Comment: A person always wants to be free: people want to be liberated from slavery to acquire it; the word “freedom” is heard in all the national anthems, it is inscribed on all the flags. And suddenly you are saying that a person is not free, he lives in the prison of this world.

Answer: Once in the Middle Ages, people willingly agreed to be slaves because they knew they would be cared for; they would be given him a roof over his head, food, and if he married, he could feed his family. The landlord would take care of this, and in exchange for this he would give his labor. But as our egoism developed, we suddenly began to feel ourselves shackled in chains; suddenly we felt a vital need to remove them. And when we tore off these chains, we seemingly became free people.

But this freedom is imaginary, because in any case you must plow, gather the harvest, sell it, think about the house, the family and a thousand different things. And if you get sick, there is no landlord to take care of you any more, he will not call a doctor because you are not his property (and after all, there was a time when you were valuable property for him), now you must think about everything by yourself. However, this was progressive development because under capitalism there was the growth of labor, its productivity increased, this was beneficial for society and it went for it.

So we have come to our present day; we feel at each and every step a need for a new level of freedom. But in fact, this is not freedom.

To be continued….
[161865]
From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 6/11/15

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Question: If our brain decides nothing, what is its function in a vast system of nature?

Answer: Our brain receives commands and then actuates our body. But this doesn’t mean that the brain has independence.

It is totally dependent and connected to the whole system, like a micro-computer that is occupied only with leading us into action but it is connected to a much bigger computer with an enormous brain and memory.

Question: If we are totally managed from above like machines, what does it mean to be independent? What does it mean to be free? What is freewill?

Answer: To the extent that we begin to understand the upper system, attain and feel it, we begin to acquire freewill and the freedom to act. But in order to do so, we have to ascend to a level that is higher than our current one because now we are totally controlled.
[158682]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 4/12/15

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Question: Do we have freedom of choice?

Answer: Every person who feels a need for freedom of choice can attain it. And with the Jews, as the carriers of two lines, this need is always always there because they initially received it in ancient Babylon.

Even today every person who feels the imperative of freedom of choice can join the method of Abraham as followers joined him in his time, left ancient Babylon, and received guidance from him about the correct spiritual development. In our time anyone can join in studying Kabbalah because it speaks about souls and about how to develop them.

Entry into Judaism is very simple: someone who wants to, please; nationality doesn’t matter. Jews don’t judge other people according to their nationality because they themselves don’t have one. The only criterion is self-development with the help of the method of ascending and connecting all for the sake of mutual love. And all humanity can join in this without any limitation.

Comment: According to your words, the process of conversion is very simple.

Answer: Was there some process of conversion for ancient peoples? When a foreigner came to Hillel the Elder and asked him, “What is your Torah, Judaism?” Hillel the Elder answered him: “What is hateful to you, don’t do to your friend.” That’s it; it’s not necessary to say anything more!

Question: What is the freedom of choice of the Jews?

Answer: The choice is only to be linked and connected between them in spite of their ego, and to create the characteristic of bestowal and love within them. All of those who are involved with this are called Jews, they rise above the ego and unite to bring a positive force into the world. If a person has this imperative, this is a sign that hidden within him is a spiritual gene. And so he is absolutely equal to the Jewish people regarding the question of freedom of choice.

Question: Does this mean he can pass this gene on to his children?

Answer: This doesn’t pass as an inheritance, but is the result of education. Someone is called a Jew not because he is born to a Jewish mother as everyone is accustomed to think, rather someone who prepares himself for a transition (Ever) from the egoistic paradigm to the altruistic.

Comment: But most of the current Jewish people have no idea about this..

Answer: They have an inner inclination which is called a Reshimo (Remembrance), an informational record about this, that they can develop the spiritual gene that has been in them from the start since the days of Abraham. Every person who joins the Jewish people searching for love of others and ready to engage in this method, conveys to his progeny the same spiritual inclination.
[161738]
From KabTV’s “About Our Life” 6/04/15

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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Freedom,”: “Harut (carved) on the tables”; do not pronounce it Harut (carved), but rather Herut (freedom), to show that they are liberated from the angel of death. These words need to be clarified, because how is the matter of reception of the Torah related to one’s liberation from death?

Question: Generation after generation, freedom has attracted people. What does this mean?

Answer: Freedom is an amorphous concept, it is completely unrealistic, unnatural, something that eludes us, something that we picture in our imaginations. What people think and accept as freedom is derived from a lack of understanding of where they exist.

We live in a limited volume, on a small and enclosed Earth, and within this volume we try to find a state in which we feel the least pressure. In this state we apparently feel ourselves free, independent, choosing and realizing our actions, thoughts, and opinions.

