Question: Baal HaSulam writes that there is a law that the branch is close to its root. He hints that we are the consequence of some upper force, which is the root cause. If the Creator is one, unique, and unified, then the urgent need for individualism manifests in us. So what is the problem?

Answer: On one hand, we are given egoistic properties and we inevitably fulfill them. On the other hand, we must rise above our egoism to altruism. And we cannot do it.

Moreover, our ego drives us into a corner as we are eager to fight with each other and make our lives miserable.

Question: We see that egoism constantly develops and narrows. Is there a limit to its development or is it endless?

Answer: No, we are gradually beginning to understand the narrowness and baseness of egoism. It does not allow us to exist in joy, correct communication with each other, in mutual assistance. Egoism manifests itself in a negative form.

Question: Let’s say that in 200 years, it will stop developing. Can we say that egoism will stop growing at some point?

Answer: I cannot say that in 200 years it will stop. Egoism develops along with us and forces us to be more egoistic each time. When this stage of egoism in us ends is not written anywhere and it may not end. It will be eternal to the extent that we must limit it.

If over time we understand how much it brings us down and does not allow us to create the right society, family, ourselves, and children, then to the extent that we begin to comprehend its harm, the terrible, narrow, vile life into which it plunges, we can act against it.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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Question: What is the process of realizing evil? Let’s say the first stage is when I begin to separate: there is me and there is my ego that I have received from above. I no longer associate myself with it. The second stage is when I start feeling ashamed by it and feel its evil. The third stage is when I want to get rid of it. Is this correct?

Answer: Yes, but these are long processes. There are many more steps here and we have to go through them.

Question: Is it possible to learn the realization of evil or does it happen naturally within a person?

Answer: It is possible and necessary. If we do not study it, then we will be going through all of this by the forces of nature. It will start forcing us, pushing us, and beating us, and we will still have to change

Question: Where in society can one get an example of ideal relations?

Answer: There is nowhere in society that one can get such examples. We have to start from zero. After all, there are four types of egoism in every person. We gradually have to correct each type from zero to the fifth level.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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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.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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Question: Effective altruists deny the view that some lives are inherently more valuable than others. For them, all lives are equally valuable. It makes no difference whether I help a person survive in Africa or Latin America, a small person or a big one, of any race, nationality, or religion.

Is this correct? Do all people on Earth equally deserve help?

Answer: I believe that no, they do not. There are people who can bring enormous benefits to others, and there are those who no matter how hard they try, they will not succeed. We need to identify such people in advance as positive or negative for the development of humanity and somehow take their future into account.

Question: What are the criteria for this assessment? Should we start from the goal?

Answer: First, start from the goal. Second, we need to clearly understand how much we can invest in these people, and what they represent as a valuable resource for humanity.

This cannot simply be about making donations. There must be a clear definition of what we wish to achieve from our investment. I think we still have a lot of work to do in this regard.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: Let’s assume that there is not just blind nature, but the upper force, the upper mind, that develops us. What is the problem with our narrow egoism in relation to the upper force?

Answer: The fact is that we are not trying to break out of it. We wish to use it every moment to solve every issue and dominate others.

Comment: But the Creator Himself placed this narrow egoism in us.

My Response: Yes, but precisely so that by correcting it we would thus attain the nature of the Creator in relation to the nature of egoism and rise above ourselves.

That is, the egoistic nature was placed within us so that we would feel it for ourselves, realize it, and want to change it. This is the purpose of creation.

Question: Should all of humanity realize the evil of egoistic nature or only special people who should lead humanity?

Answer: In the end, absolutely everyone.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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Comment: Not all people feel the evil of their original nature and say: “Why should I correct something? I am a normal person with work, home, and children.”

My Response: The fact is that they compare themselves with others like them and do not see any flaws in themselves. In fact, if we take into account our nature, the nature of those around us, and human society, then of course, we still need to correct a lot in ourselves and around us.

Question: What can you say to a person who does not yet feel the evil of an egoistic nature in them at all? Moreover, it does not really stand out in them. They seem to be normal citizens, they do not really harm anyone.

