only the troubles of this world. But we also have to awaken these people, so they will at least avoid making great mistakes in the future and will save themselves from annihilation and grave problems. That is how they join us.

In the end, correction is intended precisely for this external part—AHP. They are the goal of creation. The top priority is the will to enjoy, while Israel is not the goal of creation, but just its correction.

This is what our entire work has to be aimed at: correcting ourselves in order to bring correction to the world. This is the meaning of “a kingdom of priests.” We are servants, we serve the world.
From the lesson on 5/13/11, “A Discourse On Wisdom” by Ramchal

Filed under: Egoism, Israel, Kabbalah Dissemination, Prayer and Intention, Q&A, Spirituality, Suffering, Torah, World - 1 Comment →

Baal HaSulam, “General Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”: …as corporeal things are separated from one another by an axe and a hammer, the spirituals are separated from one another by the disparity of form between them. And when the disparity of form increases to the point of oppositeness, from one extreme to the other, complete separation is created between them.

From the perspective of the Creator, who created the will to enjoy, there is no opposition between this desire and the desire of bestowal. It’s like a baby who receives from a mother—there is no division between them. They are inseparably connected and enjoy one another.

We see how in nature, a foreign organism consisting of someone else’s flesh receives the opportunity to grow inside the mother’s body and is not perceived by her as foreign! How is this phenomenon, a fetus inside a mother’s womb, even possible considering that when we get a tiny splinter, the body immediately begins to reject the alien object? An infection immediately forms around it and the body tries to push it out and separate it.

It’s known how during an organ transplant it is very difficult to overcome this barrier, the body’s incompatibility with and rejection of an alien body. But here the opposite happens: One body grows inside of the other, and the big body is always taking care of the small body, doing everything only for its benefit!

This is an example of the will to enjoy (the fetus) and the will to bestow (the mother) not being in conflict with one another. And the same thing happens in relation to the Creator, who created the will to enjoy. This desire does not contradict or oppose bestowal.

However, if the goal is to bring this will to enjoy to the form of bestowal, then they do become opposite to one another according to their intentions. In the initial state there is a bestowing desire and a receiving one: the Creator and the creation. But there is no discrepancy between them and they are united together. But then, creation develops and acquires an egoistic intention, and now according to their intentions, they become opposite: The intention of bestowal is opposite to the intention for oneself from beginning to the end, from zero until infinity.

What we have to correct is the egoistic intention and not the desire! The desire remains in us. We always keep the will to enjoy. But the intention has to be “for the sake of bestowal.”

However, we usually get confused about this, thinking that we have to fight with our desires. Religions and different spiritual practices try to destroy the desire or decrease it. But Kabbalah says the opposite: “Increase your desire and the intention of bestowal together with it!” Then you will be able to bestow more with your actions.
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/24/11, “General Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

The Superiority of Man to the Beast

All animals completely rely on nature and are utterly incapable of progressing beyond nature, meaning beyond the qualities they are created with. Man, however, has been gifted with the power of thought. Using this power, he gradually becomes free of the chains of his nature and develops it from reception to bestowal. His task is to take example from nature and act like it.

He does not wait for nature to give him chicks, for the hen to come and incubate the eggs. Instead, he builds a machine that incubates the eggs and hatches chicks for him, just as the natural hen. Having learned about the purpose of his development, man does not wait for nature to bring him to similarity to the Creator by the slow and evil path of suffering, but rather hastens and betters his development by the power of Light.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Nation”
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Question: How can we explain our message of unity to people? Can we say that this is a natural, obvious phenomenon?

Answer: We can talk about unity by showing it from many angles. After all, unity is always beneficial if it is done for the sake of a proper and just goal. It is written, “An assembly of fools [meaning an assembly of evildoers] is bad for them and bad for the world.” On the other hand, the unity of people who desire goodness certainly benefits them and the world. We see this.

We all win by uniting. Unity is only repulsive to a person’s individual egoism because of its limited nature. It’s not that difficult to explain to people that in any situation unity accompanied by a good intention will not cause any harm to anyone and will always end up successful. Always. And only if you want to harm someone or profit at someone else’s expense and only in cases that you aim to cause direct or indirect harm will the unification be evil and undesirable.

