The basis of the Jewish nation is not an ethnic but rather an ideological basis. We have to start from way back, ages ago, when humanity was concentrated in ancient Babylon and people lived a simple life but in brotherhood. However, there came a time when conflicts broke out, and neighbors who used to be close and friendly began to feel suspicious of one another and gradually became strangers.

Imagine this situation in the perspective of our time: the neighbor’s grass is greener; he has a modern washing machine, and yesterday I saw a new refrigerator being delivered to his home. His wife is like a thorn in my wife’s eyes since she wears a new dress every day, his children are disrespectful, and what is more, he now has two new pure bred dogs who openly look down at my mutt with contempt…

In short, the ego grew in ancient Babylon and people ceased to feel themselves as one nation. It is as if they began to speak different languages.

Then Abraham, who was a great sage, discovered the inner essence of what was going on and found a true solution to the conflict. He discovered that they had to overcome the ego that had grown in order to maintain the warm and friendly relations between them.

But the majority didn’t accept that approach and it ended in a general break up. The tribes and peoples scattered all over the globe.

Very few followed Abraham and they were the ones who laid the foundations for the Jewish nation and the Jewish people. They established a society that despite the continuously growing ego, kept the feeling of closeness to one another and the warm family relations between them.
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Question: What is the difference between the Kabbalistic explanation of our world and Pesach (Passover), and the usual explanation we have known since we were children?

Answer: There are several levels that explain reality, existence, creation, development and the goal of man in it. When we speak about Pesach, for example, we can speak about:

1. The historical period of slavery our nation spent in Egypt.
2. A person’s enslavement to his ego in Egypt, to his Pharaoh.
3. The development of the created being, of the desire, under the influence of the Light, the Creator, and under the influence of darkness, Egypt, and Pharaoh.

At the same time we can speak about different levels:

1. The technical fulfillment of the rituals that in our language are called Mitzvot (commandments),
2. The psychological fulfillment of the commandment of “love thy friend as thyself,” as the general commandment and order of the Creator, which includes all the other commandments and orders as it says in the Torah: Love thy friend as thyself is the great rule of the Torah,
3. The Kabbalistic influence of the Upper Light on the worlds and through them on the souls that undergo different phases of development and their spiritual correction.
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Question: Was there ever a miracle that the Red Sea parted and the Israeli people went through it when they fled from Pharaoh?

Answer: The Torah doesn’t talk about events of our material world. It talks only about what happens between our souls. In this sense, we pass through an inner spiritual state called “Crossing the Red Sea.”

The exodus from Egypt and the freedom from the slavery of Egypt is freedom from the control of our ego, from the “Angel of Death.” In principle, on the way to this freedom, we move through some kind of passage called crossing the Red Sea. It symbolizes the end of Egypt, the end of our ego, after which we can become a free people.

A unique force of unity is hidden within nature that is called the Creator. When we invest in efforts to unite, to get closer to each other against our desire, then through these efforts the higher power creates a state where “splitting the Red Sea” will be discovered. It moves us from the egoistic nature to a nature of bestowal and love.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Question: The celebration of Passover is a special opportunity to learn something new about oneself, about our people, about our society, and make a qualitative change in our relationships to each other.

Rav Kook wrote that if the people of Israel once had not made this transition from slavery to freedom, the whole world would have never been able to make such a change. Is it true that the people of Israel affect the whole world so much?

Answer: The people of Israel are a special group of people that were selected from the entire world and came out from ancient Babylon in order to unite.

Today, the whole world is in the same mutual hatred, which once was revealed only between the Jews during the destruction of the Temple. Due to this hatred, Jews fell from the height of unity to the level of this world, and that means going into exile.

Today, the Jewish people are mixed with the entire world, and we all are in the same state, which is called Egypt or the slavery of mutual hatred.

Since the Jews have already exited this slavery, we have memories, the genes (Reshimot) of that previous state. This is why we must lead everyone else in exiting this terrible state the whole of humanity exists in now and in setting an example to everyone, meaning, being “a light to the nations of the world.”

Now this task is for the people of Israel who are living in the land of Israel. This is why we were able to come back here. We must realize our mission for the benefit of the whole world. After all, the purpose of creation is that all of humanity become one people, one family, as it is written in the Prophets.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/22/15

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Question: I think egoism is a positive quality, without which one cannot develop. If a child has no egoism, he does not strive to learn and grow.

