A question I received: There are many methods that teach people how to exit their egoistic desires. How does Kabbalah view them?

My Answer: All these methods will disappear in the very near future because they don’t hold the power to draw a person out of his egoistic nature. The only thing they can do is numb our egoistic desires. But because our desires are growing and all these methods act in a direction opposite to this growth, they distance a person from the society and from life. It’s because what they offer a person is a complete separation from all the problems by way of meditation and other “tricks.”

In addition, these methods are incapable of creating a connection between people. As a rule, people who use these methods separate from each other. Nature, however, is pushing us toward unity. This is why these methods are proving ineffectual.

Kabbalah, on the other hand, will remain for two main reasons. First, Kabbalah works with a person’s huge egoistic desire, which has developed throughout human history, and which people cannot escape. Second, the method of Kabbalah explains how to utilize this enormous egoism without diminishing it, but rather by changing its application toward benefiting oneself and others. This is the work one does with one’s egoism without denying one’s nature and anything in this world, and without destroying any of one’s natural qualities. After all, Kabbalah tells us that it is necessary to use everything that we have.

In addition, with the help of the science of Kabbalah, we can effectively correct the division between people. All other methods only speak of the fact that we must love each other. Take for instance, the situation in India: The caste system that exists there in order to divide people does not prevent them from talking about “love of others.”

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A question I received from my student: The desire “to bestow to others” also implies an egoistic desire to receive something for oneself, because “I want” to bestow. So is this really bestowal?

My Answer: The desire to bestow is not related to one’s regular desires. However, “giving to others” as most people understood it today, is not a desire to bestow at all, because this is the same egoistic desire for pleasure, which simply appears as if it is being used for the sake of another person.

This is why a desire to bestow directly to another person does not exist in Nature. It is impossible, because it is equivalent to coming out of oneself.

So what are we to do? We have to try to “come out of ourselves.” If a person makes this attempt, he will reach the understanding that only the Creator can do this for him. And then he will reveal the Creator!

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Imagine that you’re an egoist in your own family and that you treat your family members the same way you treat the rest of the world: “maximum reception and minimum bestowal.” You lie to your son in order to get something from him, all the while feeling great as you do it! You steal your children’s food from the refrigerator and you try to con and swindle them. This is just as your attitude toward the whole world is: “work less, earn more.”

If the whole world today is interdependent and we’re all one family, whether or not we want it to be this way, our behavior towards the world is like using our children for personal benefit. 

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A question I received: How can one come to hate his egoism without hating others at the same time?

My Answer: The problem with today’s world is that everyone blames everyone else. But if we are speaking of a closed, integral system, then everyone in it is to blame; no one is right or wrong. If evil exists, it’s a result of each and every one of us.

If all the cogwheels are connected with each other, there isn’t a wheel that can escape reward and punishment; they are all connected. You can’t say that someone must turn or force others to turn because of others; all move simultaneously. Therefore, our correction must be mutual. This means that we must all simultaneously decide: “Let’s stop turning in opposite directions and begin to turn the same direction, as one for the sake of the other.”

Everyone is to blame for what is happening in the world. There are no criminals or victims. We are all absolutely equally responsible for all that is bad and good. This is because we live in an integral world and the representation of an integral world is a “circle” which does not have a beginning or an end. So, there is no one to blame. Everyone contributes to everything that happens in human society.

We have to attain the nature of a whole integral system and to start treating everyone differently. If I reach the recognition of evil, I come to realize that I am the only criminal in the world.

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In the News (from The Guardian): “Germany passes law imposing limits on executive pay” – Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on Thursday approved a law, which will place restrictions on executive pay. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) hope the law will encourage firms to focus on long-term performance rather than short-term gain.

If management board members are held liable for damage to their firm, they can be made to pay for this out of their own pocket. The figure will total at least ten percent of the damage, but no more than 1.5 times their fixed annual salary.

My Comment: These measures will not help because until egoism is corrected, people will use all possible means to circumvent the laws which limit their egoistic fulfillment, even if this fulfillment is counter to common sense. It is impossible to go against Nature despite common sense, but it is evident that restrictions of personal maximum pay are beneficial for someone on a personal level!

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A question I received: It is known that we only use 2% of our brain. Could we say that spiritual development will allow us to develop the existing but unused potential of our brain?

My answer: 2% is more than enough for this world. What’s the purpose of the remaining 98%? The function of this “excess” volume is spiritual advancement, meaning the development of the soul and the perception of the Upper World. This same principle is now being revealed in humanity.

Only 2% of the population is necessary to provide for all of humanity’s needs. What should the remaining 98% do? Why were they created by Nature?

This is a very alarming indicator. After all, Nature functions under the influence of the law of balance. If certain animals are left without any possibilities for survival, either because they have multiplied excessively or they are simply “extras,” they become extinct. Thereby, Nature continues to maintain balance. We are also a part of Nature and we are nearing such a situation.

Nevertheless, we do exist on the human level and we need that 98% of humanity to carry out our spiritual correction, just as the larger part of a person’s brain is necessary for spiritual development. The problem is that those 2% of the people (who can provide for themselves and all of us materially) are not in a position to correct themselves spiritually.

This is because the greatest evil is concentrated in a small number of people. The portion of evil in each person is huge and its correction therefore is impossible. This is why all the evil created by the Upper force is divided among 7 billion people and each is responsible for correcting his small part. This is the only way that correction can be realized.

