The entire great Kli of the soul was shattered into fragments, and among the fragments are pure Kelim (vessels) that are close to the characteristics of the upper Light. It is very easy for them to be awakened, so when Abraham called to them, they were immediately awakened, got up, and followed him, leaving Babylon.

This is Israel, which only seems to be the most egoistic part in the world because it has already gone through the path of spiritual development. But essentially, this is a very refined Kli (vessel) and belongs to the Kelim of Galgalta ve Eynaim (GE).

Every remaining part of the collective Kli belongs to the nations of the world, and specifically through their correction, we attain Ohr Hochma (Light of Wisdom). They are the goal of creation, whereas Israel acts only as a help in this realization, in the role of an adaptor, a conduit.

Question: It follows that the Creator chose these refined Kelim as sacrifices?

Answer: On the one hand, we are sacrifices, but on the other hand, Israel is a unique nation that serves all the others. Everything depends on how you accept this honored mission: Do you think and receive your service to the Creator and to the world as a respectable merit or as a punishment?

You came into this world to serve all the nations of the world and through this to serve the Creator. These are the refined Kelim that are awakened first and have the readiness to connect. They have an initial preparation for correction because they have the “merit of the forefathers,” meaning that they have already passed through spiritual states that were latent in them in a concealed form and they can be awakened again.

All this is done to be a light to the nations, so that in them the thought of creation will be realized. The goal is to reach all the heaviest Kelim. They are called “the chosen people” because they have a unique role.

Israel is in the service of the Creator and the creatures, and we are in the middle as a conduit, as a pipe. And it is essential to accept this mission when it is necessary, otherwise you will always be obligated from Above. There is no reason to argue with the program of creation; the more rapidly that Israel understands what must be done, it will be to our benefit and the benefit of others and there will be less suffering.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/19/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Why did the Creator choose one nation for a special mission, and is this choice related to religion?

Answer: The true religion is to love your friend as thyself. This is the rule that Abraham publicized in ancient Babylon, and he gathered the people around him according to this rule into a group called Israel, which means Yashar El (straight to the Creator).

Only some of the people of Babylon followed Abraham; those who had greater vessels of bestowal. All the others had vessels of receiving. This was intentional so that they would have a chance to help one another.

First the vessels of bestowal are corrected so that they can ascend to a spiritual level. When Abraham collected them, they had nothing. So first they had to go through the hardening of the heart called Egypt, that is, they don’t ascend but rather descend.

After the exodus from Babylon, they go down to Egypt, then come out of Egypt and ascend to the receiving of the Torah. They then cross the desert, build the first Temple, and fall. They ascend again to the height of the second Temple and go through another descent to the corporeal level. This is in order to be mutually incorporated with the nations of the world and get ready for the end of the correction of the world.

The whole process, starting with the exodus from Babylon and everything that follows, is in order to reach greater connection. This is what Abraham taught. The moment they started to connect, they felt that they were in a greater and greater descent.

The Light that shone on them made it possible for them to descend more and more deeply into their ego and to see that they were far from bestowal, from the Light. Therefore, they felt the gap, the delta between the state of the exile in Egypt and the level they were on when they left Babylon, and they would have remained on that level if it weren’t for the Light. This is the gap between the Light and our ego.
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From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/19/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Opinion (Mark Schaller, Professor of Psychology – University of British Columbia): “It’s an unconscious strategy for avoiding a wide range of potential infections, since we have no way of detecting germs themselves. But since the consequences of missing a sign of disease are serious, possibly even fatal, and the array of symptoms wide, our behavioral immune system (as Schaller has dubbed this suite of responses) tends towards over-sensitivity—which is why we might be more averse to practically anyone who strikes us as anomalous. That includes a man in a wheelchair who poses no disease threat at all. Recent scholarship bears this out; for example, research published in Evolution and Human Behavior revealed that disease-avoidant psychological processes play a driving role in prejudices against people who are obese or disabled.

“’Protective prejudice’ may also fuel an instinctive distrust of strangers. It makes sense—in terms of strict self-preservation—to be wary around those whose behavior and dress suggest they’re outsiders.

“Even if we try to hide our reactions, our instinctive concerns about those who look unusual are biases we impart to others through everyday interactions. Left unchecked, such discomfort can grow powerful enough to predispose whole societies towards xenophobia, and along with it, violence against those seen as outsiders. Yet by understanding the underpinnings of protective prejudice, we can learn to combat it rather than overextend it, on both a personal and a global scale.”

