Question: Why is it that the religions don’t unite but instead each one pulls the blanket over itself?

Answer: It is because all faiths and religions are completely egoistic. Religious wars and attacks have continued for thousands of years and have not ceased to this day, especially in Judaism. Many factions and religious denominations have appeared and all of them are pitted against each other.

Religions are a product of human egoism, so there is no reason to expect anything good from them. They actually are the “opiate of the masses.”

Religions don’t apply the general rule, “You shall love your friend as yourself” (“Leviticus” 19:18). In general, where are they upholding this Mitzvah (commandment) and in what way?

So, the wisdom of Kabbalah has no connection to religions. And this is also the essence of the problem. We have a huge clash with various religious organizations. Religious organizations believe by performing mechanical actions, a person assures himself the world to come.

Kabbalah says that with this mechanical implementation, a person will not have the world to come but remains an egoist. If there is no ascent above his egoistic nature, what kind of spiritual world can there be for him?

The world to come is a world of altruism that a person constructs while he is in this world through implementing the principle, “You shall love your friend as yourself.” It follows that religion simply buys people and nothing more.

Comment: It is interesting that for people who study the wisdom of Kabbalah, nothing prevents them from remaining in their religion.

Answer: Every person who wants to can be involved in the wisdom of Kabbalah regardless of his religion. Baal HaSulam writes about this in his book, The Last Generation.

Belonging to one religion or another doesn’t bother a person; he can safely maintain its customs. But internally he must be changed to altruism, rising above his egoistic nature. This is what differentiates the wisdom of Kabbalah from religion. Everything else is a tradition that can be maintained or not maintained. This is a personal matter. But ascending above the ego through the wisdom of Kabbalah is an absolute postulate.
[189540]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/20/16

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Question: The famous Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti believed that school’s should teach children about love and a holistic approach to life.

Krishnamurti said, “Man has built in himself images as a fence of security—religious, political, personal. These manifest as symbols, ideas, beliefs. The burden of these images dominates man’s thinking, his relationships, and his daily life. These images are the causes of our problems for they divide man from man.” (Krishnamurti, “The Core of the Teachings”) How does the wisdom of Kabbalah relate to this?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah regards all the philosophies that speak about love and friendship positively. At the same time, it asks how do we implement this because this is the problem. Every person in the world will say that friendship is excellent! Love of others? Wonderful! Mutual help? Vital! But how do we fulfill it if we have a completely different nature? A person looks at everyone like a wolf, thinking about how he can grab them by the throat.

This is our egoistic nature. Man is a creature who is operated by a subjective egoism that only thinks about how to sustain itself in the most comfortable way. Therefore, the main problem is in the implementation. Where does one find the power to overcome the ego?

If we understood that egoism is bad, we probably could agree. At the same time, we don’t see any alternative for the ego. We don’t know how and cannot overcome it. Sometimes, we try to do good deeds, but we feel even worse than when we do bad deeds.

We need an upper force in order to overcome the ego, an upper force that is above our nature, above the ego. If we could find it in nature or somewhere to get it, and find a way to draw it, then we would have something we could talk about. If not, all of the wonderful projects and all of the philosophies remain merely theoretical.

Question: Despite the Indian philosophies of love and friendship, in India there is an untouchable caste.

Answer: It is indeed strange that there are sectors that are untouchable in a nation that speaks about love. If every religion is based on love, compassion, and sympathy, where is that love and sympathy?

In fact, there is a huge range of separation between people: caste, society, family, and clan. These examples clearly illustrate how sweet, but empty, such ideas can be. There are philosophies according to which you should sit and self-reflect.

Where is a person’s creativity? Is it inside himself? Searching within yourself will lead to nothing but mistaken philosophies and psychological methods to change a person, but it is impossible to change that way.

A person who has a certain character will remain the way he is unless an external force called the Upper Light will correct him systematically according to what the wisdom of Kabbalah says. It is our only hope.
[188751]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 6/19/16

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Question: What is the difference between the attitude of the Kabbalists toward the Torah and the attitude of the masses toward the Torah?

