In the News (from Reuters): “One of every seven Americans will take a hit on Friday when a $5 billion cut in food stamps, the first across-the-board reduction in the history of the decades-old federal program, takes effect.

“But if conservative Republicans in Congress get their way, this week’s pullback may be just a taste of what’s to come for some of the almost 48 million Americans who receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“SNAP, the largest U.S. anti-hunger program, is designed to help poor people – most of them children, disabled or elderly – buy food. But enrollment has doubled and the program’s cost has nearly tripled since 2004, and has remained at record levels even as the economy improves and unemployment declines.”

“For those wondering about abuse or fraud in the program, here’s a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report (pdf) on “trafficking” in the food-stamp program. Between 2009 and 2011, about $858 million worth of food stamps, or just 1.3 percent of all benefits, were traded at a discount for cash.” Source: The Washington Post

“According to the UN, today more than a billion of people in the world suffer from starvation. Experts believe that the problem can not be solved within the current political-economic paradigm framework. …

“Lappe, Collins and Rosset in their book dispelled another myth about hunger. They have denied the widespread belief that the world produces not enough food. In reality, the main problem is the abundance, not deficit. The planet produces enough food to provide every person 3,500 calories a day, and this calculation does not include meat, vegetables, fruit, fish and other foods. Today, the world produces so much food that everyone can get about 1.7 kg of food per day – about 800 grams of products produced from grain (bread, cereal, pasta, etc.), approximately 0.5 kg of fruits and vegetables, and about 400 grams of meat, eggs, milk and so on. The problem is that people are too poor to buy themselves food.” Source: The Voice of Russia

My Comment: It is only our egoism that does not allow everyone to live with dignity, in abundance. The same situation exists with all other goods. Until we correct ourselves, change our nature from egoistic to altruistic, there will be hunger, disease, and inequality in the world. Only one force governs in us—egoism, and in order to balance it we need the second force, opposite to it—altruism.

It can be obtained only by the method of integral education (IE). Through this technique, a practical application of the wisdom of Kabbalah for the correction of the human being, can realize the biblical call to “love your neighbor as yourself.” According to the program of development of nature we must change ourselves by force or voluntarily. By force is under the pressure of great suffering. Voluntarily is through integral education and upbringing.
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In the News (from LiveScience): “The universe may grow like a giant brain, according to a new computer simulation.

“The results, published Nov.16 in the journal Nature’s Scientific Reports, suggest that some undiscovered, fundamental laws may govern the growth of systems large and small, from the electrical firing between brain cells and growth of social networks to the expansion of galaxies.

“’Natural growth dynamics are the same for different real networks, like the Internet or the brain or social networks,’ said study co-author Dmitri Krioukov, a physicist at the University of California San Diego.

“The new study suggests a single fundamental law of nature may govern these networks, said physicist Kevin Bassler of the University of Houston, who was not involved in the study.”

“This comparative review, which is the first of its kind, describes the universe from the perspective of cell biology, focusing on theoretical and observational conceptualizations of cosmic history. This holographic strategy presents us with a natural, understandable, and reasonably expanding universe; in fact, nearly all that exists in the macrouniverse is mirrored in a biological cell as a micro universe. Simply put, the universe can be pictured as a cell. …

“For more than 35 years, black hole physics has been one of the most active fields of research in both classical and quantum gravity. The cellular model of the universe presumes a black-hole centered universe which is, roughly speaking, similar to a biological cell in many surprising aspects. Since a black hole is spherical, it resembles the cell nucleus in shape. In addition, similar to the two-layered nuclear membrane in eukaryotic cells, any black hole has two event horizons, the outer horizon and inner horizon. The horizon is a spherical surface that marks the boundary of the black hole. The laws of relativity prevent anything that goes into a black hole from coming out again, at least within classical physics. We conjecture it is analogous to the nuclear membrane, which prevents mixing of nucleoplasm and cytoplasm. In addition, trafficking of proteins and nucleic acids in or out of the cell nucleus is restricted by the nuclear membrane. In 1974 the British theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, demonstrated that a black hole spontaneously emits electromagnetic radiation, now known as Hawking radiation, through a quantum process. In 1920, the Russian embryologist, Alexander Gurwitsch, also demonstrated that the nucleus of each living cell emits small pockets of electromagnetic radiation.” Source: International Journal of the Physical Sciences

