We will be holding a course for beginners at our Learning Center, starting September 3.

The course will run for 24 weeks, and will be led by two of Bnei Baruch’s veteran students, Tony Kosinec and Mike Kellogg. Any newcomer to Kabbalah will benefit by acquiring a firm basis in Kabbalah’s basic concepts, including:

• What Kabbalah is and isn’t,
• How Kabbalah defines our perception of reality,
• What determines our feelings of pleasure and pain and how to correct the source of suffering,
• How to understand the “language of the Kabbalists”
• What Kabbalistic texts are actually talking about,
• What is free will is and how to attain it.

For more information about the course, and to register, visit the information page, or go directly to our Learning Center.

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I had a conversation that was recorded with Israel’s leading criminal attorney, Sasi Gez.

Sasi was born and grew up in the country’s most criminal neighborhood – Pardes-Katz, but by a “lucky chance,” instead of learning to steal, be a pimp or a drug dealer, he became the defense attorney for his childhood friends. His “happy childhood” (mostly blood mixed with snot) turned him into a “mafia’s attorney” – a recognized criminal defense attorney of the state. It was amazing to see his “Don Corleone” manners, and to find out how much “the cops and the thieves” can have in common.

Sasi wrote a very thick book on criminal law. (In the picture above, it lies next to him on the table; and beside it, the somewhat more modest looking Book of Zohar with my commentary.) Sasi’s close work with his childhood friends and acquaintances (who include leaders of the underground business) and his ability to defend them in court have turned him into one of the most influential people in all social circles. It gave me great pleasure to meet a classic hero – the mafia’s attorney, face to face.

On his end, Sasi completely agreed with the fact that man in our world has no freedom of will, and that our world lacks the means to educate and reeducate people. He agreed that Kabbalah can help do this.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Corporeality Has No Effect on Spirituality
Kabbalah Today Article: Spiritual Education
Article: Why Kabbalah? Why Now?

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The International Academy of Kabbalah is proud to announce that on 08-08-08, two hours before the grand opening of the Olympics in China, we aired a new site in Chinese.

The site was created in two days by three people:

Asta Chepukaite (Lithuania) – content manager and executive editor;
Olya Utkina (Kazakhstan) – design;
Sasha Gerdev (Bnei Baruch Israel) – programming.

And this is just the beginning. We are only starting the work of developing, optimizing and popularizing the site!

We would like to extend a special thank you to Leonid Makaron, who made this site possible and continues to advance our dissemination in Chinese.
Lechaim World Kli!

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We’ve just aired a new blog in Spanish called “Cabalá y el Significado de la Vida“ (Kabbalah and the Meaning of Life):

There are many groups and individuals in Latin America studying Kabbalah with us. I hope that the blog will become a source of simple, popular knowledge and information on Kabbalah for many new friends!

Related Material:
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Kabbalah Website In Spanish

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Every summer we disseminate our newspapers “New Humanity,” “The New World,” and “Kabbalah Today” all along the Black Sea coast, to the eleven million vacationers and local residents who are there. With each passing year, more and more vacationers recognize us and greet us with a smile. Many of them even begin studying with us and become our friends.

This happy couple, whom we’ve never met before, took our newspaper and said: “Maybe they’ll post a picture of us on Laitman’s blog – cool!” And I’m indeed happy to post it. Enjoy your vacation!

Related Material:
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Help Share Kabbalah

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Dear friends!

The International Academy of Kabbalah invites everyone to a Kabbalah Congress that will take place in Odessa, Ukraine on September 11 – 14, 2008.

The theme of the congress is: Unity Through Dissemination
The purpose of the congress is:

1. To create a common virtual space for the worldwide Kabbalistic group
2. To discuss mutual projects
3. To develop new ways to learn and teach Kabbalah

The congress location is the picturesque suburbs of Odessa, at the Kuyalnik Resort.
The program will include lessons with Dr. Michael Laitman, seminars, meals, and a cultural program.
Arrival to the congress site will begin at 12:00 PM on Thursday, September 11.
The opening ceremony will be held at 12:00 PM on Friday, September 12.
The closing ceremony will be held at 12:00 PM on Sunday, September 14.
The rooms have double occupancy.
Cost of participation: $170.
Application deadline: August 10, 2008.

