The Torah, “Exodus” (Ki Tissa), 32:19-32:20: Now it came to pass when he drew closer to the camp and saw the calf and the dances, that Moses’ anger was kindled, and he flung the tablets from his hands, shattering them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in fire, and gave [it to] the children of Israel to drink.

First Israel had to go down to Egypt with Jacob and his sons, and although they had a good life, they felt that were slaves in Egypt since it wasn’t their home. When they made the golden calf it was the same Egypt, but it was already desirable. They wanted to develop according to the example of Egypt and to build themselves a wonderful state without the help of the Creator; they built a golden calf.

Therefore any figures or images that they bow to in various cultures or societies, this is the personification for the golden calf. A person builds himself a corporeal idol in order to bow to it. It’s totally opposite from the Kabbalistic perspective, but in every religion and belief, until this very day, there are idols to which everyone bows.

A person needs to have something that is sacred; he has to keep something like a child who plays with a toy. He cannot exist without it since everything that is beyond matter is beyond his understanding. He must have certain figures. Thus, there has always been a bitter conflict over the question as to whether we should build a corporeal Temple or not, whether we need a king in this state or not. A king refers to a monarchy and the upper Providence is also a monarchy.

Why do we need all that? It’s a very delicate fulfillment of the social structure, so that society will yearn only upwards, and only the actions will remain below, which means that everything else should only be the intention.

So a person has to constantly distinguish between the fact that spirituality should be in the air and not in a corporeal form, while corporeality should be expressed only in actions that focus us on one another. Then only the positive mutual bestowal will remain until the absolute revelation of love and the connection between us. If people act this way, they will establish the temple in the connection between them in which they will discover the Creator. Only now, after humanity has been through all the levels of its historical evolution, can we gradually explain to people how to give up all the external signs.

The body doesn’t exist. There is only the desire that we must connect and then we will be able to discover inside us, between us, in the neutral area, in the connection between us, the new attribute called Adam (a human being), and in it we will discover the Creator, the force that has created us and which revives us. It’s a great maturation process that a person goes through.

We have to keep all the symbols the Torah tells us about: the flags, the banners, the Tabernacle of the covenant, the tent of assembly, etc. in spirituality and not as a corporeal fulfillment. In order to succeed in doing so, we need to connect. On the one hand, the connection guards you, and on the other hand, you guard the connection. Everyone supports everyone in the spiritual yearning; this is precisely the reason for the connection between us where everyone worries about everyone else.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/9/13

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Question: It is said in the Koran: “The Almighty does not need helpers.” Why then does Kabbalah teach us that we have to become the Creator’s partners and assistants?

Answer: Religions originate from the right, left, and middle lines. Islam derives from the right line relative to the Creator; Christianity comes from the left line; whereas Judaism originates from the middle line. That is why the Muslim calendar is based on the lunar movement, the Christian calendar is based on solar cycles, and the Judaic calendar is based on both of them and is built in accordance with the middle line.

It is true that Koran says: “the Lord does not need helpers.” This is because human participation is impossible in both the right and left lines. People start taking part only when the middle line is built out of the right and left lines. Thus, we ascend to becoming partners with the Creator by becoming similar to Him.

This is why Kabbalah speaks about partnership between a man and the Creator. This is not the usual practice in Judaism as it emerged after destruction of the Temple and the people of Israel fell from their spiritual level. Today, after two thousand years of exile, we begin correcting the devastation that happened after the collapse of the First and the Second Temples. We have to establish a middle line inside us, i.e., we should ascend above our ego.

Religions are built in a way that they don’t require people to get rid of their egos. On the contrary, religions use the ego to attract us, involve us, calm us down, and promise a tranquil life, health, success, and wellbeing. Religions are a structure associated with exile; they are totally suitable for exile. We don’t reject this phenomenon at all!

However, now we live in an era when people of all faiths start rising above their religions and strive to attain the Creator. On one hand, they don’t have any other choice because their lives are so unpredictable! Our internal desire advances and demands that we know and reveal the Lord. In each of us there is a spark: in the sons of Israel, the spark is a consequence of their prior spiritual step; in the nations of the world, it is a result of a mutual penetration with the children of Israel during the period of exile.

That’s why today so many people begin awakening. When one is ready to attain the Creator, one doesn’t need a religion, but has to study Kabbalah since Kabbalah is the wisdom of the revelation of the Creator to the creations in this material world. This is the difference between all religions (the right, left, and middle lines) and the authentic “religion” (Kabbalah) as Baal HaSulam defines it in his writings. In his article “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose,” Baal HaSulam writes that there is only one authentic religion:  the wisdom of Kabbalah that brings us to attainment of the Creator by obtaining His properties.

All other religions were active during the exile. Their goal was to lead us to our time so that from now on we start the process of self-correction. During the exile, the purpose of religions was to educate people, support them in a civilized manner, and provide them with knowledge, morality, and ethics. Religions have fulfilled their roles. They acted inside humanity, thus letting us advance. Religions served human interests.

