Question: What is evil: the desire, the intention, or a particular combination of both?

Answer: Evil is what is not related to the Creator. Everything you can imagine that does not pertain to the nature of the Creator is pure evil.

It turns out that our whole world, all the forces, all the manifestations at various levels of nature, are absolute evil. In order to manifest Himself toward us, the Creator made a creation opposite to His qualities. It is called the desire to receive for self alone or egoism.

This desire can only feel itself, nothing outside of it. It has no ability to understand, conceive, or perceive anything else. Therefore it is the foundation of future evil. It is not evil itself yet, because the desire is not at fault for acting this way since it was created this way from the very beginning.

That is why the desires of this world, which pertain to inanimate nature, that is, to what exists in all the vast galaxies, to the vegetative nature that grows on our planet, and to the animal world that exists on Earth, including ourselves for we are animals in our bodies, all are the embryo of egoism. It is not egoism itself, rather a desire to exist, to fulfill itself.

Egoism is a term for what is above the animal level. As a rule, a person consists of part animal, and in this he is not an egoist because he wants to exist as any animal does. However, he also has something that exceeds his animal level, when he yearns for more than his material body does. That is already called “egoism,” although it is not a final state, but rather, “I want more.”

If I want more at the expense of others, with it I’m stealing from them, this is true egoism. If, however, I purposely behave in such a way to derive pleasure from being ahead of others at their misfortune, that is an advanced level of egoism. There are many different degrees of the growth of egoism.

In other words, everything that is inside us as people is egoism; everything that is in us as animals on an inanimate, vegetative, and animal levels are regular nature.

Therefore, egoism is a desire to get pleasure at the expense of others, when I rejoice at being ahead of everyone else.

Animals eat each other because of hunger. For example, a crocodile swallows a cow and then does not have to eat for six months; he had enough. The snake, after swallowing its prey, lays without moving with no concern for anything else. But not a person. As I “swallow” one cow, I already think of how to eat the second one, or at least catch it and hold it for later. Animals don’t really have that.

That is why everything that we do above our natural desire to fill ourselves is human egoism that is reaching ever-new heights.

In this we are different from the Creator. The constantly evolving egoism inside us that acts to the detriment of others is the root of the evil of our nature, and thanks to it, on one side we conquer the world, but on the other, we corner ourselves into a dead end.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 2/26/17

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Question: Why were the dinosaurs in existence for hundreds of millions of years? Does a Kabbalist know what made them extinct?

Answer: All the inanimate, vegetative, animal, and human life are gradually transformed into higher forms.

That is why the ancient fern and other plants became extinct, as did various kinds of animals. Even minerals have changed. According to researchers, you can tell how many million years old a particular rock is. Everything happens naturally.

The same holds true for the people. Just look at how different people living today are from those who lived a hundred or a thousand years ago. Even in their appearance, not to mention their level of consciousness.

If I were to teach Kabbalah today the way Aristotle and Plato wrote about it, claiming that the soul depends on how deeply a person breathes, I would be laughed at. Can you imagine what the great thinkers of the past wrote about?! With a deep inhalation and exhalation we fill our soul. And they really believed that is what the soul is.

Today, those great minds of their generation would look like silly boys if they remained on the same level because the constantly developing desire develops us. That is why we can not compare ourselves to other generations.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/19/17

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Torah, Deuteronomy 28:48: Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy whom HaShem shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.

You will feel that you are doing egoistic work and although it is hateful to you, you have no way of getting rid of it; it continues to control you. And you will feel so for many days and years of your life.

However, this is already the realization in which yoke you are in. Without such harsh, sharp, but useful feelings, it is impossible to pass to the upper world.

Question: Is this considered an advanced state?

Answer: Of course. It is when a person goes through this and understands that he cannot do anything because he still remains a slave of his desires; he hates them with full force, but at the same time, he cannot get rid of them; he gets an opportunity to cry out.

This cry, an appeal to the Creator, helps him enter the upper world, begin rising, as if he is rising up from the bottom of the pool.

Question: Does it mean that first he must be drowned?

Answer: Certainly. And to the end so that he would realize in all his desires and intentions to what extent there is not even a gram of a spiritual state in him.

He must understand that everything comes from the Creator and that he cannot deal with this. He does not care whether he will die or not, but he cannot part with his egoism. This realization should be final.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/19/16

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Question: You said that we are actually twice over slaves of egoism. Why twice?

Answer: Because we carry out all the demands of egoism and we are not aware of being slaves to it; that is, we are in double concealment.

Question: Why does a person gain absolute freedom when he becomes a slave to the Creator?

Answer: The thing is that we are not speaking about our animal body. Because if you are merely a creature consisting of desire and reason, of heart and mind, then there is no program of independent action that exists in you.

But when I ask: “Why do I exist?” then that is no longer a question of the body; it is a question that comes from something higher than animal existence. Asking myself that question, I think about which program am I realizing, which program am I choosing for myself, for what?

Egoism is built only for the purpose of keeping me in a lower animal existence and it says: “You exist in order to fulfill your material desires as long as these desires exist.” And I continuously fulfill them. But with time, that program begins to dim smoothly, slowly lowering in importance and a person begins to feel that his life is ending.