Click here to register
For additional information, write to this address

We are waiting for you!
Congress Organization Committee “Odessa 2008”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: International Kabbalah Congress in New York
Laitman.com Post: Mini-Congress in Colombia

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I had a conversation that was recorded on the topic of pregnancy and birth, as part of a series called “Family and Children.” I spoke with:

Rovit Shtern – midwife, birth preparation instructor, and head of the “Pregnancy and Birth” forum on YNet;

Hagit Telem – project manager at The Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center.

Niv Navon – manager of the department responsible for disseminating our materials on the Internet.

If we knew the laws of nature and followed them, we would avoid many mistakes. The wisdom of Kabbalah tells us about the forces that operate during the spiritual pregnancy, when our souls are like embryos in the Upper System, and about the forces operating during the birth of our souls. By learning about this, we can understand that when we neglect these forces, we make a newborn predisposed to many problems.

Throughout the entire time of the fetus’s development, and especially during the birth process, up until the very last moment of the newborn’s separation from the mother, while he is still connected to her, precisely during the final moments of birth, the mother passes an enormous amount of information (hormones) to the child. Therefore, any interference with the natural processes of childbirth, for example – relieving pain without any special need for it and other auxiliary actions, are harmful for the child. I am glad that medical science is beginning to realize this.

Related Material:
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Article: Spirit and Body

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I had a video conference with two Toronto TV stations – one in Hebrew and one in Russian. I found that Israeli television outside of Israel is exactly that – “Israelis outside of Israel,” or in other words, the greatest and most primitive egoism in the world. There are many primitive egoists, but only theirs is both great and primitive at the same time.

Nevertheless, it appeared as if they too are starting to ask questions, have doubts, and feel desires “above the stomach.” Canada, Australia, and similar countries squeeze everything that’s human out of people, and all that remains is an animalistic aspiration for a full stomach and a peace of mind. You can see this with every person who enters that environment.

One’s environment determines one’s destiny – whether he will go through life worrying only about the comfort of his animate body, until it finally dies, or he will actually think about something besides this. By no means does Kabbalah encourage people to deprive themselves of anything or to suffer. It only explains that a society which eliminates a person’s questions about the meaning of life, turns him into an animal.

But to be frank, lately even the “bourgeois” are beginning to ask questions about the meaning of life. In the past they couldn’t even comprehend the possibility of someone asking such questions, and would look at anyone who spoke about it with a blank, dumbfounded gaze…

Related Material:
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Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah L’Am – a Magazine for Real Men

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The 15th issue of the Kabbalah Today publication is now available.

* View eVersion
* Download PDF Version
* Download Word Version

Editor’s Note
Shedding Spiritual Light on Modern Crises

Read Article >>>

Mankind’s Growing Hunger
The current food crisis has been declared a ‘silent tsunami’ in recent headlines. Kabbalah explains the root of the problem, and shows us how to avert this growing threat.
Read Article >>>

The Gatekeeper
Who is the guard standing at the entrance to the spiritual world who decides who shall enter and who shall not? A journey following Kafka, Baal Hasulam, two parables, and one gate.
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Education, Relationships, Angels and the 72 Names of God
Kabbalist Michael Laitman answers questions on his weekly live TV show, “Ask the Kabbalist” and on his personal blog – www.laitman.com
Read Article >>>

Global Warming: So What?
With the abundant information available to the mass public today, everyone knows about global warming and climate change. But as it turns out, knowing and caring do not always go hand in hand.
Read Article >>>

From Racial Rifts to Spiritual Harmony
Why were we all created different? So far, this seems to have brought us nothing but schisms. Kabbalah explains how to put the pieces together.
Read Article >>>

The Story of Cogwheels
This is a story about all of us – about children and parents, about where we came from, how we got here, and how we will return Home – to a place called “The Single Soul.”
Read Article >>>

Opening Our Eyes
All of reality is a single, unchanging thought of bestowal and giving. Kabbalists refer to this thought by the name, “The Thought of Creation.”
Read Article >>>

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The Colombian group had a mini-congress in the city of Bogotá. Our students from all parts of the country gathered at this meeting, to spend the weekend together with their friends. With the help of group lessons, songs, and meals, they united and got to know each other better.

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