Answer: The masses believe that a holy person or an angel is engaged with the Torah, and that if a person actively performs Mitzvot (Commandments), he fulfills the Torah. The sages of Kabbalah believe that the Torah was not given to angels, but to humans. Therefore it is written, “I have created the evil inclination, I have created for it the Torah as a spice, for the light in it reforms it” (Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 30b).

Only someone who has an evil inclination, egoism, needs the Torah. This is what Rabash wrote in the article, “The Claim of the Angels” (Articles, Volume 3). In other words, the difference is in the relationship of a person to the Torah: either it was given for performing mechanical actions or for the internal correction of the person’s essence, egoism, and from it, the creation of the soul.
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New Life 502 – Magic For Sale
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Spiritual Weapons

Question: Is there really such a thing as magic or witchcraft? Can we use supernatural powers in order to change our reality?

Answer: No. In fact, the term “supernatural” needs to be reset. If we speak about what is above our nature, it includes all the natural phenomena.

We cannot influence the movement of the earth and other planets, but we can calculate them. Thus, many phenomena moved from the mystical realm to scientific concepts.

But at the same time, there are still many things we don’t know and the roots of which we cannot perceive, and this is an area we are still weak in, still faced with nature that we cannot calculate in advance. Meanwhile, man aspires for security; he needs an insurance policy for all his troubles.

This is where magic stems from. First it allegedly provides protection from any possible threat, including enemies, which a person can now resist with “spiritual weapons.” Second, there is the option to switch to the offense and establish one’s superiority, to clean the area of any troublemakers that stand in a person’s way.

The Supernatural, Affordable

Here many make promises declaring they know how it is done and that they will help a person if only they are paid for their services.

There are concepts such as black and white magic. The former is meant to cause harm and the latter promises to help a person. But this division is random, just like children play good and the bad guys. A person feels that he is weak when confronting the forces that determine his life. He would like to control his own fate and he goes to “experts” to hear their advice.

Moreover, the inevitable death of the body and the uncertainty about what lies ahead scare us. What will happen to my soul? Where will it end up? Can we avoid hell and guarantee ourselves heaven? People are very worried about these questions and others can make good money here.

Question: Does this mean that there is no magic?

Answer: No. But the problem is that anything that we attribute to a person’s internal world is related to his psychology. Consequently, a person can be influenced in a way that may seem like magic to him. This also happens with many religious people.

There is nothing we can do about it, since these are the properties of our psychology. Eventually it all stems from ignorance.
[152331]
From KabTV’s “New Life 502 – Magic For Sale,“ 1/18/15

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Question: Can we say that the difference between you and religious people is that for them the actions come first and then the intention, while for you it is the opposite, the intention is first and then comes the action?

Answer: This is basically true and this is also what our teacher Baal HaSulam says in “The Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot“ and in the article the “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose” and in many other places, but this isn’t just about a difference of priorities between the actions and the intentions, it is the rebuilding and rearrangement of a person and the incorporation of all his thoughts and goals in the action that he performs. It is changing the actual action from a mechanical action to an action that leads to unity, love, and the revelation of the Creator in this world.
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Question: My fellow businessmen know how to be sneaky and they cheat their clients. And I, on the contrary, am trying to be decent and rely on the honesty of others. And in the end I am left without anything and begin to envy them: “Why can’t I arrange my matters like them?” Is this a Klipa, impurity?

Answer: Klipa—is work against holiness, against the Creator, very sophisticated work.

Regarding your example, it is possible to say that one that deceives people in the end deceives the Creator and distances from Him. It is beyond a doubt.

If I take what I don’t deserve from the public or from nature, which is the Creator, then this is already the beginning of the Klipa. And what do I deserve? I deserve something if I work in order to bestow, if I exist in order to reach bestowal. In this case, I receive even necessities only in order to exist and be in bestowal, in order to be similar to the Creator and do the work of God. All the rest that is beyond necessities, I cannot take for myself. All the rest I need only to bestow to others. This needs to be a person’s calculation. He determines for himself: “This is what I need to exist in order to bring contentment to the Creator.” Everything beginning with this decision and continuing in the same vector is called Kedusha – holiness.

