Question: People who survived the Holocaust ask how such a thing could have happened if “There is none else besides Him.”

Answer: It is impossible to answer this question on the corporeal level. A person asks simply: “if the Creator is good, He has to do what I think is good, but if I feel bad, it is sign that He is bad or that He doesn’t exist at all.” Then he reaches the conclusion: “Well then, the Creator doesn’t exist.”

In order to give a different answer, we need to explain that Israel has to manage the world and because they cannot manage it properly the world suffers, and of course the first to suffer are those who brought the world to this condition.

There is no other reason for the sufferings. The ball is always in your hands, from the days of Abraham onwards. And don’t say that you couldn’t and that you didn’t know, you have always known and always could. It is all very straight forward.

But if I say that to people, they may think that I blame them and that I am against them. It is like a child who is told that he did something wrong and he cries that daddy is bad. Why is daddy bad if I explain to you and show you your mistake so that you will not go wrong again? No, daddy is bad in any case! This is what he feels in his ego.

It says: “He has given a law that cannot be broken.” This is the reason that the Creator is called nature. Can nature change? If a volcano erupts, is it that the lava destroys someone and someone else is spared? would it hit someone and spare someone else? If it rains, everyone gets wet. Here there are no questions.

If the nation of Israel does not begin to do what they have to do, all the atrocities will repeat, and even more than once. If during your lifetime you repeat the same mistake over and over again because of your weak character you receive blows each time. The same thing happens with the world.

The atrocities of the Nazis we underwent during WWII can be repeated as many times as necessary until you will realize what you must do and do it. If you don’t, then Nazism will never end. We are facing this state right now and nothing can be done. Only our internal unity and our dissemination outward can prevent the adversity, not only for the Jews but for the whole world.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/14, Topic: Holocaust Memorial Day

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Question: Why does Baal HaSulam write that after democracy and socialism comes a fascist regime?

Answer: Because democracy is incapable of satisfying the desire for pleasure. The desire for pleasure grows and demands progress. The person himself wants to be more connected, and democracy brings him to this. Yet what kind of benefit does he get from connection; how do we realize it?

The realization of unity can only be either for the sake of our personal benefit or for the sake of the Creator. One of the two, there is no third. If we advance in a simple and natural way, then the connection comes about for the sake of our benefit. And this means that we are connected against everyone else and we try to turn them into our slaves, subjugating them.

An approach like this can be seen all over the world, more or less following every democratic government. After people get at least a little freedom, they immediately begin to feel that they lack connection. Yet they don’t know how to use it: “So we got connected, and what’s next?”

We are compelled to exploit this connection for the sake of someone or something. Ultimately it is realized in fighting against the others and showing how strong, unified, and consolidated we are among all of the people. This emerges naturally and inevitably. Today this tendency can already be seen in the world. From month to month the world approaches Nazism more and more.

It is enough to look at what is generally happening in the common European market, their decision-making, events happening in the United States, in Russia, and in many nations. It could be that you don’t feel this very much, yet I see that Nazism is becoming acceptable in society.

We are beginning to talk about it as something legitimate. We begin from a distance with the fact the we must discuss it so that it won’t return. But in the meantime, until we begin the discussions, we arrange conventions and printed material and people get used to the subject. This is the first stage.

Although it is said that Nazism is a negative phenomenon, but researchers and historians supposedly should discuss it. After that philosophers and futurists join this discussion, they investigate and examine how and why this happened. As a result of this, they reach the conclusion that this behavior is inherent in human nature and the Nazi regime was a natural and valid stage in the development of humanity. That is, it is embedded in our nature and cannot be avoided.  And so the legitimization of fascism is made.

After that begin the speeches about the necessity of the unity of the people, the need for sanctions against immigrants, the necessity of uniting against enemies because we are weak and losing. It would be like talking about steps necessary for survival. The idea gradually spreads. For this purpose there exists a special technology with whose help in a few years it will be possible to sell people anything.

Hitler didn’t immediately come to power either. Many years passed from World War I until World War II. He had some kind of a base upon which to stand; he was truly elected by the majority. Today it is even easier to do this because connection in our day is even more in demand, an even more sensitive topic. There is even greater disappointment in our development.

We as humanity have stopped developing. A new mobile phone every half-year doesn’t testify to technological advancement. These technologies are already old; there is nothing new, just a change in the external shape to sell the product. We have reached the limit of development of technical thinking and soon the same thing will happen in biology and everything else.

So there are many reasons for the development of Nazism. These trends are continuing to grow in all nations: France, Ukraine, United States, Russia, and it would be worthwhile to think about this before it is too late.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/14, Topic: Holocaust Memorial Day

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Question: From a spiritual point of view, Passover is a separation from the evil ruling in me, from my selfish motives in relation to others. Many homes have a special cabinet, which holds a separate set of dishes for Passover. What does this custom to change all the dishes for Passover symbolize?