But we are all particles of an immense network interconnected through billions of threads of control, and thus we don’t feel that we are in a rigid system that completely determines everything. Its concealment from us is what grants us the illusion of freedom. But in fact we have no freedom, neither in thoughts, nor in desires or actions.

Question: Does the need for this amorphous feeling, constitute a response to the subconscious feeling that we are not free?

Answer: I think that humanity doesn’t understand that it isn’t free. A person always finds ways to evade unpleasant feelings and thoughts.  After all, our main characteristic is the desire to receive and to enjoy, so I am constantly searching for the condition of maximum enjoyment or minimal suffering. This is the totality of my aspirations in every situation.

We can’t say that a person has a great need for freedom. He wants to find work, spend time with his family, to have everything defined and okay for him. On the one hand, he believes it is best to be in charge. So what kind of freedom is this?

A person puts himself into particular frameworks. He gets married, establishes a family, and therefore is obliged to work, to feed the family, to be concerned about it, to protect it—obligation, obligation, and obligation. So where is the freedom here?!

All our lives are arranged such that we need to obey some rules. Whether I want it or not, in any case I am under the authority of some dogmas, tastes, restrictions, fashions, etc. Whether I want it or not, all of this influences me.

It follows that I am not free in anything, in absolutely nothing! So no freedom is accounted for. Even if a person lives alone in a jungle, he would still be surrounded by some kind of environment that forces its limitations and principles on him.

How can I understand what freedom is? For this we need to rise above our lack of freedom and feel sharply and clearly where we are, which forces determine our condition, how nature, through individuals and through my entire environment, defines and shapes me.

To be continued….
[161823]
From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 6/11/15

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Question: I am deeply disturbed by the attempt to boycott the Israeli soccer team, to prevent it from participating in the world championship. It seems so unimportant, just football, just a game, but this has triggered a deep concern about the very existence of the State of Israel.

What is the role of the game in our lives? After all, we get up in the morning without understanding what games life plays with us, who moves “the pieces on a chessboard.”

Answer: As Shakespeare said: “The whole world is a theater and people in it are actors.” The problem is that we do not understand what games we are playing, what role we are performing and who the director is. We do not know who moves the pieces on the chessboard of life.

Every second new desires, thoughts, fears, anxieties, and calculations appear pulling us in different directions. We supposedly choose where to go and we think those choices determine our next instant. But do we really make decisions on our own, or does someone do it for us?

In essence, we are inside a large force field that drives us by bringing us together and separating us from each other. This is how our whole life goes.

Everything that happens to us is determined by a special force field called the “Creator,” nature. This field fills the entire universe, and we swim in it, as if in an ocean of water.

This field plays with us, as it is said in The Book of Zohar, “What does the Creator do? He sits and plays with the Leviathan,” with all the huge desire of the creation: inanimate nature, plants, animals, and people.

The difference between these four stages of creation lies in the level of their desires, the degree of their egoism, with which the Creator plays. This is a real game in which we are not just spectators, but we have a direct part.

The game of life is a very serious matter. It’s a play in which we constantly play different roles: that someone plays with me, and then I play with someone back. We have to know the rules of the game, see who actually moves “the pieces” around, what the purpose of the game is, and what kind of “performance” we live in…

Question: Who are we in this show: helpless pawns or actors?

Answer: We are actors, but we are following the preset program. We have no freedom in anything at all. How can we be free if we don’t know what will happen with us in a moment or in a thousand years?

We do not know a thing! This is why we cannot direct the play. If we want to have some control over the show, we should get acquainted with the Director —the overall force field—and understand where it leads us.

Then, we will be able to participate in the game of life consciously, rationally, and responsibly. This is the only way to gain freedom of choice; otherwise, we will forever remain unimportant pawns.
[160387]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 5/31/15

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In the News (from thetheoryandpractice.ru): “Genes determine everything for us! They find the best partner in life for us so that we can reproduce ourselves with healthy offspring. Unconscious DNA testing for compatibility takes place with the exchange saliva in the first kiss. Genes also choose friends for us: friends have 1% of the same genes, the same as it is with fifth generation relatives.

“People prefer to associate with those with whom they have the same perception of smell, yet different immunity (so that everyone will not get sick at the same time). The genes choose the appropriate environment for their own distribution—they push us into a particular society. Characteristics of human nature are results of the genes.

“Bacteria may release psychoactive substances that enhance religious feelings. There are trillions of bacteria living within us that use the human body exclusively for their own interests. 3,000 species of bacteria live within the human body. Most of them populate the digestive system, and are nourished by the same food, and they have their own taste preferences.

“If food composition—the ratio of the proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients—is appropriate for the development of the bacteria, they encourage their host by releasing substances that improve the health of the person. If the food composition is not to the taste of the bacteria, they release toxins. In this way the bacteria shape our sense of taste and determine our diet.

