I don’t understand people who go out to the streets and demand to be given something. Why do they deserve it? If it were my child, it would be different. But I didn’t give birth to you, so why should I take care of you?

Even if I were a tycoon, so what? I made my money, so why do you come to me? What is unjust here? What is illegal here? Why do you demand something from me? Why do I have to feel ashamed of what I have earned, of my social status?

Let’s take an athlete for example, who worked out in the gym for twenty years and has lifted tons of weights. Now he has muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he is proud of it. Suddenly some demonstrators come to him and demand to “take off” some of his muscles. How would he see that?

So if a tycoon has worked hard and has earned his wealth, he also has his own “muscles,” but they are expressed in his bank account. What right do you have to put your hand on it?

Another example: A musician has practiced for years, fifteen hours a day. Does he have to give up what he has achieved for you?

So why do we look at a rich man differently? Hasn’t he worked as hard as the athlete or the musician? And even if he has it as a result of his father’s efforts, so what? If you think that there is social injustice here—go and change society, do something. But it is wrong to just come and demand. And besides, if you destroy the tycoons, you will destroy society. Who will provide people with jobs? Who will enable them to make a living?

As long as the world is egotistic, we cannot change it for the better. We have seen it in Russia. Instead of correcting things, we will only create a bigger lie and new ways of stealing. In an egotistic society, every organization and every individual operate according to their own interests, and there is nothing we can do. We cannot build a more just society than the present one on the basis of the same desires, the same egoistic “fuel.”

There is no other choice but to change the engine.
[56036]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/2011, “The Nation”

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All sorts of desires are appearing within me now, and I feel that they aren’t mine, they appear from somewhere else. I ask myself: “Who am I?” “What am I?” “What am I for?” “Where does this come from within me?” “Do I need this or not?” “Actually, I don’t even want anything.”

Suddenly, I start thinking: “Why don’t I want anything?” Because all of this isn’t mine, there is some outside source that spins and manipulates me. On one hand, a person starts getting a faint subconscious feeling that all of this isn’t me, the world isn’t the same, it’s multi-layered, and there is someone else who is controlling and directing me. Where does this come from? Is this mine or not?

On the other hand, the desires arising in me do not give me realization; I don’t know what to do with them or what I can get with them. Inside me, there is a struggle to begin realizing them. I can’t see that they are mine, I can’t feel the way I used to feel, and I don’t feel that there is a goal in the realization of these desires, that I can actually get something from this.

Furthermore, outside of me a huge system is appearing that reveals the world in a new light. I start feeling myself existing in a confusing world. My desires aren’t mine, the world isn’t the same. What to do? This picture gradually emerging as if from the fog is so characteristic of our generation. In essence, it is what’s causing the crisis.
[56095]
From the Sunday Virtual Lesson Series 9/25/2011

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In the News (From english.pravda.ru): “The experts of the International Labor Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predict that next year a number of developed and developing countries will face mass unemployment and ‘catastrophic shortage’ of jobs. In the alarmist report, the experts urge the countries to take drastic measures to combat unemployment.

“Since the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008, developing and developed countries lost 20 million jobs. By the end of next year additional 20 million jobs could be lost. According to some experts, the number of unemployed worldwide has reached 200 million.

“The situation in Europe is particularly difficult. While Germany is relatively successful in coping with unemployment, the second euro-zone economy, France, is in a difficult situation. There is a new concept of ‘superfluous people’ as a result of chronic unemployment. Mostly, these are young people who are the first to lose jobs in downsizing.

“For example, in Italy, every other unemployed person cannot find a job for over a year, and in South Africa this number is two out of three. The authors point out that youth unemployment is rising in 15 countries out of 20. According to the estimates of the International Labor Organization, in Russia the number of new jobs is approximately equal to the number of people who get jobs – approximately 600,000.

“‘We must act now to change the situation with a slowdown in employment growth and restore the lost jobs,’ said director general of the International Labor Organization, Juan Somavia. ‘Creating employment should be the main macroeconomic priority.’

“In addition, the report’s authors believe it is necessary for the states – members of the G20 to raise the level of social protection of its own people and pay attention to the negative forecasts of the economists who talk about the possibility of a second wave of crisis in 2012.”

My Comment: When industry and services become reduced to the necessary level, millions of people will be free from needless work. They will share working hours with the employed workers and work 2-3 hours per day. The rest of the time will be dedicated to studies and upbringing at their workplaces, or other offices, or at home, but it will be necessary for the whole world as work itself. This will be considered their work because through these studies, the world will approach correction, balance, and the revelation of their next stage of development in a good way.
[56264]

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Opinion: (Joschka Fischer, Germany’s foreign minister and vice-chancellor from 1998 to 2005): “For the first time in its history, the very continuance of the European project is at stake. And yet the behavior of the EU and its most important member states has been irresolute and dithering, owing to national egotism and a breathtaking absence of leadership.

“Germany and all other eurozone members are in the same boat.

“Resolving this crisis requires more Europe and more integration, not less.

