Three questions I received on impure forces, hypnosis, and extinct species:

Question: What exactly is the male impure force, and how can one tell if one is being ruled by it?

My Answer: Don’t be concerned with things like impure forces. You should just always aspire toward bestowal, connection, and the Creator.

Question: You were recently asked by someone, “Is it okay for a Kabbalist to use hypnosis? Is it a tool the Creator allows us to use?” Your answer was “No, and it is not permitted.”

I would like some further elaboration on this. I can see that hypnosis can be a very manipulative tool in the wrong hands. I can also see that it would be a useful form of therapy. For example, if I had a family member with extreme anxieties, hypnosis might be an excellent tool for getting to the root of the issue and releasing it as opposed to simply administering anxiety drugs.

Why is it not permitted? After all, you say we must deal with our corporeal issues while we live in both worlds simultaneously.

My Answer: Yes, you can use it for treatment, but not as a distraction from correction.

Question: Is there a reason in the spiritual world why species of animals become extinct?

My Answer: It’s a consequence of many qualities becoming extinct within us. However, when we correct ourselves in the future, we will probably see some of these species reappear and their populations grow.

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Three questions I received on the right way to interpret the Torah and other holy books:

Question: I am very confused about the “oral Torah” or The Talmud. I understand that the Torah is a gift from the Creator guiding us towards the right path in life and we are to sometimes understand the stories from the Torah on a metaphorical level, not a literal one. Then how do you explain the literal aspect of The Talmud and that it seems to have been written by Rabbis? As I understand, the priests and Sanhedrin were corrupt – which is what caused the destruction of The Temple.

My Answer: We have recently started reading The Zohar. By reading it together with us, you will also be able to see how the other holy books were written.

Question: I have been reading your posts and finding them rather interesting. As I can see from the pictures, you are Jewish, so my question is this: What does Kabbalah have to do with the religion of Moses? Is it like a manual for humans to read the Torah?

My Answer: It’s impossible to understand the Torah without Kabbalah, because on the outside, the Torah appears to be a historical tale, whereas Kabbalah reveals it to us as a method of correction and a textbook on the structure of the Upper World.

Question: In the Torah, who (or what force) was Melchizedek? And why did Abram pay tithes to him? The Torah says Melchizedek was a priest of God, but I thought Abraham was the first to discover, let alone attain, the Creator.

My Answer: Melchizedek personifies the Creator’s quality of justice. Similarly, all the characters in the Torah are not men or women, but descriptions of human qualities. Everything that is written in the Torah is describing specific, consecutive changes that happen inside a person.

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Two questions I received about pleasure and suffering:

Question: Why does the Creator make us suffer?

My Answer: It follows from the rule, “the greatness of the Light is seen from darkness.” For example, soccer fans can’t be fully satisfied with a game unless their favorite team goes through difficulties. Research showed that fans of a winning team that had gone through negative emotions due to a risk of the team losing had keener and more positive feelings about the match. Negative emotions play a key role in positive sensations.

Question: I have a question which has bothered me for a long time and thus hindered me in my acceptance of Kabbalah. Why did God want to please Himself (by pleasing His creation – since we are one); why not just maintain His perfection? That must have meant that He also had an egoistic desire to bring pleasure to Himself.

My Answer: You reason this way because you do not understand the quality of bestowal. You think that it includes some kind of reference to oneself, but it does not.

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Questions I received on paranormal activities, the solar eclipse and if Kabbalists can choose to die:

Question: I was wondering, are there any ghosts? I have witnessed many paranormal activities and I wanted to know if this is all imaginary or if it has something to do with the spiritual world. Do these activities demonstrate that some people are closer to the spiritual world than others?

My Answer: These activities are all imaginary. Kabbalah is the method to realistically attain the Upper World by means of obtaining senses and qualities that match it.

Question: Superstition aside, why were so many people interested in the July 22 solar eclipse? What does this phenomenon reveal (if anything) about our perception of reality, and does it have any significance in Kabbalah?

My Answer: It’s not just superstition. It is a reflection of people’s fear of losing their life and entering the darkness in every way. This is because at the animate level, we perceive the sun as the source of everything!

Question: Could a Kabbalist die if he wanted to?

My Answer: He can’t and he wouldn’t want to, because this would take him away from his life’s mission.

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Three questions I received regarding moving through a descent and acquiring the desires of others:

Question: I know you say we must leave a descent as soon as possible. It is true and I agree. But when you are in a descent, people around you notice your lack of energy, for example, in the workplace where you have to be alert and taking calls and you are under management. Are there any tricks for concealing your emotional inner state from people to avoid them influencing you negatively?

My Answer: 1. You should learn how to get out of your descent through spiritual work in a circle of friends and by participating in group activities.

2. People around you see that you are tired, sick, and annoyed when you are in a descent, but they do not understand that this comes from your spiritual states. Don’t worry, in relation to you they are like an animal that only understands your external appearance.

Question: In the preparation to one of your lessons, you mentioned the difference between rapid spiritual advancement and actual inversion of the desires. My question is: How is there advancement without inversion?

My Answer: There is no advancement without inversion, and we have already discussed how to approach it.