My Comment: Everything can be overcome, except anti-Semitism, because it stems from the opposition of the forces to receive and bestow. Carriers of these forces are opposite in nature. By their nature, Jews belong to the force of bestowal, and other nations belong to the force of receiving.

This is the reason for hatred, rejection, and the feeling of strangeness, which cannot be overcome or corrected. Correction is the opposite action that will help the Jews realize their root of bestowal (love of others), and the nations of the world accept the method from them and also reach this quality. Only in this case, will everyone adhere to the Creator.
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Opinion (Asaf Golan): “Careful analysis of the negotiation process leads to the conclusion that the Palestinians are not willing to end the conflict with Israel because it would force the Palestinian leadership to take responsibility for the Arab citizens, instead of inciting against the ‘Zionist entity.’

“No representative of the Palestinian administration would ever take such responsibility. All the Palestinian officials used the peace process solely to increase their bank accounts.

“The fact is that the population, which is called ‘Palestinians’ is an array of various urban clans which have nothing in common with each other, who even refuse to enter into kinship: Hebron residents do not marry with those who live in the vicinity, residents of East Jerusalem do not marry those who live in Nablus. So do the other Palestinian clans.

“In the case of signing a treaty with Israel, all these decorations, called the ‘Palestinian people,’ will be dismantled. The residents of the autonomy will enter into internecine conflicts. This is what the leaders of the autonomy are afraid of.

“In addition, an agreement with the Jewish state in the Land of Israel would be a de facto recognition that the Palestinian narrative is artificial, and its sole purpose is a war of Arab countries with the Jews under the banner of the struggle against the Zionist colonial grip.

“This is the reason that the Palestinians in a completely infantile way deny any sign of authentic Jewish history in the Land of Israel, for example, the Jerusalem Temple or the kingdom of Israel. In their view, any archaeological find discovered in Israel is part of the Palestinian heritage and the Palestinians allegedly are descendants of the ancient Canaanites and Philistines who lived on this land.

“Israel must investigate the origin of the Arab population in terms of its Jewish roots. After all, according to studies, 60-70% of the Arab population have Jewish roots. A dialogue with these groups should be established for the purpose of their conversion into Judaism. By the way, the representatives of the Hasmonean dynasty acted in this way in relation to the Edomites , and there are no obstacles to such practices today with respect to all the Palestinians who are true descendants of the Jews.”

My Comment: What will help is only the people performing their mission, their purpose, which is to show the nations of the world the ascent to the next degree of human development  through similarity to the Creator in the property of “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” We need to focus all our energy and attention precisely on this.
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This article is written by my student, Michael Brunstein.

Anti-Semitism as a Natural Phenomenon

“554 cases of offense against the Jews were registered in 2013.”

“The majority of anti-Semitic incidents took place in France, Great Britain occupies second place, third place belongs to Canada, and the USA comes in fourth. A minimum of 15 politicians and well-known public leaders in various countries were forced to leave their positions because of their anti-Semitic statements.” (Reported by The Kantor Institute)

Mind-boggling events continue happening throughout the world. Particularly, we are deeply shocked because of the recent severe conflict between the Ukraine and Russia. Just a little while ago, this situation would seem much more unfeasible than the invasion of Earth by aliens. And yet, it is in fact going on as we speak.

The world’s mass media constantly comments on this situation. The main question they are discussing is: What is the reason for the mutual hatred between the two brotherly peoples? Confrontation between the two countries triggered brand-new terms such as “green men…” However, nobody has yet mentioned that the roots of this animosity are hidden in the supernatural.

At the same time, the world is overwhelmed by another round of hostility. It causes less social resonance, but for forty centuries, no clear explanation of the phenomenon has been found.

“The historical destiny of the Jewish people is a mystery. The mere survival of this nation is completely unexplainable from a rational point of view. Regular historical explanations prove that this nation should have ceased to exist a long time ago. No other nation in the world could have sustained such a fate.” (N. A. Berdyaev, Russian religious and political philosopher.)

Why Are the Jews Hated?

By who, why, and in what way are the Jews hated so much? It is a hopeless and unproductive topic. Everybody is tired of this discussion. The answers to these questions do not resolve the problem since they don’t address the main issue: What is the reason for the world’s animosity towards the Jews?

“It is common knowledge that the Holocaust and anti-Semitism happened because Hitler came to power. In fact, it is the other way around: Hitler came to power because there was anti-Semitism. He used anti-Semitism to make people love him.” (Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli politician and Prime Minister of Israel)

It’s time to acknowledge that the fact that the Jews are still alive speaks about some phenomena that are not random or natural like gravity or the wind. Our attitude to the Jews can differ, but the fact that there is a “special” attitude to them demonstrates that the Jews are a one of a kind phenomenon.