Answer: The quest for knowledge, education, culture, to see the world, to fly into space, this is not called evil egoism. The evil inclination is bad relationships between us, the desire to use others, to suppress them.

Just a desire to grow and become a great man is not egoism because by this I may want to bring benefit to humanity. Egoism is a desire to submit others, to enslave them.

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is the quintessence of all evil. This special power, inherent in every human being by nature, is called the evil inclination, which spoils our relationships with each other. We are talking only about it, not about the human desire for development.

Pharaoh is called the king of Egypt, because he reigns over us absolutely, without consulting our desire. He just orders us what to do—burdens us with hard work.

Pharaoh commands us to build, that is, to unite. But as soon as we want to unite, he stands between us and makes us quarrel with each other, and enjoys this.

Today’s human being is a slave of a special force called Pharaoh. In nature, there is a force that advances the whole world in the process of evolution. It leads to the overall development of technology, science, culture, and education.

But within this development, there is a force that make us treat each other in a bad, selfish way, to enjoy the fact that we are superior to others, are successful and can harass them.

Everyone wants to be Pharaoh and control others. If he has the ability to put down others so that they have nowhere to escape, he gets pleasure from it. This means that Pharaoh lives within each of us.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/24/15

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Question: Passover begins with the night of the Passover Seder (order)—a ceremony filled with many details. What does the night symbolize?

Answer: The Seder is the order of the exodus from Egypt, the course of action that a person must make within himself to break away from his egoism, to rise above it, and then come back to it in the days of counting the Omer (Sefirat Omer), to correct all his egoistic desires.

Question: If I were your grandson, what advice would you have given me in light of the holiday of Pesach?

Answer: Learn how to break away from your ego.

Question: But what is wrong with my ego?

Answer: It overshadows all your life, and you need to leave it and run away from it. If you do not learn how to do this, you will be getting blows that will nonetheless teach you to escape from it, but it is a very hard, bitter, and long study.

Question: What is the ego?

Answer: The ego is your bad attitude towards other people. You can have ten meals a day, have a family and children, build a palace for yourself, be a billionaire—this is not considered the ego.

The ego means that you want to use a person who is like you to his detriment, in order to rise above him, to suppress him. Ego is measured only in relation to the evil use of others.

Question: What is “the night of Passover Seder“?

Answer: The “night of Passover Seder” is a break, an escape from evil use of others. This night symbolizes that we come to life in the Egyptian darkness and get blows because of our ego. Pharaoh within us undergoes blows.

Imagine that your body receives blows, illness, disappointments, problems from children, from family, from relatives, from parents and grandchildren, from everything that exists. The unfortunate Pharaoh, i.e., your nature is suffering so much that you want to escape from it: “It is better to die than have such a life!” This is Egyptian darkness.

And suddenly out of this darkness, it is revealed that we can rise above it—and then I run away. I flee in a hurry and care about nothing. This is the exodus from Egypt. This is what we celebrate: the fact that the exit, like the eye of a needle, has been opened to us and through it we can escape from there. It is such a hardship!

But we can come to this hard life because we think, understand, and study, and then we can recognize great evil within a small one. Similarly, people listen to lectures about the danger of smoking, and they realize they should not bring themselves to poisoning and severe illnesses; they recognize this evil in advance and escape. We can do the same thing with “Egypt.” And if not, then we will feel our life in utter darkness, especially the people of Israel.

Let’s examine ourselves and reveal that we are in the grip of our ego, called “Pharaoh,” and therefore we will not have a good life if we continue to obey it. Let’s decide as soon as possible, that we must run away from it, escape from the power of Pharaoh existing within each of us, from the power of our ego, at least to break away from it.

If we accept this decision together, it will be very easy for us because all the people come out of Egypt. Let’s come to public agreement, run away, and rise above evil attitude towards each other. Then our life in the country will become completely different. Happy Passover!
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/24/15

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We have a means that can help the whole world. When we come out of Egypt, from loathing and mutual hatred, we will see that the true human mutual connection solves all the problems.

Therefore today, Abraham’s method is needed everywhere. It is the present need and if we, the Israeli nation, do not fulfill and present it to humanity, the pressure that is put on us will grow. It is because the world subconsciously feels that we are hiding the key to happiness from it.