My Comment: Everything is created and has the structure of HaVaYaH (the four-stage development of desire or the name of the Creator), from the smallest manifestations of an existing object or phenomenon to all of creation as a whole. The law of similarity of the particular and the general is observed, as well as others.
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In the News (from Freelance Bureau of International Investigation): “Up to 500 bandits account for one policeman in the U.S. Street crime hits the U.S. cities. Volunteers of the Freelance Bureau of International Investigation’s North American office, coming out of their houses, were in the midst of gang warfare. …

“The FBI in 2005 equalized street gangs and terrorism, declaring these crimes a major threat to U.S. national security. According to the feds’ official data, more than 33 thousand of gangs operate in the country, and the total number of members exceeds 1.4 million people! Don’t be naive, the FBI didn’t include in the list all American prisoners (there are 2.2 million imprisoned people in the U.S.), but only the active members of gangs, mostly young men. In other words, American gangs include the same number of members as the number of military who serve in the U.S. army! …

“A significant expansion of their activities was an unexpected consequence of the sharp rise in the number of gangs. In addition to traditional racketeering, street trade in drugs and arms the gangs began to put into practice illegal transport of migrants, human trafficking, and prostitution’s protection. Gangs began to develop high tech crimes such as counterfeiting, credit fraud and theft of personal data. These are even more frightening. …

“Considerable figures are even worse when you consider that most of the gang members are men aged 18-25. Tough recruits begin to levy children in school. According to the report ‘The fight against juvenile violence,’ prepared for the U.S. Congress, the schools ranked fourth among the criminal gangs’ recruitment centers. One in five American high school students gets an offer to join the gang. …

“The most common age of the groups’ new participants is 10-12 years old. Moreover, the following cases become more frequent. Gangs’ recruiters affect first-graders (in the U.S. school age start at the age of 5-6 years old). ‘Gangs are worse than terrorists,’ the psychologist Mary Jo Rapini says. ‘They use naivety and low self-esteem. Children see themselves as small, helpless, incapable, therefore, joining a gang gives them a sense of self-worth, care and safety.’…

“Moreover, since May 13, after making of the amendments to the federal regulatory act 32, the U.S. military got official authority to temporarily take over the duties to suppress the large-scale riots amid extraordinary circumstances. To the contrary, if the government fields army troops and heavy weapons against 1.4 million armed gangs, then it will not be the suppression of riots but a real civil war.”

My Comment: The U.S. government is going by the path of suffering, not willing to introduce the method of integral education and upbringing as the only means of salvation from a future civil war. We must use our example to show how it is possible to bring people to good relationships between each other by allowing the force of unity (the Upper Light) to change our egoistic nature. Then everyone will understand that it is possible!
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In the News (from infowars.com): “After illustrating their enthusiasm for repealing the Bill of Rights, a video shows Americans happily signing a petition to support a ‘Nazi-style Orwellian police state,’ in what easily represents the most shocking footage of its kind to date.

“Citing issues with how the government shutdown has impacted the ability of the police to ‘keep the community safe,’ Dice tells San Diegans that there is a need to ‘increase the Orwellian system.’

“‘Not a problem,’ responds one man as he signs the petition.

“‘We just want to model it after the Nazi Germany system to keep people safe and secure,’ Dice tells another individual. …

“The standard bearer for using satirical petitions to illustrate how misinformed Americans really are stretches all the way back to 1990, when it was repeatedly proven that people would sign petitions to ban water, but only if it was renamed “dihydrogen monoxide.” Penn and Teller reproduced the social experiment in 2003 when they were successful in getting environmentalists to sign a similar petition.

“However, Dice has proven that some element of trickery is no longer necessary to convince Americans to support ludicrously draconian policies.

“He quite clearly spells it out to them on numerous occasions what they are supporting – an Orwellian police state modeled on Nazi Germany.”