And in Klipa, I am the opposite, taking from others although I don’t deserve it and maybe didn’t even earn it. This also applies to the part of the people of Israel who do not work at all and completely immerse in the study of the Torah.

In general, due to the miscalculation in this respect, we are all drowning in the sea of egoism and distancing from the upper force. Year by year, it affects all more strongly, and at this stage we are starting to decline to a state that we already experienced in the previous century.

But it doesn’t mean that everyone has to go to work, or the opposite, to live from hand to mouth. Part of the nation really needs to study and part needs to work. Maybe there needs to be a certain rotation. Why not get organized in such a way that everyone will have the opportunity to work and also study?

Of course, in the time of the Temple, many from the nation devoted themselves to study. And the question here was not in quantity but in discernments. This is our work.

Moreover, the era ahead of us will not demand the same number of workers like before. Therefore, we only needed to arrange everything in the correct form.

The problem is that the two parts of the nation, the secular and the religious, don’t know how to talk to each other, don’t understand each other. This is the only obstacle. After all, if we were able to find a common ground and corresponding positions, I think everyone would understand: the one that studies should continue in his study. But there is no contact between the parts of the nation, there is no good attitude, there is no constructive and real dialog; there is only mutual hatred, and therefore we lack the correct analysis of the situation.

Actually, the country does not need tens of thousands of workers and soldiers. The size of the job market will contract over the years, and the modern army needs more technology than people.

Therefore, the current conflict in Israel is caused by political games. The powers that stand behind are deliberately igniting the fire.

And on the other side, the serious problem of the religious audience is that they cannot create a correct contact with the secular part and explain its position. The religious part does not start a dialog from fear of being influenced by the exterior culture. But lack of dialog causes war between brothers.

Remark: Although the walls are crumbling and the exterior influences are penetrating inside.

Answer: But this does not lead to contact, to mutual understanding. The walls are crumbling not according to our will but at the behest of time.

The parts should contact each other and begin a mutual clarification. Our problem comes from having a mutual “basket.” In the US there is no collision between the secular and the religious; they “don’t eat from the same plate,” they don’t have the same army, there are no contact points, there is no conflict that someone lives on someone else’s account, or that they don’t understand each other.

And in Israel, the nation is divided, split, and thus we continue the destruction of the Temple. Actually, the two sides are participating in this process, including those that study Torah. They call the secular part “the spoiled baby.” But if he is a baby, then he needs a special patient attitude, he demands care. Isn’t this what the Torah says? Where is the big heart, the nice caring approach, and not squabbles and strife.
In the end, all this weakens us and brings us to collapse.

Question: What would you say to the religious part of the nation?

Answer: I don’t have legitimacy in their eyes. Therefore I don’t have anything to say or anyone to talk to.
[127860]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/20/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 55

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Question: Religious people believe that we should simply keep the Mitzvot (commandments) and wait for the Messiah. In contrast, you believe that it is up to us to “awaken” and “invite” him to come to us. What is your opinion based on?

Answer: There is contradiction between the view of modern religion, and I emphasize modern, and  the wisdom of Kabbalah; they are diametrically opposed. The religious rightly claim that the differences between us are ideological and therefore are also practical. It is not just a question of whether a mechanical performance (Maase) or intention (Kavana) are more important.

The world evolves through the continuous development of egoism in every natural object on all of its levels: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. The ego evolves gradually through steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 in which the minimal egoism on level 1 is the still and the maximal egoism on level 4 is human. Likewise, there are sublevels and sub-sublevels for each one of the levels. In fact, according to the value of egoism, all the characteristics of every natural object are determined.

The general egoism of nature evolves on every level in intensity according to that level. The slowest development is on level 1 and the most rapid on level 4. Development under the influence of the obligatory egoistic force is called the way of Beito, in its time. Since in religions there is no possibility for influencing the style of development, the believers accept passive development as if it were given to them by the Creator and they consider obedience to Him as righteous, meaning that it is given from above.