Answer: Our nature needs to be explained to people. It is evil because we think only about ourselves, we feel only ourselves; it seems to us that we are all normal—“I am like everyone else.” There seem to be no problems here except for one—in the end, we still suffer. What can we do to stop suffering? To do this, we need to build a new society.

Question: So do I understand correctly that narrow egoism does not mean that a person must rob or kill someone?

Answer: No, we are talking about egoism that exists in every normal person.

Question: In principle, is it bad enough that, while in my narrow egoism, I may not harm society but think only about myself?

Answer: In order to understand this, we need to know the true laws of nature, how it sees our connection with each other, and what we must change in ourselves in order to become similar to the correct connection.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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Question: Let’s say there is a certain amount of egoism that is distributed among all of humanity. Everyone is given several decades to somehow recognize this egoism.

As Baal HaSulam writes, everything depends on human development. Some people directly use their egoism without hesitation. Some people use it but more secretly. And some are already aware and do not want to use the ego at all; they want to be altruists, although by nature they are egoists.

The question arises: at some stage will humanity realize that this certain amount of egoism should not develop to the end, and will it begin to change?

Answer: As egoism grows, a person begins to feel increasingly bad. He sees what egoism forces him to do, how the ego is his own enemy, and as a result, he rebels against egoism.

But the question is, when will he start doing this? What tools does a person have to limit his egoism?

Here we must understand that not always, not everywhere, not in every society, not in every historical example, especially in our time, can we get out from under the ego, although we understand the essence of egoism and can give it a critical assessment.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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The recognition of the evil in our nature is the first stage of a person’s development; it is when they begin to understand and grasp the essence of their nature, and where they start their earthly life from. It begins with being a small egoist, with an increasing desire to consume the entire world.

Question: There has always been a debate in society: is a person born an egoist or does the environment make them that way?

Answer: A person is born an egoist. Baal HaSulam says that a person is born as a small egoist. Then nature and the egoistic society in which we live, until now, develop this egoism and leave no other path for development. It is the growth of egoism alone that drives a person’s development.
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From KabTV’s “Era of the Last Generation” 6/27/24

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For this reason, they were not ready to receive the Torah at the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but only when they came out of Egypt and became a complete nation. Only then was there a possibility to guarantee everyone’s needs without any care or concern (Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee]”)

After leaving Babylon, the children of Israel went through three spiritual periods known as “Abraham,” “Isaac,” and “Jacob.” These are the right, left, and middle lines interacting with each other.

While in Babylon, people suddenly felt a massive surge of egoism tearing them apart. Therefore, Abraham’s group left Babylon and began to draw closer to each other. This was the ascent to the spiritual level of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

However, while uniting, they again found themselves under the control of egoism. This period is called the Egyptian exile.

The constant growth of egoism is necessary for our further advancement, otherwise we would have nothing to rise above and no basis for working with each other. Therefore, periods of spiritual development always follow this pattern: ascents and descents, ascents and descents.

But the descents are not entirely new states. From the state of a shattered soul, negative relationships and negative qualities continuously arise within each of us and between us, which we perceive as descents.

This is how we move forward. If a person stocks up on the correct energy, has a group, engages in systematic studies, and needs to progress, they will inevitably experience descents and various unpleasant states. But it is precisely by overcoming these states that they will advance.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/18/20, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee]”

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After the Kabbalistic group left Egypt, its serious development began. Before this, there was practically no spiritual development since the most essential thing that manifested during this period that we all go through is the growth of egoism.

After that, we can start talking about corrections. That is, we have acquired egoism and begin to feel that it is not easy for us to connect with our friends. We are not ready to be in the same harness with them.

Therefore, we need an upper force that will unite us over egoism. This higher power can be called “Creator,” “Pharaoh,” or “Egypt”; it does not matter what. And here our work begins.

Baal HaSulam, in the article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”, writes that, However, while they were still mingled with the Egyptians, a portion of their needs was necessarily given into the hands of these savages, permeated with self-love.

What is he trying to say? While we are in egoism we cannot achieve complete connection because between us are our egoistic desires—the Egyptians.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/18/20, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee]”

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