My Comment: Personal safety is much more important for our egoistic nature than some imagined freedoms. Naturally, first it is necessary to ensure human safety, food, shelter, family, security, and they provide them personal and social freedoms—this is the pyramid of our needs (according to the principle “No flour, no Torah”). This should be considered during the dissemination of integral education and upbringing.
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Opinion (Ron Paul, American physician, author, and former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives): “Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul doesn’t see a rosy future ahead for the United States. In fact, he sees a repeat of recent history – though not U.S. history – on the horizon.’’

“‘They’re (Washington collectively) not going to work their way out of it, so it’s just (all) going to collapse,’ he said. …

“The physician-lawmaker also said recent polling showing a distinct lack of trust by the American people in their government was ‘a good thing.’

“‘Because that means that now they’ll quit believing the government,’ he told Jones. ‘I mean, they don’t trust the government, they don’t believe the government, the government always lies to them… whether its foreign policy or domestic policy.’

“‘Just think how quickly the Soviet system disappeared. I think that was the greatest miracle, or event at least, in the twentieth century’ that nobody saw coming.

“‘You know, the day before, the month before, the year before, if someone would have said, “Oh, you know, next year,” the Soviet system would be gone, everybody would have considered that person nuts. But it was fragile, and it fell apart, and quickly, and thank goodness we didn’t have to have a nuclear war in order to get rid of the Soviet system.”

“‘We’re probably in 1987, where the Soviets were in ’87, in two years they were gone,’ he said.”

My Comment: The collapse is not yet clear, but the sharp deterioration of public relations is obvious, and what the USA has initiated in other countries, including Israel, will be echoed in it, as I wrote in this blog …
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In the News (from Project Syndicate): “Every year, we waste or lose 1.3 billion metric tons of food – one-third of the world’s annual food production. The sheer scale of the number makes it almost impossible to grasp, no matter how one approaches it. Try to imagine 143,000 Eiffel Towers stacked one on top of another, or a pile of 10 trillion bananas.

“The figure is all the more unfathomable, given that, alongside this massive wastage and loss, 840 million people experience chronic hunger on a daily basis. Many millions more suffer from ‘silent hunger’ – malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies.

“For the more economically minded, here is another number: food wastage and loss, expressed in producer prices, costs roughly $750 billion per year. If we were to consider retail prices and the wider impacts on the environment, including climate change, the figure would be much higher. …

“Food loss – on farms, during processing, transport, and at markets – undermines food security in most developing countries, where post-harvest losses can reach as high as 40% of production. Investment in infrastructure for transport, storage, and marketing of food is badly needed, as are programs to train farmers in best practices.

“In developed countries, food-retailing practices require a rethink.”

My Comment: There is a religious principle in Judaism “Baal Tashchit“: Do not destroy the useful, anything that can be useful to others. It is forbidden to throw out leftovers, suitable for human and animal food, any industrial waste that could be still consumed, etc. because everything is given by the Creator for the correction of the world; thus we must use it, precisely to correct the world. It is possible to use it correctly only to the extent of the correction of the human being, when he naturally, instinctively thinks of the common good.
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In the News (from Project Syndicate): “At the 68^th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which began on September 17, world leaders are laying the foundations of a development agenda to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire in 2015. The upcoming Sustainable Development Goals will be based on the understanding that economic development is key to improving human well-being and securing the most vulnerable people’s rights. But, in order to make genuine progress, policymakers must address the factors that constrain development, particularly violence and conflict. …

“In formulating the post-2015 development agenda, world leaders must recognize the tremendous impetus that less violent, more harmonious societies would provide for economic development. By stimulating a virtuous cycle of peace and prosperity, policymakers can contribute to the well-being of people worldwide. Now that is a goal worth pursuing.”

My Comment: The UN cannot do anything, but to play out what it is imposed on it. There is no solution to problems at the level of our world! The problem is that our egoism, from the force that develops humanity (the seven years of satiation of slavery in Egypt), began to devour its children, like a cancerous tumor that starts to consume its own body, resulting in the death of the body and thus its own death (the seven lean years of slavery in Egypt).

At the end of this development by suffering (Beito) in terrible suffering (the ten plagues of Egypt), there should be the awareness of a dead end and the desire to exit the egoistic nature at any cost. Starting from today, we can complete the entire path in a gradual correction by seeking unity (Ahishena). In this way a remedy against egoism is manifested (the cancer is treated by radiation – the Upper Light).
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In the News (from the University of Massachusetts Amherst): “In a new review of how psychology research has illuminated the causes of war and violence, three political psychologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst say this understanding can and should be used to promote peace and overturn the belief that violent conflict is inevitable.