Question: You mentioned the following: “However, if you want to bestow to others, you must first acquire all of their desires. You must make everyone’s desires become your desires. You will then transmit Upper Light to these desires, connecting them to the Creator. By doing so, you will be unique, like the Creator.”

How does one accomplish this? How does one acquire all of the desires of others? Above all, how does one transmit Upper Light to these desires?

My Answer: All correction happens only when there is a desire to attract and receive the Upper Light and then see its effect within yourself. We do not feel the Light itself, we only see its effect.

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Two questions I received about coping with serious physical ailments:

Question: I have been studying Kabbalah for several years and doing dissemination. I have lupus, an illness that affects the connective tissues of the body. The illness is controlled but lately I have suffered falls or accidents and this is the fourth time I have developed a luxation (displacement) of a shoulder, having suffered two of them in the past three months. My doctor says I need an operation to stop these luxations. Is this only the result of my physical condition or do you think the Creator is trying to tell me something?

My Answer: You should consult with a few doctors and follow their advice.

Question: If someone has a life threatening illness, should they tell the group or use it as an impetus to unite and correct themselves and try to inspire the group in this way?

My Answer: Let everyone know of it so they all pray for you, because everyone is connected with you in one soul.

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Two questions I received on fear and how to overcome it:

Question: I am searching for a way to overcome fears and concerns. I found your response to overcoming fears only recently via surfing the web.

Here is your post from August 6, 2008 that responds to overcoming the fear that I am referring to. In this post you stated: “You should connect everything that is happening with the Creator, with yourself, and with the entire world, so that all of these will unite into one and there won’t be any difference between them. All of your doubts and fears should vanish within this union. And if they don’t – then it’s even better! Then you can ask the Creator to help you.”

Can you please provide details on how to make the connections (with the Creator, with yourself and with the entire world) you have mentioned in your response with respect to a fear? I would really appreciate learning how to do what you have outlined.

My Answer: You should imagine how everything was before the breaking of the common soul, and aspire to this state.

Question: As much as I want to love my neighbor, I keep finding myself under the influence of negative intentions. Is this kind of thing known in Kabbalah?

My Answer: This is happening because it seems to you that by moving away from your egoism, you are losing yourself, instead of acquiring an eternal, vigorous, and happy spiritual body. Think about it and you will start feeling joyous!

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Questions I received regarding finding our importance, interest in life outside Kabbalah, and freedom of choice:

Question: I only want to say that in my search for meaning, it seems as though everything leads to the wisdom of Kabbalah . I know there is something I must do, and I do not know what it is. How can the wisdom of Kabbalah help me to discover what my importance or role in life might be?

My Answer: Everything is revealed through revelation of the Creator, because there is nothing else besides the Creator and man. While everything around me is part of me, thus far, I just perceive everything as being external to me.

Question: After a few months of studying Kabbalah, I find it hard to find pleasure in ordinary things that I did before. Whatever I try to do, I hit the barrier of my ego. Either I decide not to do anything, or I break it, but afterward I feel shame.

Therefore I am losing interest in everything besides studying and my job, which I have to do. How can I justify the Creator if there is nothing to look forward to or nothing to take pleasure in?

My Answer: You lack a society that is going towards the Goal with you.

Question: One recurring question many people have who are new to Kabbalah, myself included, is this: Do we have any free will other than the choice between Kabbalah and the path of suffering?

My Answer: No.

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Questions I received about the Light, the 600,000 souls, other readings, our purpose in this world and Mitzvot:

Question: You often mention the Upper Light or the Light of the Creator, but what exactly is this Light? What does it feel like and what will it do? How will a person sense this Light? I am certain that this Light is not the same as the light we define in our world, although I often relate the two.

My Answer: The Light is a quality of bestowal and love that cures our egoism, transforming it into similarity with Its form.

Question: I was listening to one of your TV programs where you talk about 600,000 souls scattered in the world. I also read the same thing in one of your books. If every one has to evolve in their spirituality to unite with the teachings of Kabbalah, why 600,000 instead of six billion?

My Answer: 600,000 is a conventional definition: it is measure of the height of the original collective soul (Partzuf Arich Anpin of the World of Atzilut).

Question: Have you studied Tanya by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi? And if you have, how come you never mention it?

My Answer: Because I have never studied it.

Question: What is our purpose in this physical world, in this world of illusions?

My Answer: The goal is to cross from illusion over to the truth.

Question cont’d: And do you talk about the importance of keeping Mitzvot?

My Answer: We strive to observe them in their original, true, spiritual form.

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A question I received: “The general purpose of the whole universe is for humanity to reach the state where all people will be as one family. Everyone will take others into consideration and will be a guarantor for everyone else.” “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” The above quotes are by the Rav.

What if my neighbor is gay? Does this apply to all unless you are a homosexual? I read an article that gays are not allowed to join a Kabbalah group. Is this for real? If so why? The Creator made us all equal. I have gay friends who are loving, supportive, considerate, and friendlier than most heterosexuals.

My Answer: That’s right. But loving does not mean making contacts within the bounds of this world. It means contacts only between souls that have neither nationality nor sex nor any other quality or vice. It’s only a connection of souls, which is the desire to give to the Creator which is at the level above our world.

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