Question: In principle, the usual investment of funds in some projects is usually a big problem because the money often just disappears, and we see no results.

However, effective altruists want to see results. Their approach is criticized because it is extremely difficult or almost impossible to predict the results on several levels.

We have many examples of this. Suppose anti-mosquito nets are donated to overcome malaria, and the effectiveness of their use can be calculated. But they are also used for other purposes; for example, fishing in Africa, which pollutes the environment. That is, there are unforeseen consequences that could not be calculated.

Usually, people can calculate the consequences on one or at most two levels. If we are talking about more distant consequences, these must either be wise decisions or it all turns into hypotheses.

How important is it to move toward more advanced calculations: the second level of consequences, the third, the fourth?

Answer: I do not think it is necessary at all. After all, if we had vast resources and invested them for a long time, such plans would obviously be very helpful.

But we see that all our plans evaporate very quickly, and we have to look for something new. Or, on the contrary, there are such changes in science and technology that what we had high hopes for is completely ineffective today and we need other levels of development. I think this is not the way to approach the development process.

The strategy should be like running in spurts: once we have a small achievement, we make the next calculation; another small achievement, another calculation.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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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: Effective altruists believe that giving is as relevant to those who do not have billions of dollars as to those who do. That is, anyone can donate to charity. And if he does not evaluate how effective it was, he is doing his job wrong.

They say directly: “Giving is work.” Do you agree with this?

Answer: Indeed, this is a big job, and we must weigh it correctly.

Question: Although you said it is too early to discuss the criteria for such work, what are they?

Answer: Working for bestowal should be understandable to as wide a circle of society as possible, even to the point of broad, open voting for specific steps. Then we can be more or less sure we are acting correctly.

That is, for each person voting the result is not directly related to him, so some kind of assessment in the right direction is possible on his part.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: The income strategy for effective altruists involves a high-paying job.

Modern philosophers have developed the idea that there is no need to consider the possible unethical actions of a person while earning money since the benefits of what a person earns and donates will be much greater than the unethical actions while working. What do you think about this approach?

Answer: I do not think that is an excuse. No way! We must act as it is said: “A wise man has only what his eyes see.” What he sees, he can take into account, evaluate, and make a decision about; this is the most important thing.

Question: What should people do in border areas when they need to know whether it is ethical or not to take a step left or right?

Answer: We must act as ethically as possible and, in no case, succumb to the general flight into fantasy. A person must have a system of values that cannot be crossed.
[331795]
From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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Question: You say everything depends on us. Where is the point we can press that will make it work?

Answer: The point to press is the point of realizing that we have no other way out.

We are at a turning point in the world. The world has exhausted its egoistic paradigm of existence and reached its final state. It cannot continue to exist this way.

Therefore, we are in a general crisis of all our behavior in the world. This is specifically a crisis of human relationships, between us and between us and nature. We must change this. How? By becoming an integral part of nature, which we are but we do not wish to acknowledge.

Nature forces us, one way or another, to recognize this fact and change ourselves to become integrally connected with each other and with nature so that the entire universe becomes integrated, closed, harmonious, and unified, and for that, we need to rise above our egoism.

In Kabbalah, there is a force that can correct us and transform us from egoists into altruists so that we are harmoniously connected into one single whole.

We, the people who have a point in the heart, a desire for unity, must first reveal this method within ourselves. Furthermore, the people of Israel, who were once in a spiritual state, must do this because they have spiritual genes. They are obligated to revive and realize them.

When we do this, we will lead the rest of the world. This can be done very quickly, in a very short time!

We do not have to wait until humanity plunges into immense suffering, tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, and who knows what else.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Everything Depends on Us” 3/7/10

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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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Question: Effective altruists, on average, donate significantly more money than is accepted in society. Some of them feel they have a moral duty to alleviate the suffering of others through donations unless those donations would bring a comparable level of suffering to themselves. This is their formula.

How much do you think a person should donate? Is there any criterion?

Answer: No, there are no criteria. I think some reasonable limit is necessary so that a person does not suddenly begin to get carried away by absurd ideas and sacrifice for such things that will show their inconsistency, if not today, then tomorrow.

Question: Should we give everything that comes to us so that we simply level ourselves out?

Answer: No, not in any case! If we begin to give away what we have earned and deserve, we will turn into the same beggars with an outstretched hand as those who expect alms from us. Therefore, I think this approach is wrong.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 6/30/24

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On the negative side, if a part of the nation does not want to keep the Arvut, but to wallow in self-love, they cause the rest of the nation to remain immersed in their filth and lowliness without finding a way out of their filth. Baal HaSulam, Article “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee]” .

We exist with one another in integral connection, and it creates both positive and negative problems.

The positive component is that we help one another and complement one another. The negative one is that if someone lacks something in the integral group, then everyone suffers.

Therefore, the fact that nature made us integrally connected is good and bad. It is good in the sense that each of us adds to the common Kli, while the bad thing is that when we do not give, we steal from this Kli.

One has to understand that the integral spiritual Kli is very sensitive and reacts to changes of everyone whether positive or negative.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/18/20, “The Arvut [Mutual Guarantee]”

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