Answer: In fact, a special set of dishes for Passover is a modern trend. Previously, before Passover people just made new dishes—from clay, wood, or animal skin.

New dishes symbolize new vessels, i.e., our desires, which we previously used for our own sake. Now we cannot use them in this way but only in order to bestow. I have to change the set of my desires in relation to others.

Question: What does it mean “a set of everyday dishes” that we use throughout the year and “a set of dishes for Passover?”

Answer: “A set of everyday dishes” is an egoistic desire to enjoy at the expense of others, and then you repress and use it.

“A set of dishes for Passover” represents, on the contrary, using altruistic desires for the good of others.

You have to replace one set with another—to use your desires in love for others, in bestowal. This is called “new vessels.” And after you use these new vessels for a week, you can begin to return to your old vessels because you already know how to correct them, i.e., to use in the correct way.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 3/24/14

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An article written by my student , M. Brushtein:

The Passover Seder (festive meal) is not far off.  Many people know that this holiday is dedicated to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, which occurred about 34 centuries ago.

Since then, this momentous event is celebrated every year for the whole week. If we consider that it is preceded by a lot of laborious activities and accompanied by all sorts of restrictions, there is a fair question, “Why is such special attention paid to this holiday?”

The tragic events that preceded the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and that subsequently occurred during the wanderings in the desert are well known. Along with this, one event stands out from all the rest. The fact is that nothing like that had ever happened to anyone else.

For the first time in history of humanity, the Jewish people decided to raise the bar of interpersonal relationships to the level of “as one man with one heart.” If we look at the holiday of Passover from this point of view, then much if not all of what that we know about Passover and the Jews may have to be radically reviewed.

Imagine for a moment the situation of those days. The Jews under the guidance of their leader Moses are leaving Egypt – a country, where they were enslaved for centuries. It would seem, what do former slaves need? – To settle quickly in a new place to live safely and enjoy new found freedom. But in reality, something strange took place.

After a long ordeal in the desert, the Jews gather at the foot of Mount Sinai and take on themselves, frankly, an unbearable burden. They agree to guarantee for each other. We know that this is impossible in principle. Didn’t people have other things? Who needed this mutual guarantee anyway?

But in fact, the answer is obvious: “In order for a people to live, thrive and grow, it must be united, and it is unlikely anyone will argue with this.” Question: “On the basis of the principle, ​​through what idea can this be done?”

Of course, you can unite the people on the idea of ​​universal equality and brotherhood and on the idea of ​​national superiority; it is also possible to unite the people by the American dream.

There is a practical question – “How and for how long will these principles and ideas work?”  We know the answers. With all that, these principles are rational and understandable, but the idea of ​​”mutual guarantee” or even worse – “love thy neighbor as thyself” – is irrational, that is, essentially impossible.

Why then, has the idea of ​​”love thy neighbor,” irrational at first glance, lived for more than 3,000 years and is perceived with understanding by anyone in the world, but rational ideas – “national ideas” are always taken ill and die within a generation?

And yet, how could the Jews implement this idea in reality? Let’s not talk about such things as the upper force or the Creator. Let’s talk about where we started – mutual guarantee.

It says in the Torah that the Jews, one and all, decided unanimously to guarantee for each other. It can be said it was a matter of the whole people, with all the consequences. Obviously, this was the reason for success.

Later, as we know and due to various reasons, the people became indifferent towards this idea in order to then return to it again.

In both cases, the Jews thrived and prospered. Having united as one man with one heart in those ancient times, the Jewish people became a model for many nations and the founder of the ethical values ​​that underlie the whole of civilization.

Today, the Jewish people as one, can give an example of correct relations. If all the people becomes engaged with this and if this idea becomes nationwide, as in the days of Moses, then without a doubt, the Jewish people will be able to realize it.

The choice is ours.
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Question: Why is it customary to have a meal on Pesach evening when the entire family sits around the table?

Answer: Pesach is a special holiday because it symbolizes the birth of the Israeli nation. It says that it is only after the exodus from Egypt that they become a nation, and that we cannot be called a nation as long as we are separated and divided, and the egoistic force tears us to pieces. It is only when we resist these foreign forces and try to connect that we discover the force of unity that ties us and that we become a nation. Therefore the Israeli nation today is not called a nation according to the true Kabbalistic definition.

Comment: This state of division was very strongly revealed during the elections in Israel that ended not too long ago and divided the nation into many parties and movements. The internal division is increasingly growing and deepening.