However, today their role expires; this phenomenon is obvious in all religions. Soon, we will witness huge transformations, increased resistance and big fights. The epoch of correction has been launched. Nothing can stop it. The world is degrading day after day, like a cart rolling downhill with tremendous speed. That’s why nowadays all religions will have to comply with and adjust to the wisdom of Kabbalah. Let’s hope that it will happen in a mild, civilized way and that religions will eventually accept their new roles and places.

Religions are important for our self-correction in so far as they begin to implement the principle of “loving our neighbors as ourselves.” All of them have this principle “on paper.” All they have to do is start practically implementing this doctrine; there is nothing more we can expect from them. As a result, they will revise themselves and then they will come to support the wisdom of Kabbalah, thus giving it a chance to correct everybody without exception.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/23/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Opinion (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet): “The planet’s resources are being depleted; the number of natural disasters is increasing. This poses new challenges for people. To solve them, we must learn to see the entire humanity as a whole.

“In today’s world with its global economic and environmental problems, the state borders become secondary. The same can be said about religious differences. Global challenges, rising before us, go beyond the framework of countries and religions. They relate to the entire humanity, and therefore we must act together.

“Through education, we can change people’s thinking, so that their priority becomes not self, but the global we. Each of us is part of a greater we. Conversely, the whole world is part of each of us. So, it is in our own interests to seriously take care of the welfare of the entire humankind and the environment.

“The idea of socialism is founded on the welfare of society as a whole, but not of one individual. Marxist economy talks about the equal distribution of wealth. And in capitalism, everyone pursues only his own profit.

“We can change the world only by relying on people’s goodwill, through education, rather than by force.

“The modern education system is focused on material values. As for spiritual values: love, compassion, forgiveness – various religious traditions talk about them. We must teach children the basics of morality. But it is difficult to do, relying solely on religion. We need a secular ethics.”

My Comment: The conclusions are correct, but there is no solution, only wishes. But it is also good—if it is heard. Usually, people nod in agreement to those like the Dalai Lama and then forget. But they need to hear, and then, with appropriate suffering, they will remember not only wishes, but also will find the solution: integral education.
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Question: What are the lines of similarity between the wisdom of Kabbalah and Sufism and where do they diverge?

Answer: Sufism is not contrary to the wisdom of Kabbalah. They speak about the same thing. But Sufism doesn’t explain the technique of the construction of creation, the system of creation, and its conduct. It’s more adapted to the masses since it speaks about the solution to human and spiritual problems but on the level of our world.

Sufism doesn’t explain the structure of the upper world in the precise form as is recorded in the wisdom of Kabbalah:  Sefirot, Partzufim, Olamot, Ohr, NRNHY, KHB ZON, Tzimtzum, Masach, Ohr Hozer, and all the rest of the concepts. Only in the wisdom of Kabbalah is a description given of the “celestial mechanics.”

In principle, you could say that you have no need for it. Yet in fact this is not so. When you begin to attain the upper world, then these mechanics becomes necessary. You cannot make order and clarification within you, relying only on your emotions or the guide. For you the guide has already transformed from being a person into an internal characteristic. You don’t see faces, rather you feel the Creator. Then you require deeper definitions and emotions, you must work with more subtle and more measured states.

I am not a big expert on Sufism, but it seems to me that it is a part of Kabbalah. And if we penetrate more deeply into true Sufism, then it’s possible to discover where that divider is found beyond which the wisdom of Kabbalah is imperative. According to its foundation, Sufism is the right study for leading the person precisely towards the goal, but up to a particular limit.

The idea is that with all of us there are different levels of ego. Sufism stops at a deep level of ego. And for people with a big ego, Sufism is not enough; they require a greater weapon against themselves. Therefore they require the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Unfortunately, Sufism has stopped its development for some time. Today in the Muslim world it’s not wanted at all. This is a great shame because once there was a connection between Jews and Muslims through Sufism.

Question: I have friends among the Sufis. Can I try to explain to them how the level of their development could be changed in this way?

Answer: I think that it’s not worthwhile to attract those who are involved with Sufism to the wisdom of Kabbalah. We are against coercion. We have free entry and exit. They can come, listen, and go; there is no obligation here. But I would give them some popular book on Kabbalah so that they will see where there are similar lines and where there is a difference.

In principle, the wisdom of Kabbalah is the inner part of the Torah and most parts of the Koran are based upon the Torah. The Torah constitutes the basis for all the religions. Therefore there are no contradictions here.
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From the Moscow Virtual Convention “Unity Without Boundaries” Day Three 12/15/13, Lesson 5

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In the News (from The Voice of Russia): “The standoff between Christianity and Islam in European countries is becoming more and more dangerous each year. According to some experts, today the European community is facing a harsh choice: if the Islamization of Europe continues, one might soon have to say good-bye to Christianity in the countries of the Old World.