“…there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

My Comment: But what kind of steps can people like you take? Aren’t you using old methods for resolving new problems and thus making them worse, as it is said: “Sit and do nothing is better.”
[56256]

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In the News (from calcalist.co.il): “From the Trachtenberg Committee’s Report: …Summer 2011 echoed with slogans and lit a spark of hope for Israeli society: The voice was raised about the diseases that have accumulated and piled up in recent years, as well as the hope to bring about a profound change that will allow a more just society to flourish, the society founded on solidarity and fairness towards a person who works hard to earn his living and contributes his part for the benefit of everyone, the society built on values, common to all sectors.

“Social justice is the coordination between normative behavior, contribution, and effort of the individual and the reward he receives. Social justice means equal opportunities during development stages, then, fair competition, and later, basic security and respect after retirement.

“Social justice means that when misfortune strikes a person, a society will help provide him with the basic necessities and affordable and honest existence. The realization of social justice and the common denominator—values—by way of thought-through statements is the most important thing in the approach that should guide the implementation of the desired changes in the Israeli society.

“The source of some illnesses of society is in global phenomena and partly in globalization, which powerfully and rapidly intensifies relative advantages in ways unfamiliar to us.”

My Comment: No material injections will solve our problems, not to speak of the feeling of social inequality. In a small country, these feelings are exacerbated like in a close family. The main problem is a lack of sense of family and unity in the common effort to survive. The country is torn apart by accumulating contradictions, and internal divisions are constrained only by external hatred.

The injection of necessary funds will not ease social tensions because the program of our development is to come to a society of mutual connection and guarantee, concession and love. This requires education and returning to our roots. Only the implementation of the Creator’s plan—to create a cohesive society based on Arvut, guarantee—will lead us to peace among ourselves and with the world, even with our neighbors. The root of the problem is in us.
[56154]

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In the News (From creditwritedowns.com): Return to national currencies is the move that prominent economists increasingly recommend to the problematic countries in Europe. The UBS analysts have calculated the following:

“Our base case with an overwhelming probability is that the Euro moves slowly (and painfully) towards some kind of fiscal integration. The risk case, of break-up, is considerably more costly and close to zero probability.

“The economic cost (part 1): The cost of a weak country leaving the Euro is significant. Consequences include sovereign default, corporate default, collapse of the banking system and collapse of international trade. There is little prospect of devaluation offering much assistance. We estimate that a weak Euro country leaving the Euro would incur a cost of around EUR9,500 to EUR11,500 per person in the exiting country during the first year. That cost would then probably amount to EUR3,000 to EUR4,000 per person per year over subsequent years. That equates to a range of 40% to 50% of GDP in the first year.

“The economic cost (part 2): Were a stronger country such as Germany to leave the Euro, the consequences would include corporate default, recapitalization of the banking system and collapse of international trade. If Germany were to leave, we believe the cost to be around EUR6,000 to EUR8,000 for every German adult and child in the first year, and a range of EUR3,500 to EUR4,500 per person per year thereafter. That is the equivalent of 20% to 25% of GDP in the first year. In comparison, the cost of bailing out Greece, Ireland and Portugal entirely in the wake of the default of those countries would be a little over EUR1,000 per person, in a single hit.

“The political cost: The economic cost is, in many ways, the least of the concerns investors should have about a break-up. Fragmentation of the Euro would incur political costs. Europe’s ‘soft power’ influence internationally would cease (as the concept of ‘Europe’ as an integrated polity becomes meaningless). It is also worth observing that almost no modern fiat currency monetary unions have broken up without some form of authoritarian or military government, or civil war.”
[55946]

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In the News (From The Wall Street Journal): “The economy is growing at a painfully slow pace in most regions of the U.S., and many businesses say they are bracing for tougher times ahead, a Federal Reserve report said Wednesday.

“The Fed’s Beige Book, based on interviews with business contacts and economists in the 12 Fed districts across the U.S., said weakness was infecting sectors such as manufacturing that were once pillars of the recovery. Seven of the districts reported some form of weakening economic activity.

“The picture that emerges is one of Americans across the country taking stock of the shaky economy and hitting ‘pause.’”

My Comment: According to the conditions of the global integral system of the world, to the extent that each part affects the entire system positively or negatively, it receives a corresponding positive or negative reaction that has multiplied manifold.

Accordingly, the U.S. has no reason to expect positive results from its activity, owing to its negative influence in the world and the desire to win at the expense of others. In a unified world system, caring for oneself at the expense of others leads to a defeat. I hope that we will see it and will learn how not to act by the old principles of capitalism.
[55094]

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The word “crisis” (κρίσις) in Ancient Greek means not a problem but a decision, judgement, a turning point, meaning the birth of something new. (www.wikipedia.com)

The word “crisis” (משבר in Hebrew) means a place where a new life emerges, a seat where a mother gives birth to a child. A woman in labor is described as “sitting on the crisis.”

The great Biblical commentator RASHI (12th century AD) writes in his commentary on the Bible (Bible, Exodus 1,16): “The place of a birth giving mother is on the birth stones, which in another passage was called “Mashber ” (crisis) instead of “Avanim” (stones).”

There is also a passage in the Prophets: “The sons arrived at the crisis (Mashber) and have no strength to be born” (Prophets 2-9,3).