“The activity of the brain depends upon forty genes and is activated by the bacteria.

“In a spoonful of water there are five million bacteria and five million viruses. The bacteria are 80% of the total biomass of the Earth. The entire biosphere is a system for exchanging genes between various micro-organisms.

“Parasites damage trees, flowers, animals, every life form. If the behavior of the subject becomes different, if he puts himself in danger, it is because of the parasite that actively controls the subject through various chemicals.

“A flatworm is so eager to get out of the body of the mouse into the body of the fox that it transforms the mouse into prey for any predator, slowly but surely. Nematodes color ants like the red berries that the birds into which they want to pass indulge themselves with.

“Toxoplasma first inhabits rodents, from them it passes to cats, and from there to a human. People who are infected with toxoplasmosis stand out in their behavior: They often lose self-control and are unable to be freed from worry. In addition, the toxoplasma slows down a person’s reaction time. So some people prefer adventure, epinephrine and eternal searching, while others are satisfied with the television remote.

“Neurons. A person makes a decision much later than it is made by the neurons. The brain alone decides how to act. The conscious choice of a form of behavior is only an illusion that conceals the true processes that are happening within the human brain without any connection with himself. The acceptance of a decision is the attainment of the active threshold of particular neurons that signal the motor cortex of the brain to launch rational or emotional behavior.

“Neurotransmitters. Neurons determine our desires. The source of the various senses are neurotransmitters—chemical substances that provide for the passage of electrical current to synapses that connect between nerve cells.

“The feeling of happiness depends on the amount of serotonin in the tissue of the brain, and depression is the result of a lack of this substance. Another neurotransmitter, dopamine, causes us to yearn for food and sex, and not for higher goals. The more the level of dopamine rises, the more the system of ‘reward and punishment’ develops.

“The arousal neurotransmitter norepinephrine influences our behavior. Our ability to concentrate, our level of energy, our motivation to act, relaxation, memory, good mood and our behavior in times of danger depend on norepinephrine. The discovery of the neurotransmitters leads us to conclude that we are not the masters of our emotions.”

My Comment: The wisdom of Kabbalah explains everything in a simple form: We have freedom of choice; nothing that happens depends on our desire. We are compelled to do everything, even if it seems to us that it is our desire.

Cooperation between higher forces that are hidden from us manages the biological substances in our bodies and arouses desires, thoughts, decisions and actions in us.

Freedom of choice is given only to make the acceleration personal spiritual development possible. The wisdom of Kabbalah explains how we can realize it. With everything else, we are always left with the illusion of freedom of choice in our decisions and actions. And this is despite the fact that science will continue to prove to us how much we don’t have freedom of action.

In general, the wisdom of Kabbalah defines our lives as existence on the animate level and the level of Adam; this is our only spiritual development, in the direction towards equivalence with the Creator.
[143658]

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Question: Why does human society develop the way it does throughout history? Couldn’t we have evaded all the great tragedies in our history? And now we are also in a state that no one can understand!

Answer: Everything was very clear… up until our time. From now onward everything is also clear except for the events that we will actually determine in the future, we humans, all of us, by our freewill, which is the reason that it is not predetermined. Up until now we had no choice and everything throughout history occurred according to strict and rigid laws of development on the levels of the still, vegetative, animate, and human.

From Kabbalah we learn that our world was created as a result of the creation of the desire to receive pleasure. This unique created being was shattered into many parts as a result of its evolution, and after the shattering, the parts fell into the level of our world and created its four levels: the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking.

These four forms of the desire have to unite from our lower (egoistic) world and ascend to their source, their root, where the one unique desire was created (born).

This is the reason that our entire history is a movement towards unity that is attained by wars, by mutual actions, art, commerce—by all our actions in which we connect and begin to understand one another better by adopting each other’s attributes and thus becoming incorporated in one another.

This unity (which is egoistic at the moment) took place in the last stage of development of our civilization, capitalism, i.e., under the mediation of capital, the development of industry and commerce, which was the basis for the establishment of global economic, political, and social relationships that led us to a global egoistic society. The development of egoism in people led to the development of industrialism, which has led all of mankind to unite egoistically.

Next we have to discover all the evil of egoism and decide whether to flow with the current it leads us along or to correct it by our proper unity.

This is the solution and our free decision. Until now our history was predetermined, but the moment we have to make a decision onward, we don’t know what will happen. To be more accurate, we know what will happen in each of the cases, but it is up to society to determine in which of them we will be!
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In the News (from philosophynews.com): “Our brain processes a great amount of information at any given moment of which we understand only a very small part.

“Although we constantly pay attention to the changes in our thoughts, mood, perception, understanding and behavior, we don’t know anything about the neurophysiological mechanisms behind them.

