Two questions I received about studying other spiritual writings while also studying Kabbalah:

Question: In your book Leben aus der Kabbalah (in German), you write, “One should not read other authors who write about Kabbalah, because they can influence the reader.” This statement scares me. I’ve had a craving for spirituality and for knowledge ever since I was a child. However, my soul also wishes to compare different methods and to search for the only real truth behind all the wonderful sources. For example, Buddhism also says that life must be used for spiritual development. So who is right?

My Answer: Rabash and Baal HaSulam write in their articles about the group and freedom of will that when a person is brought to Kabbalah, he should doubt and check everything. However, once he has made his choice – for example, if he chooses Kabbalah, he should then enter the study of Kabbalah completely and avoid confusing it with other methods, as otherwise he will not succeed in anything.

Question: I have read the Old Testament with Gnostic knowledge, as well as Dhammapada, Buddha’s quotations, and the Bhagavad Gita. They all talk about a single, unique God and the soul. I have also read the Upanishads. I don’t associate myself with any religion. Does this contradict Kabbalah?

My Answer: Only you can figure out everything for yourself, including whether you need a teacher, and if so – who that teacher should be. When I asked my Teacher about how could I be sure that I was in the right place for me, he said, “Search, check, and choose quickly, and then delve only into what you choose.”

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Questions I received about the Vedas, theosophy, other Kabbalists and autism:

Question: I find your lectures and books very interesting. I do not want to compare Kabbalah in any way to other “teachings,” but can you tell me what your thoughts are on the “Vedas,” which are teachings from India? My interest is to understand what your opinion is on other teachings that may have similar views, however different the “Kabbalah” approach may be.

My Answer: These teachings are psychological and act within the boundaries of our world.

Question: Are there any contacts between spiritually advanced representatives of Kabbalah and spiritually advanced representatives of Theosophy?

My Answer: No!

Question: Whenever Kabbalah is mentioned on TV, the name of a certain contemporary Kabbalist, Rafael, is mentioned more frequently than your name. This Rafael explains that Kabbalah says that the Messiah will come to the world soon, which is completely contrary to what you say. Can you please comment?

My Answer: I am not acquainted with him. I just know that today there are many “Kabbalists” on every corner…

Question: I recently had the privilege of attending a young severely autistic boy called David’s Bar Mitzvah, where he sang all seven Torah readings in perfect pitch and tone. You could have heard a pin drop; it was amazing. His mother said to me after that David says the words sing to him. What does Kabbalah say about the Hebrew letters in the sense of the letters singing to a boy and what does it say about severely disabled children?

My Answer: Autistic people are unable to make corrections. It is a special life cycle of a soul in our world. Our task is to help them; this will correct both us and them.

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A question I received: Did Moses really teach the rule, “an eye for an eye”? This seems really contrary to the rule, “love thy neighbor as thyself.” If he did, then what does it mean?

My Answer: This rule refers to causing a permanent injury to a slave, which would require freeing him. This was done in order to prevent people from causing injury to one another. It had nothing to do with Moses’s wishes, but rather it is Nature’s law of balancing Its parts, where punishment equals correction.

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Questions I received on Kabbalah’s relation to African religions, people with mental disorders, and more:

Question: Is it possible to study Kabbalah and at the same time study non-European religions, or are some conditions necessary? I practice such religions as Santeria, Voodoo, and other African religions.

My Answer: It doesn’t matter what you do. Keep studying Kabbalah, and the truth will be revealed to you.

Question: You are disclosing Kabbalah to women and children, but you categorically cut off people with severe depression and “mental deviations.” Of course, Kabbalah is counter-indicative for a particular portion of people with mental illnesses, but among people with mental disorders, there are some for whom Kabbalah could be a remedy, like LSD in the 60’s. I think the psychiatrists and psychologists among your students, whom you trust, could work out a special program of studying Kabbalah for the right candidates from this category.

My Answer: But if even one incident of regular relapse were to take place, Kabbalah and I would be the ones blamed for it!

Question: If a person who studies the science of Kabbalah begins to lose his keen perception, the part of his consciousness called “thinking clearly,” can he continue to study Kabbalah or not?

My Answer: This is a normal state for a person who is making the transition from one degree to the next in the process of attainment. And in fact, this always happens in the process of growth: the past vanishes and is replaced by new content, which is more qualitative.

Question: In spite of the broad dissemination of the Kabbalah campuses, will there be some limitations on the admission of people to the daily lessons of the main groups?

My Answer: No.

Question cont’d: What if there are more people willing to study than the space can hold?

My Answer: Then we will rent more space!

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Questions I received on changing one’s name, astrology, clairvoyants, time, death, and homosexuality:

Question: My parents changed their last name from Kroni to Karni in order to make it sound better and simpler. My daughter Noga was born on 02.07.2003. Will the name Noga Karni be favorable to her?

My Answer: This is not a question for a Kabbalist. Kabbalah engages only in the correction of egoism, human nature.

Question: What do you think about the science of Astrology?

My Answer: I don’t value it.

Question: Mediums or clairvoyants are people who have the ability to “see” things that others can’t. What is the difference between them and Kabbalists, who have developed the sixth sense?

My Answer: People will extrasensory perception and people who are close to nature are, in fact, able to “see” things about people. However, they can only see the things that relate to a person’s animate or earthly essence. Kabbalists don’t see these things. Instead, they engage in correcting the soul and pay no attention to the body.

