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.
[181553]

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Zionist, anti-Zionist, Jewish: they are not the same thing! The Jews were divided into Zionists and anti-Zionists with the appearance of their aspiration for Zion in the 19^th century. There was always a desire to be reborn on our land, but the non-religious movement to establish the revival of the Jewish people in its historic homeland was something new.

There are Zionists who criticize Israel because they don’t agree with its policy of “occupation.” Among the ultra-Orthodox community, Neturei Karta has come out against Zionism and the Jewish State because they believe that Israel can be established only with the coming of the Messiah.

I believe that the ultra-Orthodox are absolutely right. It is indeed only with the coming of the Messiah (a force of attraction that draws the people out of exile through attitudes of connection and love, out of the egoistic state) will the true Israel be established. They don’t take into account that the coming of the Messiah (redemption from the ego, from mutual hatred) depends on our efforts to unite through a comprehensive method of public education and consolidation into a complete whole. That is how we leave the exile via the short way, through Achishena – will hasten it (Isaiah 60:22).

But if we wait for the Messiah passively, it will happen by way of Beito – in its time (Isaiah 60:22). This means through terrible suffering (wars, Holocausts), labor pains, so to speak, until the Jews become unified as a people and then into a proper nation. This is similar to what Abraham did 3,500 years ago when he united part of the Babylonians into a group that called itself Israel, “aimed directly toward what is higher,” toward union and love.

Subconsciously, the nations of the world are expecting this unity specifically from us. Until the realization of this state, they will blame us for all of their troubles and suffering because the origin of all suffering can be summed up as a lack of the unifying power and love in our world that can only appear through the unification of the Jewish people.
[183138]

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Blessing and Mistake

Question: What is the meaning of various amulets, charms, or blessings?

Answer: A belief in charms and blessings is a big mistake. These objects do not have any connection with Kabbalah. How can one bless a person with words if the only possible blessing is getting closer to the Creator?

If a person performs acts of bestowal and aspires to love his neighbor, he receives from above additional Light, the Light that Reforms. It is called a “blessing.” However, it is impossible to hand out blessings to others.

Some time ago the Baal Shem Tov had to write a blessing for some person. He did not allow this person to open the note and read what was written. When Baal Shem Tov died this person decided to open this note and he saw that Baal Shem Tov simply wrote his name, Israel.

Among the real Kabbalists it is not customary to hand out blessings. The authentic Kabbalistic books like The Book of Creation, The Book of Zohar, Tanakh do not mention amulets or blessings. A person receives a blessing from the Creator.
[178481]
From Israeli Radio Program 103 FM, 103FM, 2/28/16

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Question: When you encountered the wisdom of Kabbalah, did you immediately see deep meaning in it or did you first want to learn magic?

Answer: I never wanted to learn magic, that always repelled me. After all, I am a man of science, so I understood that this wasn’t serious. Magic tricks can only be in a circus.

What was the benefit from Nostradamus, Messing, or Wanga divining the future? Did they achieve something through this? They spoke about what they felt and nothing more.

I never aspired to be involved with it and I believe that it is completely unimportant. People who can predict the future exist, but it is up to us to develop realistically toward the true goal and purpose of creation. And in particular we must draw “a full wagon” of seven billion people after us.
[181864]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 2/14/16

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Question: According to the results of a poll that was arranged by the ICN company, more than a third of the adherents of Islam in Britain believe that the Jews have acquired too much control in Britain and influence over the communications media, financial institutions, and the economy. In addition, more than one-fourth of them are convinced that the Jews are responsible for most of the wars on Earth.

Unlike the other citizens in Britain, 27% of the Muslims who were questioned, acknowledge that they hate the Jews simply because of their behavior. So has anti-Semitism been more pronounced among Muslims than anyone else historically?

Answer: Throughout many generations Jews and Muslims existed together more or less normally because they never had any religious opponents, there weren’t special contrasts between them.

The crisis in relationships began from geographic and political opposition, when England didn’t want to leave the land of Israel and began to incite hatred among the Arabs toward the Jews. This was the usual policy of “divide and rule.”