“Writing in the current special ‘peace psychology’ issue of American Psychologist, lead author Bernhard Leidner, Linda Tropp and Brian Lickel of UMass Amherst’s Psychology of Peace and Violence program say that if social psychology research focuses only on how to soften the negative consequences of war and violence, ‘it would fall far short of its potential and value for society.’…

“’In summarizing psychological perspectives on the conditions and motivations that underlie violent conflict,’ says Tropp, ‘we find that psychology’s contributions can extend beyond understanding the origins and nature of violence to promote nonviolence and peace.’ She adds, ‘We oppose the view that war is inevitable and argue that understanding the psychological roots of conflict can increase the likelihood of avoiding violence as a way to resolve conflicts with others.’

“The authors acknowledge that conflict and violence between groups persist because they often give people ways to address psychological needs, for identity, safety, security and power. Nonviolence has received far less media and research attention, they point out, but this should change. The UMass Amherst team urges social psychologists to consider factors that increase empathy and understanding of others, along with factors that increase the capacity for critical evaluation of the “ingroup.”

They conclude, ‘Research that investigates how to mitigate negative consequences of war and violence is valuable,’ and the studies they summarize, grounded in ‘realistic insights,’ support the view that psychology can be applied to promote peace. ‘It is our contention that psychology can and should be applied to promote peace, not war.’”

My Comment: This psychology of peace is the method of Integral Education. Maybe it’s time to turn to scientists. Previously, they were not interested in this …
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In the News: “On Friday, Oct. 18, the 2013 Stanford Roundtable, “Are You Happy Now?” convened five experts to discuss what happiness is and why many Americans are unhappy. The panelists also discussed simple, synergistic strategies that people can employ to promote long-lasting, meaningful happiness. …

“In a recent study that ranked 50 countries by overall happiness, the United States slotted in at 23rd. This finding might seem incongruous with the American dream: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“But that rhetoric – the constant pursuit of happiness – might be what’s holding the United States back.

“Katie Couric, journalist and host of the daytime talk show Katie, moderated the discussion.” Source: Stanford News

Around 4600 people participated in the roundtable physically and around 700 virtually via the Internet.

The discussion showed that, in fact, no one knows what happiness is. People are not clear how to achieve it. Depression is increasing on a global scale and with the onset at younger ages, but no one knows what to do with it.

The Bnei Baruch San Francisco group participated in the roundtable.
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In the News (from The National Interest): “The status of Jews in Europe remains a delicate one. At least that is what a new survey by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights suggests. The survey, to be released in full in November, found that nearly one quarter of European Jews avoid doing things or wearing symbols that could allow others to identify them as Jewish. And the numbers are worse in some places: Forty-nine percent of the Swedish utopia’s Jews avoid recognizably Jewish clothing and symbols in public.

“Eighty-eight percent of French Jews said antisemitism has become worse in the last five years. Thirty percent of Hungarian Jews have experienced an antisemitic incident in the past twelve months. And around Europe, two-thirds said reporting assaults and other antisemitic incidents to the police wasn’t worth it, or wouldn’t make a difference. …

“Who is to blame? The media would have you believe it’s the far right—Greece swarming with Golden Dawn blackshirts and cryptofascists flexing their muscles almost everywhere east of the Elbe. And the Kantor Center documents plenty of far-right violence. But participants in the EU survey, many drawn from Western Europe, saw it differently—just 19 percent pinned it on the extreme right. Twenty-two percent faulted the extreme left. But Europe’s Muslims are cited by 27 percent.”

My Comment: The nations of the world are not so much to blame for the growth of anti-Semitism in our time, as are the Jews themselves because they have long been required to carry “the Light to the nations of the world” in the form of the method of correction of egoism, of all the evil in the world, through the teaching of Kabbalah or through its lighter version, the method of Integral Education and Upbringing. But in any case, in the places where anti-Semitism erupts, there is a void, the absence of the Light, and there, more than in other places, the nations and the countries will suffer.
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