In reality, nothing ends. The egoistic program is simply designed in such a way that little by little it brings us to a state where we no longer want to fill ourselves and that is why everything ends. The only thing left is death, in other words, the end of the desire to continue to fill ourselves.

But there is also another program, when I initially don’t want to live by fulfilling the desires of my body because I understand that this makes me a slave to these desires. I don’t see the point of existing this way and feel that my life is meaningless.

As the egoistic program develops, it purposely leads me further, showing me its meaninglessness, and I begin to feel that it is not worth it for me to live. We see this in the new generation that searches for anything that will let them forget themselves.

That is why we need to discover the true meaning of life for ourselves. If that meaning is false, then it can be found in anything because that same egoism will help me find some amusement, like football, and I will fall into minor pleasures of our world and become their slave.

Or I continue to develop further with a desire to find the truth—something that is above my sensations. I don’t want to fill myself with material pleasures and see the meaning of life only in them. I want to know that I exist above them. And then I am left with one big question: “What am I to do, how do I achieve this?” In other words, I need to reprogram myself, rise above the preprogrammed egoistic program within me, and only focus myself on the achievement of the goal.

The new program really does allow you to achieve a new goal, a new state, and I am obligated to carry it out. It is built atop the rejection of the previous program and that is why in the counterbalance between the two programs, in the difference between them, I experience my freedom as I rise above the old program and engage in the real one.
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation,” 6/19/17

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In the News (USA Today): “Welcome to the future?

“A Wisconsin technology company is offering its employees microchip implants that can be used to scan into the building and purchase food at work. Whether or not to get a chip is up to the employee to decide.

“Three Square Market, a company that provides technology for break-room or micro markets, has over 50 employees who plan to have the devices implanted. The tiny chip, which uses RFID technology or Radio-Frequency Identification, can be implanted between the thumb and forefinger ‘within seconds,’ according to a statement from the company.”

My Comment: This indicates universalism; instead of holding cards in a pocket, one has the possibility of connecting directly. Cards can be lost, someone else might take it, while here everything is accurate and safe. Undoubtedly, this is what is awaiting everyone in the future. They will implant chips in children as soon as they are born. There will be nothing special about implantation; they will simply insert a chip like an injection, and that is all.

Question: Why would someone agree to that?

Answer: It is for no other reason than making life easier.

Question: Where are we heading with this?

Answer: We will get to the point where there will be a passport in which all of the data about a person will be burned, including insurance, medical cards, all of the information about him. It will be possible to record everything on the chip and then read everything from there, for example, the results of the medical examinations of a person and more. This is very good and convenient.

Comment: In addition to this, the person agrees more and more with them following him, no matter where he is, at any location.

Answer: What is it that we need to hide!?

Comment: I have a personal life! I am married….

Answer: Is it a personal life? What is not understood and recognized about this personal life?

Question: Does this mean that you are saying that a person has nothing to hide?

Answer: Absolutely not! These are all of our weaknesses. It is our nature and we have no reason to hide it. On the contrary, when we rise above everything, it will be much simpler for us. We will no longer play like little children. What difference does it make to me if they can read everything about me?

Comment: A person hides a lot of things like these and others….

Answer: This is because the people around him look at him as if there are conditions in which it seems that it is necessary to hide something.

Comment: A person lives in a locked house, behind walls. He has a bath and a toilet….

Answer: Imagine that there is a camera that sees everything about you everywhere and everything that is happening. So what? Let them look! What can they see? The anxiety is only if I am trying to pretend something to others, if I am trying to put on a show for them, if I am exploiting others; then I have something to hide. But if I relate to others with an open heart, then what do I have to hide? I am sure that we are developing toward a situation in which people will be completely open and exposed to one another.

What is there to hide?! I don’t understand; about what can you denounce me? That is how I was created! If I am not harming anyone, then look at me from all sides. Come in, check me out all that you want and however you want. Only if you can denounce me for harming someone, then yes, I have a reason to be anxious.

Question: And I hide this….?

Answer: Hide or don’t hide, it makes no difference; I can be afraid or be ashamed only if I harm someone else. And if not, then why should I be ashamed?

Question: What does the wisdom of Kabbalah say about this?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah says that a person doesn’t need to “hide” from others about anything that touches upon his actions; it is up to him to hide his Masach (screen) and hide from his ego and not from other people. On the contrary, it is up to him to relate to other people with an open heart and to himself, only by way of a Masach.

Question: If so, all of the psychology that you are talking about leads to a person approaching an anti-egoistic Masach?

Answer: The person will be interested in other possibilities and problems, like how truly to discover the same unique thing that is found in it.

Question: What is the conclusion one can derive from this?

Answer: The conclusion is very simple, aside from not carrying out the principle, “And you shall love your friend as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), there is nothing more to be concerned about. That is all.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 8/3/17

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Question: What is the connection between the manifestation of the evil of egoism and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17)?

Answer: Without the ego and its development, we could not achieve or know anything. With the correction of egoism, meaning that I change it from serving myself to serving others, I use it to get everything possible and make it useful for others.