Answer: These elections were very harmful to the nation since we celebrate the fact that we have conflicts and that we hate one another. During the election’s propaganda, we emphasized these differences and everyone tried to harm the other as much as he could. This is terribly harmful to our nation, although it is called democracy. After all, the entire basis of the Israeli nation is unity above all the obstacles and the differences.

Question: But, what should we do if our opinions differ?

Answer: This is a very good thing! It is actually the connection between plus and minus that generates energy. It is good that we don’t share the same opinions. We only must learn how to connect above all the differences. Therefore, the connection to which the wisdom of Kabbalah brings us is far from being a simple idea. We must find the special force in nature that will help us unite despite our differences and oppositeness. The opposite opinions remain, but we know how to make peace between us above them so that love will cover all the sins. This is a very profound principle. We are both sinners, you and I, but we build a bridge above the hate we feel towards one another.

The Book of Zohar tells us that Rabbi Shimon’s ten students who sat in a cave and wrote this book hated each other so much when they began to study at midnight they wanted to burn one another. But, to the extent that they studied together and made efforts in order to gradually build the bridge above their burning hatred, they reached spiritual revelations about which they tell us later in The Book of Zohar. Such a bridge can be built only above opposite opinions.

Question: Does that mean that whenever we have disputes, we always can build a bridge above them?

Answer: We can always build a bridge above our disputes, and moreover, it is forbidden to pressure a person to force him to concede and change his opinion. The more different his opinion is from the others, the better it is.

Question: So, what will build the bridge between us?

Answer: For example, we can take an electric or electronic system that actually works thanks to the fact that it burns energy as a result of the potential gap between two electric wires that reach it. When we are in a conflict and opposite one another because of our egoistic nature, and, at the same time, connect above it, these two levels create spiritual attainment within us. We attain the spiritual world in the potential gap when we discover and get to know not only our current corporeal world, but also the upper world. The attainment of the spiritual world is called a soul.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Question: I don’t feel myself enslaved; it seems to me that I am a free man. So how is the instruction on the Passover holiday to represent myself as leaving the servitude of Egypt every year relevant to me?

Answer: It seems that we are free because we don’t feel that we depend upon each other. We try to arrange our lives so as not to be associated with anyone, so nobody will bother us. That is our nature.

For the sake of this independence, we invent new computers and mobile phones. In every house there are so many household appliances that require minimal help from others. This makes it easier for our egoistic nature, and we carry out its demands: I don’t touch anyone and try not to have anyone touch me.

But basically, all of us are connected and interdependent. It becomes clear that all the still, vegetative, and animate nature also constitute a single integral system in which everything is connected with everything else. So the wisdom of Kabbalah warns us that we depend upon one another and we will yet discover this dependence in the future.

If we don’t attain unity, then it will be very bad for us. In the meantime, we don’t feel the necessity for this to any great degree and because the wisdom of Kabbalah was not disclosed in the bondage of the previous generations, thousands of years it was in hiding. We didn’t have a need for it as we were not ready to discover that we are interdependent.

But today the whole world feels this mutual dependence. To the degree that it discovers this negative connection, it will turn to the Jewish people, for only this people possesses the method that makes it possible to unite above all differences.

There is a very great demand for this method in the world today. Therefore if we don’t convey this method to other people, we will feel very strong pressure. Anti-Semitism will continue to grow and the nations of the world will bring more and more claims against the Jewish people, blaming us for all their troubles.

They won’t exactly know the reason for their hatred towards us, but it is derived specifically from that. This pressure can be expressed in different ways, as we see in the attitude of the United States towards Israel deteriorating day by day.

Question: When you look at the world today, would you define our state as slavery?

Answer: Certainly, we are enslaved to our nature. I am always carrying out the commands of my inner nature and I obey them without any clarification, criticism, or opposition. I am simply not prepared to go against it.

My egoistic desire demands that I succeed and obtain benefit without considering anyone else. And if I am in an integral connection with others, how could I not take them into consideration?  I become limited in all of my actions.

Question: So the problem isn’t in my doing well,  but my doing so at the expense of others?

Answer: I cannot even succeed that way. Today not even an entire nation can succeed if it is isolated from others. All of them are discovering the necessity for connection with each other, but they cannot do this correctly. Nobody knows how to establish good connections between them: America, Russia, China, Europe, Jews, and Arabs.

Nobody can succeed and go out in the first place if it isn’t done through a totally good connection. It follows that the most successful will be the one who most accurately takes our mutual connections into account and acts accordingly. And this is what going out from slavery to freedom symbolizes. Everyone, all of humanity, must learn this.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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In order to come to the state of “Passover,” we must reach such a level of development where we are unable to work with egoism; we need to rise above it.