We are currently faced with an enormous threat. It is imperative for humanity to start correcting its egoism, not for the sake of spiritual development, but for self-preservation. Only then will the existence of such a large quantity of people be justified.

Massive calamities are ahead if we do not begin the work of correcting ourselves. Human egoism has grown throughout history, but now we find ourselves locked within the general system of Nature. We have become an integral part of it and have no way to avoid carrying out its laws of balance through bestowal and love within our “excess” egoism. In its own role, Nature knows no other way of balancing itself other than through the elimination of the “excess” parts within it (those that do not fulfill its laws).

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A question I received: Why is it that many people are ignoring the crisis? What is the spiritual root behind this denial?

My Answer: Clearly, those who have an interest in concealing what is happening are doing everything possible to mask the obvious. This is happening because they are afraid of the consequences, since no government is able to offer any realistic solutions, and there is a possibility of civil disturbances due to their inability to act.

This is why, at the end of the day, everything depends on the dissemination of Kabbalah, which is the method for the correction of man. Our success lies in awakening people to the realization that the crisis is not coincidental, that its purpose is to correct the connection between us, and that only by bringing the purpose to its fruition will the crisis end.

Today, for the first time in history, the general system of souls is being revealed in our world. Indeed, the current state of the world is not simply a crisis; it is a revelation of the connection between us. All human suffering is caused by the fact that this absolute and permanent connection among us is hampered by our egoism. Therefore, we have no other means of getting rid of our suffering other than by correcting this connection and gluing the pieces of the broken vessel back together.

But people must understand that no force exists in this world that is capable of bringing us closer and correcting our egoism. We reside within our egoism and we cannot come out of it by pulling ourselves up by our own hair. We are obliged to find the external force, which can convert our egoism to its opposite – the qualities of love and bestowal.

This correcting force and the Higher force that created egoism are one and the same. It is the same force that must correct egoism. Only the science of Kabbalah makes it possible for us to attract this Higher correcting force towards ourselves.

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A question I received: How can one evoke his feeling toward his neighbor as to his own children? How will those who do not aspire to the meaning of life correct themselves?

My Answer: The study of Kabbalah and the correct environment helps us understand the nature of the Upper State (World) and the unity of all parts of the world.  We are given an opportunity to try to implement it amongst ourselves in our group and to therefore come to the realization that this is not possible, even though we are bound to each other and depend on one another. Today people are gradually beginning to explicitly sense the net that connects us all.

The current crisis is here to show us our harmful interconnection and our inability to correct it, although we recognize that mutual egoism is the cause of all our troubles.

The sooner this knowledge reaches the masses through the media, the sooner the evil will be recognized, and the shorter will be our path of suffering.

Our feeling of helplessness, of our evil egoistic interconnection will unite our suffering and our desire to find a way out and a solution to the problem.

As soon as each person feels his dependence on others, he will become interested in their condition and will care about their well-being. At first, the feeling of a united family comes from an egoistic interest; however, as we join and come closer to each other, we will reach the proper condition in feeling our commonality.

Everyone will learn to take his neighbor into consideration and to treat him as a relative, egoistically sharing everything with him evenly, until we reach full equality in the world.

With this kind of distribution, people will have everything that they need, since Nature will provide for everyone.

By egoistically following the law of similarity to the Creator, people will start to reveal their bond with the spiritual root, just as an arm or a leg reveals its bond with the brain.

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Two questions I received on the correction of egoism:

Question: My egoism is not very developed. I do not aspire to become rich or to build my career. I have no ambition and I work all sorts of jobs for minimum wage. However, I do have an aspiration to get out of this cycle. In order to study Kabbalah, do I have to develop my egoism more or can I study Kabbalah without this?

My Answer: The only thing you should focus on is correcting the egoism that you have. You will then see that you are bursting with egoism! That’s because one’s entire ascent toward the Creator is based upon the growth and correction of egoism.

Question: During the last day of the 2009 International Kabbalah Congress, I decided to set an alarm on my phone that would remind me to spend one minute everyday thinking about the fact that all the people on earth are one Kli. Aside from this, I really want to join a group, but my egoism holds me back. Should I force myself to go to a group, or wait for this to happen naturally, for the Light to push me to go to a group?

My Answer: If a person is sick and is just sitting there, waiting for a desire “to come to him” to take the bitter medicine, a shot or an operation, then is he doing the right thing?

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A question I received: It is impossible to be in balance with Nature if my only approach toward life is egoistic. How can I achieve balance with Nature?

My answer: Today we are forced to face the truth. We are under the threat of hunger, epidemics, natural disasters, etc., and our natural development has led us to this situation.

We have relied on the sciences to improve our lives, but what have they given us? Their use has yet to bring us any good! Quite the opposite, we have destroyed our whole planet, our lives, have gotten entangled, thrown off-track, and are now facing a dead end.  Humanity’s foundation has been built on the wrong principles leading us to develop for thousands of years in the wrong direction – towards egoism.

That is why we must immediately change the principles of our foundation and embark on a new path!  The science of Kabbalah, and not the earthly sciences will help us advance on the path of development in a completely different manner. We will then utilize all scientific knowledge not to humanity’s detriment, but towards the common good. The principle underlying all scientific development must be the desire to do good onto others, rather than the use of knowledge, power and force for one’s own sake.

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