Let’s bring up a question: what is the main distinctiveness of the Jews? Is it just having numerous Nobel Prize laureates, musicians, bankers among them? Yes, the Jews are known for their achievements in these fields. It’s hard to argue with this fact. However, there are bankers, laureates, and even great chess-players that come from other ethnic backgrounds. So, the main secret must be hidden somewhere else.

Jewish Secret

Surprisingly their “terrible” secret doesn’t have to be unveiled since it is already open to everybody without exception, both to Jews and non-Jews.

This secret can be shared with everybody without triggering negative consequences. In order to reveal this secret, there is no need to go far away or pay a huge price for it, or obtain somebody’s permission. Everybody is supposed to know what the secret is about, and yet nobody understands it. It has no weight, but it’s hard to carry it. It is very attractive, but there are none willing to look at it. It is the most valuable thing on earth, but nobody wants to get it even for free. It is right in front of us, but we don’t believe it. We cannot give it as a gift, nor can it be accepted as a present.

And finally the most astonishing thing:

The Jews haven’t used this secret in a long time, but they continue paying for it. The payments are not straight or even, but they are made on a regular basis.

What kind of secret is it? Have you already guessed? It is about an idea that can be iterated in just five words: “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.”

The price for the secret it’s simple: it is called anti-Semitism.

Roots of Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is not an accident or a whim. It emerged at the same time when the Jewish people and their father Abraham appeared.

The law “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself” that is the foundation of the Jewish nation gave rise to the “mirror” law – anti-Semitism.

“Anti-Semitism is ‘a shadow’ of the Jewish people. I am a physicist; I know that any object lays a shadow. ‘The shadow’ that is linked to my people is anti-Semitism.” (Albert Einstein)

How are the ethical principle “love thy neighbor as thyself” and anti-Semitism connected?

Let’s explore this issue from a realistic platform. It’s very doubtful that there are people in the world (except complete idealists) who think that this ethical principle is consistent with human nature. Recent world events serve as a brilliant proof of this fact. They are unfolding as we speak. In essence, the world is caught in a deadlock.

Still, let’s imagine for a minute that somebody somehow managed to observe this principle. Then what happens? People will obtain hope that their entire life can be different. It is a major concept! They will become confident that treating others well is really possible. Violence and cruelty will be erased from the face of earth. All nations will live in peace and friendship; hunger and poverty will vanish…

But this is utopia, everyone will unanimously exclaim at this point, and they are right. Today, it is not possible, nor was it ever feasible in the past. And yet, there was one exception in the history of humanity: the people of Abraham.

Many times, the people of Abraham proved that it is possible to love their neighbors as themselves. Of course, this state of affairs didn’t last long; short periods of brotherly love were replaced by extended years of mutual animosity. However, if the state of loving our neighbors could last for one month or even one day throughout the millennia, it is worth giving up everything we ever had for that.

Because it is so unrealistic, humanity will never accept this burden onto its shoulders. The principle, which is impossible to follow, is laid in the very foundation of our civilization!

“Love thy neighbor as thyself,” the Golden Rule, in all Abrahamic religions, Confucianism, ancient philosophy and in a number of other world religions is the basic ethical principle.” (Wikipedia. Golden Rule of Morality – Ethic of Reciprocity)How is it connected with anti-Semitism? The explanation is very easy. The nations of the world need an example. It has to be a long-term example, not just a one-time case that took place in the remote past. Rather, humanity necessitates an ongoing model that works right now, in front of their eyes. It is not enough to just theoretically know that the principle “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself” exists in order to be able to follow it. It is essential to have it in front of our eyes on a constant basis.Who can set this example for the rest of humanity? Those who brought this concept into the world. What if they don’t show this example? Does it mean that they don’t fulfill their duty? Their unawareness of how to achieve it is the cause of anti-Semitism.“Anti-Semitism is not a goal; it is a means. It is a measurement tool that weighs contradictions that are impossible to resolve otherwise.” (Vasily Grossman, Soviet writer and journalist)
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Question: One of the friends who was with us for a while said: “I don’t want to be part of a herd. I have my own relationship with the Creator.”

Answer: It will pass. At the moment he doesn’t understand the general picture of creation.