But if we do what we have to do and set a good example, the world will receive it with gratitude and respect. On the whole, this is exactly what the world expects of us.

I wish a holiday of unity and connection to all my friends!
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We must be concerned about fuel for advancement and the quality of the work, and not just run after the quantity. Otherwise, this will lead to a great fall. We must sit together and think about a method for approaching people. The moment you seriously begin to take care of the general public, you will get a second wind. Now, you feel tired after a long run. Even though you had great success, this no longer excites you and doesn’t give you the same vigor as you had before. You have gotten used to being successful and there is nothing new about it. Everything comes to an end and you have begun to get sick and tired of it.

It is like the four phases of Ohr Yashar (Direct Light). Why can’t the first phase go on forever? This is because, after it (Aleph-Lamed-Peh) finishes, the second phase (Bet-Yod-Tav) begins. After that finishes, the third phase begins.

The Light influences the desire and constantly changes it. Eventually, it becomes qualitatively new from reception to bestowal, from Hochma to Bina. So, the same thing will happen in our work as well. It is impossible to play the same game until the end of life.

When people fall in love, they swear that they will love each other until the end of their lives, but it is clear that love will fade before we die, for we evolve quickly. In our day, development is very rapid, so people marry and divorce a number of times in their lives.

It means that each state will end and we shouldn’t wait for it to happen. Already, in advance, we should understand that even though our dissemination work is productive, correct, and good, and we cant diminish its importance, it already requires additions. It is up to us to think about the quality of the work, for every new level is attained by improving the quality.

It means that the connection with people must be more qualitative. The next stage is precisely the same as the previous one, but with a greater level of connection. We need to meet with the same people we already have contacted and begin to teach them the method of correction. It is necessary to send explanatory material to them, to have workshops and unification evenings with them, and to teach them through the television channels and the Internet to continually keep them interested. It is as if we enrolled them in a school, and now it is up to us to begin the first grade.

As a result of this, we will become a conduit that connects people with the Creator. We are not yet this conduit, rather, we have only reached the first point of contact.
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From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/21/14, The Book of Zohar

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Question: What is the role of the Israeli nation? Is it to be experts in connection and to teach the nations of the world, or is it to connect first between us and thus set an example for everyone? Which is more important?

Answer: Our unity is within the borders of Israel. This is the most important thing. This is where the examples and the method of connection will reach others. Moreover, it will draw the Light that Reforms for the entire world.

Only we can do that. If we fulfill the connection between us, even without disseminating our message all over the world, it already will bring about the correction of the entire world. Accordingly, our groups disseminate in different countries so that they will be able to ascend, to connect, and allow the Creator to be revealed in them. This, of course, is done together with us.

Therefore, if all the groups in the world gathered in Israel, it would be enough for us to disseminate within these boundaries. After all, when we disseminate, we unite here, and it spreads all over the world.

Baal HaSulam says in “The Introduction to Panim Meirot uMasbirot,” “When the children of Israel are complemented with the complete knowledge, the fountains of intelligence and knowledge shall flow beyond the boundaries of Israel and water all the nations of the world…”

In addition, Rabash says in Letter 18, “The Lord will bestow the abundance unto the nations of the world by the nation of Israel who are more capable than all the nations of the world of getting close to the Lord.”

So, we cannot come to the nations of the world with any complaints, no matter how they treat us. That is something else. Don’t come to anyone with your complaints. It is you who give birth to Hitler and all our other enemies by your actions.

We are the ones who tilt the scales to one side or another, and it is a very serious matter. Therefore, our work is only in connecting. If the Jews were connected and united, there would have been no persecutions, and no one would have expelled them from Spain or from other countries, and their life could have been totally different even in exile.

Every movement a person makes in this world is like a movement of an electric charge in a force field, or of an iron rod in a magnetic field. The Light operates me, and, accordingly, I manage everything in my life.

All we need is connection and from this connection to turn to the Creator. It also works in politics, in the economy, in every area. Thanks to this we will bring order to the entire world. Then, we will begin to understand the reasons for anti-Semitism and the increasing general pressure that we feel.

The point is that it is not the PLO or Hamas, or Teheran. Everything depends on us. When we disrespect connection, we bring about such afflictions.

These forces are not a punishment but help so that we will improve our ways, unite, connect, and operate correctly. Therefore, we must justify them and use them as fast as we can, according to our goal.