“In fact we are witnessing our own life. The brain cortex responsible for our motor abilities is activated 300 millionth of a second before a person decides to perform a certain action and the brain decides how we should act. This decision affects our consciousness and we believe that we are the ones making our own independent decision. So where is our freedom?

“The brain is a physiological system and our thoughts and actions are determined by the changes that occur in it. Our feeling of freewill stems from our inability to understand ourselves. We don’t know what we intend to do unless there is an intention in us. This conclusion is parallel to the recognition that we don’t manage our thoughts and our actions. In order to really have freewill we have to picture and totally control all the factors that determine our thoughts and out actions.”

My Comment: I believe that there is no way we can understand and control all the factors that determine our thoughts and our desires because they are determined before we actually understand and feel them.
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Independence is a very vague and problematic concept. What does it mean to be independent in a world in which we are all connected together? How is it possible to be independent if I am connected with thousands of threads to all kinds of government institutions, businesses, and people?

A much deeper question is concealed here. As the wisdom of Kabbalah says, a person is a desire to receive, a desire for pleasure, and at every moment in his life, he searches for how to attain as many comforts as possible: sitting, getting up, moving, lying down, trying something, eating, looking at something, hearing something. If I must do something, how can I do it in the most comfortable and easy manner, expending the least energy?

Ultimately, we are managed by the laws of nature. We want to enjoy and get the most while giving and suffering minimally. If I am built like this, then what does it mean to be independent? How can I be independent? It is written: “The dead are free.” So will I become free only after I die and my body no longer requires anything?

And how is it possible to become free? How does a healthy person living in this world become independent if I depend on many thousands of sources of pleasure, food, air, work, my children, and my wife, basically on everything. Each one of these can exert pressure on me and affect me. I cannot be independent. Maybe only if I escape to another galaxy will I become free, but this is not called independence.

We must understand that there can be no independence as long as a person does not abandon his desire to receive, his nature. In my egoistic nature I can never be independent, because I depend on everything and everyone. I cannot live without children, without a wife, without friends, without all the people. Today I cannot live without all of humanity, for everything that I have in my house has embedded within it a particle of the labor from the entire world. So independence is impossible if I think of how to fulfill myself, for then I require everyone and depend on everyone.

Theoretically, a person can be independent when he stops being concerned about himself and begins to enjoy bestowal to others. If I can live like this, not getting enjoyment from taking from everyone all the time but through giving and bestowing to others, then I become independent. I need everyone so I can bestow and give to them and receive pleasure from bestowing. Then I am independent and free since I don’t depend on them in the same way that I did in order to receive pleasure from them.

Ultimately, I have no possibility of enjoying through reception, but only through bestowal. For with reception I depend on others, whereas with bestowal, they depend on me. And so I can be higher than everyone, I can become truly independent. I can feel myself as their lord in the sense that I am higher than them, but love them. And because I bestow and give to them, by fulfilling them, I enjoy without any restriction on their part. We attain such a state that the wisdom of Kabbalah describes as the future of humanity, when everyone bestows and gives to others and feels himself independent.
[158068]
From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 4/19/15

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The weekly portion, “BeHukotai,” talks about the entire world being reciprocally linked and that the system of creation was determined strictly and precisely. We are found within it, and its influence on every person depends upon his deeds and whether or not he accepts the laws of this spiritual universe upon himself.

The spiritual universe is not just what we see around us. Rather, it includes all of the forces and systems that are hidden from us, with only a fraction of them being revealed.

If we become familiar with its laws and maintain them, then everything will be all right. If not, it will begin to whip us through blows.

The system is arranged and constructed such that it takes into account the same object upon which it acts and influences. We partially see this in our world. For example, the system relates to a small child more mercifully and gently than to a mature person, enveloping the infant with concern. He falls, and this is not so bad, whereas, if an elderly person falls, he is liable to break his bones.

In other words, the system is arranged and constructed such that it relates to each one of us uniquely, according to the level of the person, his destiny, his fate, and who and what he is.

Question: In other words, if the person thinks that the system has given extraordinary suffering to him, does it only seem that way to him, whereas the system, in fact, gradually gives him what he can endure in stages?

It could be that he also cannot endure it, but everything has been considered absolutely precisely, according to his fate, his purpose, and the same conditions in which he is found. Everything is accommodated to the same goal that all of us must attain.

Essentially, everything is very simple because there is a beginning and an end, and from beginning to end, everything has been considered in each stage in relation to everyone. On every level, a particular freedom of choice is given to us and we operate within these precisely defined frameworks.

All of us exist and are connected within a single system that manages us. There are those who feel this and those who don’t feel it, those who already have discovered its laws for themselves and have attained some kind of levels, and those who are only beginning or have not even begun to understand the goal of creation.
[156853]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 11/12/14

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