Islam in its essence is not at all opposed to Judaism; on the contrary, these have been two religions that have been close as a counterweight to Christianity.

Question: Why does the current radical Islam bear such intense aggressiveness toward the Jews?

Answer: Modern Islam is radical Islam, yet the foundation of true Islam is Sufism (Islamic Wisdom of Kabbalah). Arab Kabbalists (Sufis) have lived in all times, from which are great literary works.

Today a major clash of egoism is happening in the world. So it is natural and necessary for Israel to go out first and present the method of unity to the whole world. This exists only with us, and we don’t want to reveal it in us and begin to work with it. This method of unification is called the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is not mysticism, Tarot cards, or red strings, but specifically the true wisdom of Kabbalah.

If we begin to be involved with the wisdom of Kabbalah, all of humanity will immediately feel how serious our intention is to introduce corrections of the egoistic nature of humanity into the world and bring everyone to unity, establishing peace and tranquility. Then all the streams that are directed against us will disappear.

Question: What is the first current that will accept the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: First everyone will be against the Kabbalists, including Judaism. After that, awareness and understanding will begin to happen partly among Christians and partly among Jews.

In the meantime, the matter is much more complicated among the Muslims even though inside they are closer to understanding. But there is a very big internal problem among them regarding their identity.

The best thing will be if we Jews unite and show the peoples of the world how to achieve global unity in our world.
[182247]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/14/16

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Question: What is the difference between the path of Torah and the path of suffering if they both lead to suffering?

Answer: Everything is determined by the presence of the goal. A terrorist who cuts a person’s belly, for example, does so in order to kill him, while a surgeon who also cuts a person’s belly does it in order to save him. A person who is ill agrees to be operated on of his own freewill, and even pays for the operation and is ready to suffer the pain as long as he can get well.

A person who is about to undergo an operation is ready for any kind of suffering because he knows that he is gaining his life, while a person who was killed by a terrorist has lost his life. Therefore, everything depends on the way you assess the suffering and whether it gives you life or takes your life.

Question: The terrorist, himself, also is facing suffering and death because he thinks that this is the way to reach heaven. So, what is the path of the Light here?

Answer: For the terrorist, this is also the path of the light. This is what he believes. There are many theories according to which people are prepared to suffer in order to receive future pleasure.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, you should try to get closer to other people, but not for a reward in the next world after death. The corporeal body has nothing to do with that. The state you live in and identify with the corporeal body is a totally wrong state.

You must reach a totally different state in which you exist in the world of upper forces. In that world, you feel the effect of the upper forces and don’t identify with your body anymore. It is as if you shed the corporeal body off yourself, like a snake sheds its skin. Then, only the soul is left, which is in adhesion with the upper forces.

This state is called the Garden of Eden, heaven, and this is the state we should reach here and now, not in the next world. You need not kill anyone in order to reach it.

Question: It turns out that religions made up by man enable religious people to avoid suffering by holding on to an idol, such as God or Allah.

Answer: Of course, man made religion in order to sweeten his life and enable him to exist as if for a certain goal.

Judaism, Christianity, and then Islam emerged after the Jews fell from the spiritual level to an egoistic level, a state called the destruction of the Temple. Religion is the corporeal, egoistic reflection of the spiritual path.

It gradually brings humanity to the recognition that we must ascend spiritually. This is the reason that religions reach a peak and then disappear from the world, and a person begins to look for the true meaning of life.
[177428]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/3/16

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Question: Quite a few Muslims in Europe are converting to Christianity. Do they do it in order to be accepted in Europe and to start a new life or is it some kind of a trick?

Answer: When nations integrate this way there is always a process of diffusion and so it is hard to say what the reason for this behavior is.

I believe that Muslims will convert to Christianity just as many Europeans converted to Islam, but it will not be very many people because Muslims have a very strong sense of mutual guarantee and responsibility and of course the punishment according to their faith is much more severe than according to any other faith. When they convert to Christianity, they risk their lives.

Therefore, I don’t think that there will be a movement of converting to Christianity. Perhaps politicians and western political scientists exaggerate on purpose, publicizing this phenomenon in order to soften the opposite process of Europeans converting to Islam.
[181773]
From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 4/13/16

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