The Creator doesn’t exist! A person has to create Him by himself. What can he come close to? Where can he do it? Only when he is in contact with other people. In fact, he is looking for a way to justify his ego that makes him feel repelled by everyone. I understand him perfectly, but there is nothing we can do. At the moment he is on a childish level and it may take time until he returns.

After the general vessel was shattered into many pieces, the only way to discover the Light, the Creator, within it, is by putting it together. But can I put it together if I am merely a small piece of that vessel?

There is a story about an old chiropractor who was visited by young doctors who came to learn how to put bones back in place. In the past setting bones was a separate profession.

The chiropractor took a clay pitcher, tied it tightly in a sack and broke it. Then he began to put it together without opening the sack. When he put the pitcher together just by feeling the pieces, he showed it to everyone, bowed, and left. This is art!

This is exactly what we should do. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that the nation is ready for this. We don’t encounter a great desire yet, and this hinders my explanations. But the time will come.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 11/27/13

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Question: What can we wish for the people of Israel on their Independence Day holiday?

Answer: I wish for the people of Israel to be independent. There is nothing more important to a person than a feeling of independence. Independence means that we have all of the necessities: power, knowledge, and means, everything we need, and we know how to use it and for what purpose. We are confident about the goal and how to attain it, meaning that we are independent in this as well.

All of this feeling, this collection of conditions, is called “independence.” Independence is not just a lack of external pressure and freedom from everything. Something like this cannot be, and the world is advancing to a state where none of us can be independent, all of us depend upon each other and hold each with a vice.

Being independent means that we know what we want to attain and how to attain it, and we have all the means for this. It is possible to wish this for the people of Israel. But to have all of this requires a higher wisdom.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/4/14, Talk on the Unification of the Nation

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Question: Why does it say that the last redemption will be different from the exodus from Egypt?

Answer: These are the same principles. There cannot be anything that is basically new because the laws of the Light and the desire do not change. But the last redemption will certainly be different from the exodus from Egypt.

We should compare the conditions we are living in now and those of the past. The vessel of the Israeli nation that went down to Egypt wasn’t shattered. It was small but whole. This is how it began to join Egypt and enter the desire to enjoy for one’s self without the shattering, but while keeping its intention to bestow. Therefore, it says that the children of Israel didn’t change their name, their language, or their customs.

This is the reason why their exit from Egypt wasn’t an exit from the shattering. The Light operated and revealed who is who, separating Moses from Pharaoh, the right line from the left line, the rod from the serpent.

The nation of Israel remained Israel even in exile, which means that the connection between them was maintained. They wanted to tighten it even more and then they found out that it didn’t work, but the connection itself remained.

After the destruction of the first and the second Temples, however, the nation of Israel was shattered and mixed with the nations of the world, which means with the real Egyptians to such an extent that now it is under the domination of Egypt, which controls every step they make, every thought, every desire, all their manner of life. They have totally dissolved among the nations of the world in Egypt and have become totally assimilated. The ten tribes are lost and no one knows who and where they are. Even they don’t know anything about themselves. This is our state today.

So the current exodus from Egypt will be totally different from the previous one. Then there was the nucleus. The Israeli nation was under the domination of Pharaoh, but they knew that they were enslaved. The nation was in exile, but they understood that it was exile.

If we tell the Jews today that they are in exile, they will not believe it. Today redemption is considered getting a new Mercedes or a higher salary. In the past they were on a level where they understood that they lack the power of bestowal. They lack this understanding today.

So today’s exodus from exile first requires the recognition of the exile and the establishment of the nation in it. When we are in Egypt, we begin to feel that we are in exile, under the domination of the ego that doesn’t let us connect, which is called Pharaoh. Thus we begin to establish the nation of Israel among us from our group.

Afterward we will have to start working with the public, explaining to them that we are in exile, that connection is a good thing, and that it will help us become a nation. The more we see ourselves as a nation, the more strongly we will feel how our ego dominates us and doesn’t let us be together. This work precedes the exodus from Egypt.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/27/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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The Book Of Zohar, “Pinchas” item 152: Israel, the Creator made them the heart of the world, and this is the way Israel are among the other nations, like a heart among the other organs. And just like the organs of the body cannot exist in the world even for a moment without the heart, the other nations also cannot exist in the world without Israel.

There are no differences in the world of Ein Sof (infinity). There everyone is equal since the upper Light has created everyone equally according to its nature.

Then there was the first restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph) one and the Light disappeared equally from all the borders of Malchut of Ein Sof, and concentrated around a middle point. That’s the way it actually was until the shattering of the vessels.