In all other cases we can cite formulas, proofs, and examples from the lives of animals and plants, as well as human relationships, which demonstrate that unity is beneficial.

Question: Does that mean we can say that good unification is in accord with the law of nature and therefore it works?

Answer: That is what I say in all of my conversations and video conferences. Even if a person hates me, even if he is dead set against me and is pushing in the other direction, my goal is to place him and myself in a researcher’s position through the process of conversation. Even if we are the most irreconcilable enemies in the world, we are still inside of nature, so let’s take a look at it. Let’s listen to what it is saying. After all, we will definitely have to progress by its laws, and we can do it in a good way if we agree with it, or in a bad way if we don’t agree. In any case, there is nowhere for us to run from it.

And now let’s see which of us is right. Or perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle? This doesn’t matter. We, as researchers, should only recognize this picture, instead of remaining in our false, self-induced tranquility, no matter how pleasant it is.

We want to reveal the truth, and the truth is nature. You can curse at the laws of the universe, but that won’t help you because you are inside of them. This is the point we have to emphasize. More and more, scientific discoveries are indicating that we are opposite and against nature, and this opposition is being expressed as a crisis. Look at what is happening to us and where we are going because of our lack of understanding nature’s laws. That is why we have to study them.

Baal HaSulam writes about this in Item 42 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot”:
Indeed, you should know that the reason for our great distance from the Creator and that we are so prone to transgress His will, is for but one reason, which became the source of all the torment and the suffering that we suffer, and for all the sins and the mistakes that we fail in. Clearly, by removing that reason, we will instantly be rid of any sorrow and pain. We will immediately be granted adhesion with Him in heart, soul, and might. And I tell you that that preliminary reason is none other than the “lack of our understanding in His Providence over His creations,” that we do not understand Him properly.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/26/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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Question: How can we explain to people the difference between the right kind of unity and the wrong kind?

Answer: We are simply saying, “Let’s get to know nature.” I do not want to divide humanity into those who unite correctly and those who do it incorrectly, and I don’t want to analyze anyone personally. That is why we are setting up contacts with scientists—in order to show everyone what nature is. And you can decide for yourselves what to do next. Just know that the degree of your similarity to nature determines how many disasters you will receive from it. The greater is the equivalence, the less troubles and the more pleasures are waiting for you.

Everyone has to have a clear understanding of what the source of their suffering is. Humanity is asking this question, and we will give it the answer. In our times it is already possible to explain things. Previously it was impossible to explain anything because we first had to reach the maximal, global, integral egoism. But today we have reached this level and therefore we can explain the general picture of what is happening to people.

From here on we will explain it in increasingly easier words, reformulating it again and again, and using this as a basis to explain the source of people’s problems in their family, with their children, with their health, at the bank, at work, on the roads, with one’s self, and so on.

After all, the general nature is essentially your entire life. Inside of this picture you will be able to find your attitude to everything, including football, work, and death….

However, you are still not expressing yourself in this picture. Newton revealed the law of gravity thanks to an apple that fell. However, the law operated before that as well. Similarly, it would be good if someone would “get it” and recognize the universal law of nature in order to tell the world about it. But if we wait for this to happen without giving a preliminary “presentation,” then we will pay too high a price.

By now I can already talk about this with anyone. The knowledge is in my hands, but let’s check it together. It belongs to everyone and if everyone learns it, we will all win. So let’s see whether or not I am right.

This is a very sound, scientific approach, pure of any personal biases. And I am willing to check myself as well. Most importantly, look at what is being revealed by a science that has reached us through many millennia. And it is especially relevant to the present moment, to whether or not we will have the means to live tomorrow, whether we will survive or fall in war.

In short, from the entire picture of nature, you cite the facts that confirm how everything aspires to unity. All of the still, vegetative, and animate nature is in balance, in homeostasis, in a fine interaction between different species. It seems to us that they simply eat each other, but in reality this is mutual existence. That is how the cells in our bodies exist as well.