The outburst of egoism happened for the first time in Babylon. Against this eruption that took place when the population was not large, Abraham, a priest of ancient Babylon, discovered the system of ascent above egoism.

Several thousand people accepted this method, and they went together with him to the land of Canaan, present-day Israel. Abraham taught his followers what it meant to be in love with each other, rising above the ego and constantly stepping over one’s ego—Pesach (from the word Pasach, to pass).

Our ego is growing constantly, and we are growing above it, covering it by the law of “… love covereth all transgressions.” Transgressions remain, but, the greater they are—up to immense hatred—the greater love appears between us.

We do not hide our hatred, are not ashamed of it, because we understand that it comes from human nature, and our task is to identify in nature the next, positive force that will give us the opportunity to cover hatred with love.

Then, we will be in a constant state of spiritual elevation. However, hatred will determine the height of the love with which we cover it.

It turns out that we can continue to grow constantly. That is, each transition from stage to stage will become Passover (Pesach), the holiday that is always with you.
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From KabTV’s “Conversations about Passover,” 3/18/15

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Question: Why does it say that in every generation a person should see himself as if he came out of Egypt?

Answer: It isn’t about historical events but about states that we should undergo in every generation. Although we have already been through a certain process that brings us closer to one another and to society and we have corrected ourselves in some way and our forefathers have done the same in their generations, our children have to repeat the same process.

Everyone is born in his ego, since a person’s nature is evil from his birth, and we have to continuously overcome it and get closer to one another. But this process isn’t infinite and we are already in the last generations that have to end the correction.

In the past this process continued from one generation to the next, and now there are only a few generations left to complete it as we tie all the generations together in the one-generation of the Messiah. This is called the last generation since it sums all the actions that bring us closer to one another and then we reach the best state.

Comment: Unfortunately, we don’t see that today’s society is getting closer to the corrected state. Every day we hear about new incidents of violence on the news. I would rather call our state: catastrophic and uncorrected.

Answer: That’s true and still I am very optimistic. We see the same sequence of events in the exile in Egypt. It also begins in a very nice way in seven years of satiety when the Jews live a wonderful life in Egypt and hold the best and highest posts. Moses becomes Pharaoh’s adopted son and is raised in the palace on Pharaoh’s lap as the prince of Egypt. It seems that one could not wish for a better life. But then the seven years of hunger suddenly arrive. The children of Israel sigh under the hard work. A new king emerges in Egypt and they begin to feel how the darkness grows until the ten plagues of Egypt arrive. These plagues rain down upon us, from Pharaoh, which means our ego, and they actually help us escape and force us to change our attitude to life: to unite.

Today we feel that the period of the darkness of Egypt is starting once again, but it is general, global, and worldwide. This darkness is meant to bring us closer to redemption, but first it will be very dark. We can understand that the darkness is the sign of a new bright and wonderful state; it indicates that we want to get closer to one another, but we cannot. As a result we don’t need to receive strong blows because we already feel that we lack the force of love and bestowal.

But if we disrespect one another, the blows of Egypt will certainly come. This means that everything depends on us now. If we understand with glance, like a child who understands his parent’s warning and improves his behavior, then there is no need for the blows.

But if the child doesn’t listen, he has to be punished and eventually will do what is required of him. Everything depends on how well we can listen to what the wisdom of Kabbalah tells us. Let’s hope that we will listen to its warnings.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Passover reminds us not only of the past, but also of the future.

From time immemorial, Passover evening has united Jewish families around the holiday table. The feast is spelled out in every detail, yet is foreign to formalism, and its unhurried ceremony revives the exit from Egyptian slavery.

But if we came out of Egypt, then why do we again repeat: “This year we are slaves, next year we will be free?”

Our sources state that behind the known events and ups and downs, there is one more layer of information that is not so much about history but about human relationships. Or rather, it is about the unity and mutual understanding that the Jewish people reached and is so necessary, not only to the Jewish people, but especially today to the whole of humanity.
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Question: Why do we drink wine during the holidays, particularly the tradition of drinking four glasses of wine at the Pesach (Passover) meal?

Answer: Wine symbolizes the Light of fulfillment (Hochma) that comes down to us during the holidays, thus letting us undergo a certain spiritual ascent.

Wine is not just a symbol of joy. Rather, it proves that we constantly enhance our connection and get closer to revelation of the upper spiritual world.

As soon as we reach a state called the crossing of the Red Sea and transcend from mutual detachment to reciprocal connection, we will happen to reveal new, benevolent relationships among us called the upper world.

There are four steps that we should go through in order to build a good connection among us. They are symbolized by the traditional four glasses of wine that we drink during the Pesach meals.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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