After the shattering, the vessels fell and were arranged from the top down, and since then, the vessels with the smallest Aviut (thickness) are on top.

In the world of Nikudim there were already ten Sefirot. Its upper part was Bina and the bottom part was Malchut. So the vessels of the root phase, phase one, and part of phase two are the vessels of bestowal (Israel) and the vessels of Aviut three and four are vessels of receiving (the nations of the world).

Thus the vessels of Bina are clarified first. Abraham started this process back in ancient Babylon. As the first point, the right line, Abraham turned to all the Babylonians, to all the vessels, but those who joined him were the vessels of bestowal who felt the Light that illuminated from Abraham when he spread his message. Therefore, they are called Israel according to the Reshimot (spiritual genes) that were revealed in them.

The others dispersed all over the globe and today they make up all of humanity, which is seven billion people.

Later, we have to understand that there is a great difference in the inner essence of the people who belong to these two categories: Israel and the nations of the world. In Israel, there is Reshimo of Malchut in Bina, and in the nations of the world, there is the Reshimo of Bina in Malchut, accordingly.  Malchut dominates the nations of the world and the level of Bina is in it, and Bina dominates Israel with Malchut incorporated in it.

Thus the Reshimot of Malchut and Bina were integrated as a result of the shattering, and this integration exists in every person, since we are all products of the shattering of the common soul of Adam HaRishon (the first man). However, in some people, Malchut dominates Bina, and in others Bina dominates Malchut.

This leads to a great difference during the awakening. Israel awakens when the Light that Reforms affects them, while those who are under the domination of Malchut cannot awaken by this Light. They can only join Bina as Malchut. When Malchut annuls itself before Bina, it builds itself.

This is what we base our dissemination on. After all, even in Israel, there are those who are similar to the nations of the world, and in the nations of the world, there are those who are similar to Israel. Those from the nations of the world who resemble Israel come and join us. Those of us who resemble the nations of the world join the nations of the world. This is how the diffusion takes place, about which it says: “Israel went to exile only in order to attach the souls of the gentiles to them.” This process determines our work and we understand that the law, according to which the correction is done, from the lightest to the more serious part, operates here. This is why we start with people who are attracted to us and then we expand the circles of our dissemination.

Moreover, according to The Zohar, Israel are the heart of the world. This means that the Light can only come to the world through someone who is connected, someone who can be a pipe, an adaptor, a link, between the Creator and the vessels, which are the nations of the world. It is the role of Israel since they are connected both to Bina and to Malchut as Malchut is connected to Keter in its upper part, and in its lower part, ZAT of Bina is connected to Malchut.

Therefore, Israel is a special group that we have to gather all over the world. By this kind of work we establish the passage in this world between humanity and the Creator.

But the goal of creation, on behalf of the Creator, is that humanity will come in contact with Him. We are merely a passageway and we serve both the Creator and humanity. Our honor and our destiny is actually in establishing this contact. If it weren’t for the connection between the Creator and the nations of the world and if we didn’t think that we would delight Him by bringing all of humanity to Him, we wouldn’t fulfill our role.

So we have to treat the nations of the world very nicely and care about what happens to them. Today we see that they have problems, troubles, and afflictions and this should be a sign to us that we are not succeeding in our work.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/2/14, The Mission of the people of Israel

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In the News (from Slon): “The world is becoming more connected – 35% of goods cross borders, compared with 20% in 1990; more than a third of financial investments are international transactions; 20% of the Internet traffic is international; total trade is 36% of the global GDP (but it is still below 52% in the pre-crisis 2007). Russia was ranked 9^th out of 131 countries in the ranking of connectedness with the world economy.” 

My Comment: All reports show how everything is interconnected, although in fact, our interconnection is much greater because connections between people, cultures, and the mixing of populations are not considered.

Nature programmed further development of humankind in growing unity, and we cannot avoid this program. The more we resist it, the more we will be forced to obey it through more suffering. The laws of nature are inevitable.

In previous stages of development (evolution), nature developed matter from still to vegetative to animate. We also belong to the animate part of nature because we developed unconsciously. But on the next degree of “the speaking human being” (Adam – from the word “domeh,” similar to nature, the Creator), we have to rise consciously, attracting the force of nature on our own accord.

In this way we become equal to it, as partners, rather than those who instinctively follow its orders from within. The wisdom of Kabbalah talks of how to rise to the next stage of development. That is why it was hidden until our time, waiting for the end of our instinctive  (unconscious ) development.
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