In this way, I change myself in an inverse manner, and then all the forces and fulfillments of the Creator pass through me. I become equal to Him and attain His level. This is the manifestation of the greatest egoism in a person. About this it is said, “My sons have defeated me” (Bava Metzia, 59b).

Question: So, what was Adam HaRishon’s (First Man’s) mistake?

Answer: There was no mistake! Everything was planned from the start, including where you will go and what will happen to you later on. Each has his or her own predetermined point and there is nowhere to escape from it.

The question is whether you want to attain the goal by yourself, whether you have been searching for it throughout your conscious life, do you want to break through into this state now and not in your next incarnation?
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/26/17

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Question: There is only the Creator and the created being in the system, so who broke the general soul?

Answer: The Creator, He said: “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice, since the Light in it reforms.” “Correct the breaking and you will receive a reward. I have created you small and you can reach My level, eternity, perfection, knowledge, and pleasure. Everything is before you!”

The Creator could have created us in the state of wholeness. But we are required to want to attain this level by ourselves so that we will use our free will.

Question: And what do we gain from our free will?

Answer: It will give us a feeling of attainment, revelation, and filling. It is all me!

Imagine a person who was born a prince, compared to a person who has attained the status himself and has become a king. That is the whole difference.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 4/23/17

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In the News (BBC): “Researchers assessing the results of nearly 200 studies say sperm counts among men from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, seem to have halved in less than 40 years. …

“Dr Levine, an epidemiologist, told the BBC that if the trend continued humans would become extinct. …

“‘If we will not change the ways that we are living and the environment and the chemicals that we are exposed to, I am very worried about what will happen in the future,’ he said.

“‘Eventually we may have a problem, and with reproduction in general, and it may be the extinction of the human species.'”

Answer: In the 18^th century there were about a billion people on the whole Earth. Two centuries have passed and we have become 8 billion. For what? Instead of 8 billion we can become one billion again or even less.

Question: Do you believe that this is how nature regulates the number of people?

Answer: Everything depends only on us, on our state. We are the ones who are killing ourselves and, of course, killing life, killing sperm.

Comment: They say that the reason for that are the chemicals and fertilizers we use, obesity, smoking…

Answer: No, these are already the outcomes. Everything happens as a result of our killing ourselves. It is as if we don’t want to live, don’t want to exist; we agree with the negative force in us, with our negative nature, and allow it to drive us to extinction.

Question: Could there suddenly be a change?

Answer: No, “suddenly” can’t happen. This can happen only if we recognize our evil nature and realize where we can find the positive force to correct it.

Question: Do you believe that everything that happens, including the decline in the number of sperm cells, is happening for one goal?

Answer: It is only in order to bring us to the recognition of our evil nature, of our egoism, and to oblige us to draw the positive force of nature, which exists and is waiting for us to use it.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 7/27/17

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Question: Can I distinguish an evil inclination and a good inclination within me?

Answer: No. Initially a person has no good desires; we divide them into more egoistic and less egoistic desires.

Question: But doesn’t every person have a point in the heart?

Answer: Right, but first it must be identified. From the point in the heart, a person must gradually grow the good inclination, which is a “desire to bestow,” like bacteria are cultivated in a petri dish.

Question: Are the good deeds in our world where people help each other and even sacrifice their lives for the sake of others relevant here?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah doesn’t talk about the level of this world, about those deeds a person carries out due to compassion, habit, or education.

If you leave a child to grow in a forest, he will not do anything good. Yet, if he is educated in an environment that teaches him to distinguish between good and evil, it will create within him definitions and instincts that he cannot help but carry them out because he feels bad otherwise. In other words, he will do everything from egoistic impulses, including the good deeds.

Suppose that a piece of sausage is lying in front of you. A dog can snatch it from the table and eat it, while I cannot do this, even if I really wanted to, because I have a feeling of shame, self-pride. That is how I was taught; I was given egoistic guidance that I cannot violate. This is called egoism.

We could call this good behavior, education, good impulses, yet there is nothing in them except for an ego that takes on a particular framework and therefore feels bad outside of these frameworks and doesn’t go outside of them. In our world, this is called ethics, but we don’t consider ethics to be correction.

Question: What is a good action in the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: A good action is an action that I carry out with my free choice, with the characteristic of bestowal, with an intention for the sake of bestowal.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/12/17

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Question: How can I determine if my pleasure causes harm to others?

Answer: A person’s greatest pleasure is achieved when others praise and honor him, actually carry him on their shoulders, when he feels that he is higher than others and that others need him.

A person has no need for anything else in life other than feeling the importance of his personality; this is the highest form of ego. It extends to the level in which he demands that the Creator honor him. It is like The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish: it served him and fulfilled its mission.

Question: The whole world turns to the Creator with requests. So isn’t someone who asks the Creator for anything an egoist?

Answer: It depends on what you are asking for and for what purpose.

Question: Suppose I ask for money or health for myself or my family?

Answer: That is what little egoists ask. But they also don’t get anything, but simply ask.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/26/17

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