When we begin to connect here, within the boundaries of Israel, we will feel how all the bad things melt away and fade like clouds that disappear from the sky.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/1/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Baal HaSulam, “The Inheritance of the Land”: Israel will not return to their land unless they all become one bundle.

Land (Eretz) refers to desire (Ratzon). We want to acquire the “land of Israel” which is a special desire that has to be aimed at the Creator, Yashar-El (straight to the Creator). This means that we have to focus our desire on the Creator, in order to bestow, and this is expressed when we focus ourselves on love of others.

How is all that related to the geographic location of the state of Israel? Is it about branches and roots? The Jewish nation can live on their land only if they are compatible with the laws that operate between the nation and the spiritual land of Israel.

This means that when my desires are focused on delighting the Creator, it is expressed in delighting others according to the principle of all of Israel are friends and are  mutually responsible for one another; don’t do unto others what is hateful to you; love thy friend as thyself; as one man in one heart, etc.

If I am attracted to that, it means that I correct all my desires with the help of the Upper Light, and then they change from foreign desires to internal desires; they turn from a dry land to a desire to Yashar-El. Then, as I enter the spiritual land of Israel in spirituality, I am attracted to the land of Israel in corporeality.

This is the reason that the Creator sent Abraham from Babylon to the land, which was the land of Canaan at the time, so that he would correct himself there and feel the true nature of Yashar-El. It is about both the internal work and about corporeal actions. The families of Abraham’s students collected their belongings, their camels, their sheep, and goats and travelled to that place. This transition was according to their work of connection, according to what Abraham had taught them.

The people in the world don’t understand the law of compatibility between a branch and a root. But it was expressed even in Babylon, when its people scattered all over the globe. First they were as one nation, although they were many tribes and extended families. Then when the ego erupted between them and began to expand, the signs of separation appeared.

People connected to one another, drew away from another, and thus they divided into groups that eventually left Babylon and scattered all over the world. This is how the nations of the world were created. They were formed according to the egoistic desires that determined their uniqueness and who could get along with whom. Consequently, we see that today every nation has its unique mentality, customs, traditions, etc.

In addition, people from all of Babylon who had a point in the heart gathered around Abraham regardless of the tribes or the extended families to which they belonged. When they heard the message that Abraham spread they felt that they wanted to belong to that group, which headed towards Canaan according to the law of branch and root.

The rest of the people didn’t know why they were attracted to different places. It is the same today: A person doesn’t feel that it is the Creator who sends him everything in life and that He guides him in a certain direction or another. It seems that everything happens by chance, without a cause, although nothing is random in nature. The reasons are simply concealed from us.

On the other hand, Abraham’s group received a clear order: “Go to your land.” In other words, the students felt very clearly the connection between the spiritual root and the corporeal branch. They were in a state of Canaan and therefore reached the land of Canaan.

Later they connect more strongly to one another until they reached the state of the “house of Jacob,” meaning unity in smallness (Katnut). Then they discovered that they lacked an additional inner drive, resistance, or in short, an addition, material for work.

Thus, their egoistic desire began to grow, which is called the exile in Egypt. This internal process was accompanied by an external process: They went down to Egypt. There they underwent different experiences according to their internal states: seven years of satiety, seven years of hunger, the plagues of Egypt, although all this took place externally and not in complete accordance with their internal states.

We cannot discern this connection; therefore, there is no point looking for definite parallels. In the spiritual exodus from Egypt, for example, all of Egypt, which means the whole egoistic desire, fell. After all, the children of Israel broke off from the big ego. It existed between them and didn’t let them connect despite all their efforts until they had a chance to rise above it. Generally speaking, this connection was possible only above the ego and not inside it or together with it.

But something different happened in the corporeal world. Egypt didn’t fall immediately after the children of Israel left it. After all, this world exists although there is nothing spiritual about it. This is where the lack of correlation between the spiritual destruction of Egypt and the spiritual branch stems from.

We establish our reality among us on the spiritual level, and the corporeal level, which is perceived by our five senses, remains the same. There is no spiritual content in it and it doesn’t have to become desolate according to spiritual events. This is how the difference between the levels is revealed as the corporeal Egypt remains in its place although it has been destroyed in our internal states.

It says that the spiritual root has to touch the corporeal branch, but only to touch it. It isn’t dressed in it and doesn’t operate in it.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/30/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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