Question: If time doesn’t exist, does this mean we are already united?

My Answer: Yes, but not in our perceptions.

Question: What is death?

My Answer: It is the end of one’s sensation within the egoistic desire at the level of this world.

Question: My cousin is a homosexual. What should he do if he really wants to study Kabbalah? The Creator gave him a desire – an attraction for other men, and you always say that we don’t have any power over our desires because everything comes from Him.

My Answer: He can study. The Light will correct whatever needs to be corrected.

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Questions I received about the study of Kabbalah:

Question: Most people don’t understand what Kabbalah is talking about. So maybe we should bring Kabbalah to them in a simpler form? What is the best way to approach this? My own experience shows that only systematic study can give you the right understanding of the material.

My Answer: You are right. In the end, after all our efforts, only the Light corrects us and gives us the understanding and perception of a new world. In order for this to happen, you have to be persistent, persevering on the path and going in the right direction. This is something that comes from the group or the environment. So, the bottom line is: you need a teacher, books, a group – and patience!

Question: You know, you were right – a Kabbalah student experiences feelings he never dreamed of. As he counters his egoism, the happiness felt by his friends (brothers) gives him immeasurable happiness, and then you think, “Who could have imagined a world that isn’t filled with the Creator?” I am very grateful. Thank you.

My Answer: I am glad that you are beginning to attain Nature.

Question: Is it possible to balance reason and the heart?

My Answer: The study, which evokes the Upper Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) to the necessary measure, causes one’s reason and desire to grow. But we are talking about the reason and the desire that belong to the Upper World, where you can perceive the Creator.

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Two questions I received about curses and magic squares:

Question: My partner grew up in Africa. She has issues with the Evil Eye and Voodoo and it is apparent that these have grown to be a curse on her life. My partner confides in me each day that she wants to meet a Kabbalist who can help her out of her conditions and jinxes. Please advise me on what to do in this matter.

My Answer: Find a psychologist or an actor who will play a shaman role and convince her that the evil eye has been removed. This will be easier than educating her and making her change her mind. Give her some peace of mind!

Question: I believe I’ve found something about magic squares in the Torah. Are you aware of this? Can you give me some information about it? Or at least your opinion about the meaning of magic squares in Kabbalah?

My Answer: There is no such thing in the Torah. However, people attribute this and all kinds of other mysticism to the Torah and to Kabbalah, although they don’t contain them. There are no miracles in the world! There are only things that are still incomprehensible and unrevealed to man. But what is concealed today will be revealed tomorrow.

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Three questions I received on love for others:

Question: One sometimes feels a sensation of connectivity, unity, and pleasure during the lessons, as if one’s spiritual issues are actually the spiritual issues of others in the Kli and that it’s these collective deficiencies you address. Is it advisable to relish this sensation, or should we strive to restrict it lest it become egoistic pleasure?

My Answer: You should enjoy your love for others! People can only grow out of positive emotions; after all, the purpose of creation is to delight the creatures!

Question: Last night I got a strong desire to do good to everyone without getting anything in return, and I am enjoying it. And today I woke up feeling my usual egoistic, melancholic self. Tell me please, what was it that I was feeling? Was it a higher stage that opened itself to me for a minute?

My Answer: You are studying Kabbalah and the Light is influencing you. The Light gave you this inner sensation to give you an example of what you should aspire to (this is called “awakening from Above” – Itaruta de Leela). Now you should continue in the same direction as that sensation (“awakening from below” – Itaruta de Letata), until you acquire these new qualities and sensations forever!

Question: When a person realizes the evil within him and changes to be an altruist, how can he live and survive among others who are egoists?

My Answer: By loving them! It’s because he will be corrected and his attitude toward everyone else will be equal to the Creator’s attitude.

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Questions I received on dreams, terminal cancer, manic illness and the Freemasons:

Question: My son asked me, “How do I know when something is a dream and when it isn’t?”

My Answer: You can only tell once you “wake up!”

Question: Our father has cancer. Today we were told that he has about two months left to live. He does not know about this. What’s your advice: should we tell him or keep him in the dark?

My Answer: Don’t tell him about this and help him to be joyful.

Question: If I can’t control my thoughts because they are given to me from above, what should I do to bear them? They haunt me and bring me harm. I saw a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with manic illness. However, the medication does not help me. What is your advice?

My Answer: Kabbalah requires a great deal of effort, both physical and mental. Therefore, it’s not for you. At least, not yet.

You have to look for the proper treatment. Don’t count on some kind of “healer” to come and cure you, but rather turn to medicine, sports, and massage. In addition, you should work a lot, especially in physical work.

Question: What do you think about the Freemasons who still work actively all around the world? Do you see an opportunity to work together with them?

My Answer: No!

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Questions I received on Kabbalah’s relation to various things in this world:

Question: During the talk about men and women, you answered the question of what can make a man happy when he’s with a woman. But you did not answer the question of what can make a man happy in general?

My Answer: Being with the Creator.

Question: How does Kabbalah explain deja vu?

My Answer: It’s psychological.

Question: Can the deaf, dumb and blind study Kabbalah? What kind of an effect does lacking one of the five senses have in general?

My Answer: It doesn’t affect studying. They should study.

Question: What does the World Wisdom Council that you are a part of do?

My Answer: They chitchat. This is why I am no longer with them.

Question cont’d: But don’t they control the world through different institutions?

My Answer: Only the Creator controls the world.

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