Obviously, it is not simple to raise people slightly above their current level, but there is no other choice. You cannot leave them on the “animate” level and keep them on the infusion of the upper Light to change them from the inside. They have to come a bit closer to it themselves as well.

You come closer to them by trying to give them explanations that are as simple as possible, while the Creator will awaken their interest or even nudge them forward with blows so they would gain a greater awareness of the modern troubles and will be more willing to listen to the rationale. Then you will meet in some place: You with your maximally simplified explanations, and they with the attention span they are capable of having.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/26/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Egoism Is Embedded in the Nature of Every Person

Egoism is not natural self-love, which is entirely positive, individual force of existence. In that respect, it does not altogether contradict the altruistic force, although it does not serve it.

Egoism is progressive hatred and exploitation of one’s friend to ease one’s own existence. It contradicts and is the complete opposite of the love of others and destroys the society.
– Baal HaSulam, “The Nation”
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Question: We say that excessive consumption is consumption at others’ expense. However, in order to see the evil contained in it, do we have to peek at the end of the movie?

Answer: No. The Creator does not have a shortage of minerals, vitamins, oil, gas, water, or anything else. He arranges troubles for you in this world so you would begin becoming aware of your loss. You are losing out.

The Creator does not show you that in reality you are letting the spiritual world pass by because then you would lose the freedom of choice. Instead He puts you under the blows of this world, from which you begin to realize the evil of your nature. You don’t reveal the Creator as being the cause of your troubles, but your own egoism.

Then, unable to correct it, you begin to regret having it. That is how you gradually come to the realization of evil. So what should you do with it? How can you climb out of the trap? Slowly but surely, you come closer to the solution.

Lack of resources, natural disasters, and people stealing from each other are all artificial things at the end of the day. This is “small change” intended to help us eventually reveal the fact that we are stealing the spiritual world from one another.

In reality, why should I share what I have with you and satisfy myself with the bare necessities? It’s only in order to learn from this and acquire the desires that aspire to spirituality. This is the goal, and everything is structured precisely this way from the beginning. Otherwise every person would have gotten his own planet.
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/22/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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Dear Friends, please ask questions about these passages from the great Kabbalists. The commentaries in brackets are mine.

Egoism Is Embedded in the Nature of Every Person

The nature of each and every person is to exploit the lives of all other people in the world for his own benefit [without considering the profit of another at all]. And all that he gives to another [by using him or her] is only out of necessity; and even then there is exploitation of others in it, but it is done cunningly [by distributing prizes or rewards, privileges to disguise the exploitation], so that his friend will not notice it and concede willingly.
– Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”

Anything outside one’s own body is regarded as unreal and empty. And any movement that a person makes to love another is performed only…to receive a reward. Thus, such an act cannot be considered “love of another” because it is judged by its end. …But making any kind of movement only as a result of love for others, without…any hope for any kind of self-gratification in return, is completely impossible by nature.
– Baal HaSulam, Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah), Item 13
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Kabbalah talks about desire. There is no time, motion, or space, but only a state of being. Then how about the past and the future? And how about the spiritual worlds? I don’t feel them.

So are there other states in existence besides the current one, besides our world? I don’t know because I have not experienced them. I don’t have sensations or Reshimot from there. I cannot reach them now and confirm their authenticity.

A person judges everything by what he sees. This is not just an axiom, but the result of what the desire feels when it has developed to the level of being where it is aware of itself and understands what it feels. Otherwise we become detached from reality and go off into fantasies.

I don’t talk about the higher dimension myself. I am told about it by Kabbalists, whom I trust. I consider their words true when they tell me that it is possible to exist in different states. “Aspire to them, ascend to them,” the Kabbalists tell me. “They are better than what you now feel.” Then I move from one state to the next in my desire by correcting and improving it. By revealing it as giving, I reveal new states in it.

In our times all of humanity is crossing this vertical axis in order to move from below upwards. We have completed the horizontal axis of history and there is nowhere to keep moving on it. From here on, our path is upwards.

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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/21/11, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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