המילה “משבר” בעברית מתארת את כסא היולדת. כפי שנאמר “יושבת על המשבר” = יולדת.

רש”י, שמות פרק א’, פסוק ט”ז – “על האבניים מושב האישה היולדת, ובמקום אחר קוראו “משבר”.

“באו בנים עד משבר וכח אין ללידה”. מלכים ב’, פרק יט, פסוק ג’.

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We must correct our system so that it becomes similar to the Creator, bestowal, Nature. Today, there is no shortage of studies that show that capitalism is a kind of temporary outbreak of the egoistic disease, the end of which we are witnessing today. This is particularly evident in the economic crisis and environmental disasters.

It cannot continue like this. It would be another thing if we had inexhaustible natural and energy resources. However, we don’t. We are wasting the last and driving ourselves to a standstill: The gap between rich and poor grows, society is destroyed, and the Earth becomes a less hospitable place.

We mistakenly believe that we can build a correctly functioning egoistic system. Americans were drunk with this idea and intoxicated everyone with it. The American Dream was successful because they were living in debt to the world and even boasted about their “success”: “Look how cleverly we can steal, how beautifully we can lie. Just take a look what kind of life we have at your expense.” In fact, here is what was behind their abundance. And Europe followed the same path.

The whole problem is that we are always looking for cheap resources. Once, there were slaves, but then they ceased to be efficient. Then, the exploitation of the peoples of newly discovered lands began, and that was used as a market as well. We always acted at someone else’s expense; we constantly robbed and took advantage of somebody, be they slaves, the indigenous people of Asia, Africa, America, serfs, and so on.

That was the factor of development, the lie which saturated the entire system and reached the money itself. The dollar became an international currency, and industry and commerce intertwined in such a cunning scheme that people around the world work for Americans.

Where is the limit? Today, we have exhausted the capacity of cheaper resources. There are no more slaves and undeveloped countries. Everything is heading towards the point of breaking the principle of cheapness. There is no more cheap labor or cheap energy. It is time to realize what is happening. If we want to survive, we must judge everything fairly.

That is why the world faces the problem of fair distribution. People everywhere are waking up to this requirement. However, in reality, it means that everyone deserves only as much as he has invested for the benefit of humankind. Relying on the principle of egoism, you will get nothing. Soon, we will discover that no one can receive anything from anyone egoistically. Just imagine where the world is heading: The system of mutual guarantee is disclosed, which requires reciprocity and bestowal.

This does not mean that you should scatter the wealth to the right and left. No, we build everything on the basis of reciprocity; we do not make concessions for the sake of concessions, but are guided by the considerations of true justice. All our previous systems will not apply. We are facing a full-scale system failure, and economic problems are only its first signs. As a result, we will have to agree that justice, reciprocity, and mutual guarantee are the only way.

Baal HaSulam writes about “the altruistic system.” But you should not think that it will undo all the calculations. Conversely, altruism is an exact calculation, leaving no loopholes: Everyone receives according to his investment. And the one who does not invest effort is left with nothing. If everyone around is an altruist, this doesn’t mean that I will be fed “for nothing.” After all, we are talking about the law of nature. The Creator is the greatest altruist, but have you gotten something good from Him? On the contrary, only troubles.

It is said: “The Creator has made them one against the other.” Both forces, the positive and the negative, are extremely tough and aggressive. And thus, in the future society, I cannot be idle at the expense of others.
[56043]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/28/2011, “The Nation”

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Opinion: (Lord Desai, Member of the House of Lords, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics): “Capitalism is alive and well, but not in the Western countries – it has migrated eastwards.

“Russian capitalism is somewhat old and in need of urgent repair, but the spirit of capitalism – risk-taking, saving, investing, hard work – all those virtues have now migrated and are happily ensconced in China, India, Indonesia, Korea and Japan – the countries which we never thought would ever get out of poverty.

“Western capitalism probably had half a century of over-indulgence – continued prosperity, full employment, almost guaranteed growth – and that in its turn meant that our costs went up and manufacturing industry migrated abroad, while finance has proved to be a fickle friend.

“We will have to rethink our model, our values, we will have to acquire old-fashioned virtues, because capitalism is not going to go any time fast.

“If Asia has vigorous energetic capitalism and we have tired old capitalism, we will end up paying a huge price and we will trade our prosperity for their prosperity.

“It changes its form, it migrates, it is fully global. Now we at last understand what globalization means – it means we are just as important as anyone else. If we don’t work very hard, we will lose our importance.

“That is the lesson of the contemporary world.

“Capitalism lives through crisis. That is how it renews and invigorates itself.

“For our bad luck, capitalism has renewed itself by migrating eastwards. We are left with the debris and we have to do something to get ourselves out this crisis but that will have to be in the spirit of capitalism, not against it.”

My Comment: Here, the economist does not see the end of the previous stage of development not only of the economy but  in society as a whole, but rather sees only a temporary crisis. The cause of this error is that people are not familiar with the general plan of nature, which can be fully revealed only through the science of Kabbalah. That is why Kabbalah has many opponents, but gradually, as society develops, they will see the light.
[55940]

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