The wisdom of Kabbalah discovered the Creator as nature (Elohim [Creator] in Gematria = HaTeva [nature]) and believes that everything is derived from nature and that there is no other force that determines anyhing in our world besides that. But the entire reason for the creation of Adam (Man) and therefore everything that preceded him, is intended for the development of man to the level of the Creator. So the Adam is called “Adam,” which is derived from the word, “Domeh” (similar), “Domeh LeBore” (similar to the Creator). This is to say, the goal of the evolution of the Adam is to attain the level of the Creator, as is written in the Torah, “Shuvu Bnei Yisrael Hashem Eloheinu” (Hosea 14:2), “Return, O children of Israel, to the Lord Your God, to the level of the Creator.”

It turns out that the views of religion and of Kabbalah about the development of the world and the role of humanity are diametrically opposed. Religion ascribes a passive role to humanity; whereas the wisdom of Kabbalah, on the contrary, an active role, “…know the God of your father, and worship Him…” (Chronicles 1, 28:9). First it says “Know,” and after that you will know how to work for His sake and what this work itself signifies.

But the problem is greater. Religion insists that a person must know and comply with mechanical Mitzvot only and in this way it shackles the person and absolutely limits his development. In contrast to this, the wisdom of Kabbalah claims that everything was created for the development of the person so that he will attain the level of the Creator, so he will attain the uniqueness of the Creator in his personal development. Development is determined in the form of the “adhesion” of the person with the Creator when they become equal in their actions. But this is something religions are afraid to admit, so it teaches, calls for, and permits only the mechanical learning and performance of the Mitzvot.
[188027]

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The writing on a pillar in an ancient synagogue in the city of Phang Kei says: “the religion (of China) was founded and designed by Abraham and its laws did not have a visual image.”

“We have been taught Abraham’s religion since his time by sages from the West Indies. The Chinese people are very educated thanks to the great wisdom they received about Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.”
W.Ch. White. Chinese Jews. 1966, Univ. of Toronto Press. P. 146, 138.
[184210]

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Is Kabbalah connected to religion?

Question: Is Kabbalah connected to religion?

Answer: In his article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose,” Baal HaSulam writes that “religion” is the attainment of the Creator, the upper force, which acts in the entire universe. This definition fits only the wisdom of Kabbalah because it is the only method engaged in the revelation of the Creator to the creations.

Kabbalah is the only true religion. All other faiths and “religions,” as it is customary to call them, are really not a religion.

Question: How is the wisdom of Kabbalah connected to these religions?

Answer: There is no connection between religions and Kabbalah. They all originated after Kabbalah was concealed, that is, after the destruction of the Second Temple. Before the destruction of the Temple, the entire nation of Israel existed in spiritual attainment, with a sensation of the upper force. However, later on, they fell from their spiritual level, from the love for others to unfounded hatred. This is called the exit into exile from the attainment of the Creator, the upper force.

Because they were in brotherly love, they attained the upper force, while unfounded hatred concealed the upper force from them. This is why this state is called exile or destruction. In order to continue living in the conditions of concealment, the Kabbalists created a substitute. They replaced the wisdom of Kabbalah with Judaism, which later gave origin to Christianity and after that, to Islam.
[178772]
From Israeli Radio Program 103 FM, 2/28/16

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In the News (from lenta.ru): “Pottery shards found in a small Israeli fortress reveal an answer to one of the most important issues of Biblical studies—whether basic texts of the Old Testament were written before the Babylonian exile or after it. Inscriptions on potshards attesting to the literacy of the Jews speak in favor of the first version. This was reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. …

“However, Israeli archaeologists have studied the inscription (in Hebrew) on the clayshards from the fortress of Arad (southern Judah), dating from about 600 BC – and found a high level of literacy among the Jews of that era.

“It turned out that the text on 16 potsherds belong to a minimum of six authors, who did not need the help of scribes. Among the records were instructions to the deputy quartermaster of the fortress about the issue of provisions for a detachment of Greek mercenaries. The literacy of junior officers far from Jewish centers of culture indicates that Jews could read the sacred texts long before the Babylonian exile.”

My Comment: From the days of Abraham, comprehensive learning and education were practiced in his group, as well as reading of books written by him. The books from more ancient Kabbalists, from Adam to Abraham, as Rambam wrote, just didn’t reach us. But it indicates that in the period of the First Temple there was no uneducated child who did not know how to read and write and did not know all the sacred texts by heart.
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