“For a number of years on the eve of Christmas various European countries are shaken by scandals. In an increasing number of states the authorities refuse to put up in public places that integral attribute of the holiday, a Christmas tree, decorated with a nativity scene. The politicians explain their actions by their fear to insult the religious feelings of those who don’t believe in the Biblical stories. The demand to take off the Christian attributes primarily comes from Muslim communities, which are more and more aggressively trying to impose on the West their moral and religious values and view of the world. …

“If in the past Muslims living in the EU did not like the presence of dogs in the streets and public places in Europe, they demanded the authorities to issue special laws that would limit the breeding of such ‘impure animals,’ now they are demanding that Sharia Law be introduced at the state level. Some laws of Islamic law are already used in Belgium and the Netherlands in reviewing civil cases. …

“A spark of grudge slowly but surely turned into a real fire. … According to preliminary calculations, by 2025 about 40 million Muslims will live in the EU. In some countries the number of mosques has already surpassed the number of Christian churches. The Old World has no longer the opportunity to choose one or the other. …”

My Comment: There is no place for comment because the facts are cited. The tiredness of old Europe and the energetic youth of Islam are not comparable—and there is no choice. It is said in the Torah about Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, from whom Islam originated: “His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,” the entire world will deal with it.

As for the relationship between Arabs and Jews, it is said there in the Torah: “And he shall dwell before the face of all his brethren.” The descendants of the two brothers Ishmael and Isaac will not mix with one another, but will live separately against each other in an unpleasant close proximity.
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Come and see the words of the sage Rabbi Even Ezra in his book, Yesod Mora, (The Foundation for Fear) p. 8b: “And now note and know that all the Mitzvot that are written in the Torah or the conventions that the fathers have established, although they are mostly in action or in speech, they are all in order to correct the heart…”
Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

Those who engage solely in the dresses of the Torah are gravely mistaken. And when the Creator’s demand is abandoned and the majority of the multitude of the sages of the Torah do not know its purpose, and they consider the wisdom of the Torah with its purpose as mere addition of some quip to Talmudic debates—which, though truly sacred and precious—they will not illuminate our souls.
Rav Kook, Igrot (Letters), Part 2, No. 153
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Question: You have met with representatives of different spiritual movements several times. Can they support us when we approach the world?

Answer: The state of the Sufis is worse than ours. The difference between them and Islam is like the difference between us and religion. In contrast to Sufis, we can approach people freely, while they cannot even come out of their hiding place because of the great danger they are in. I met Sufis in Holland, England, and the US. They fled from the Arab states since they are hated by the modern fundamental Islam that is ready to operate only by force so that everyone will align with them like robots.

Question: Is being a Sufi a spiritual level?

Answer: Not really. But still, this level is above our world since they are above the desire to receive to some extent. The Sufis don’t have any real spiritual vessels since they don’t work along the three lines, but they do ascend a bit above the right line.

Question: But still, you tried to contact certain circles including scientists, politicians, and the World Wisdom Council. They really listened to your ideas…

Answer: In order to operate in this direction a person needs a desire, a need, an urge; he needs to feel an attraction to it. They don’t have this at the moment; they are indifferent at the moment.

See how many people speak out about ecological problems today and about the fact that enormous amounts of food are thrown away in rich countries while hundreds of millions in the world are hungry. It is clear that if people suffer in one place, and you discard in another, the problem is only the connection between people. If we can fix the connection between people, it will be possible to fix everything. It seems so simple but it turns out that no one can do it.

The point here is human nature that no one can correct and so everything stays the same. The desire for a change is not ripe yet. On the whole, every scientist dreams about discovering the meaning of life, but in the meantime they play with their guinea pigs and don’t look up…

Question: Will we still need science in the future when integral education will become part of people’s lives?

Answer: No. The truth is that there are no separate scientific fields: chemistry, physics, biology, zoology, botany, astronomy, etc.; there is only one wisdom: the science of life. We attain it in our desires, in our vessels. In other words, we become similar to reality and don’t need anything external any more. With Kabbalah I don’t need any external vessels in order to study external phenomena; no they open up in me.

Today, we study matter, its attributes and behavior, and then we process the data we receive in our mind, until we develop cells of sensation that enable us to experience the laws of nature. In fact, a scientist is a person who feels the part of nature that he studies.

Thus we follow a very long indirect path in order to acquire knowledge, a sensory response, and a kind of cooperation with the matter that we study as we become incorporated in it. Our familiarization with matter is quite limited.

On the other hand, we can develop inner vessels without external research, without the indirect path from mind to feeling, without the artificial framework of the phenomenon that we observe on the outside. I can swallow and absorb all the matter of the world and discover that it is inside me and not on the outside. Then a giant lab will be formed inside me in order to study reality, and I will not need different scientific subjects anymore. After all, the wisdom of Kabbalah includes them all.

A Kabbalist needs scientists in order to explain the different aspects of the wisdom of Kabbalah, but not for himself.

Question: So it turns out that he can study the structure of molecules and atoms by himself, for example?

Answer: If we provide him with the specific scientific vocabulary, he will explain why they act in a certain way. He only needs the terminology.

One way or the other, we will not need science in its current form when we begin to ascend spiritually. Why do we need genetic engineering, for example, if we already know how to implement the same thing on the level of the forces they stem from? Why should we deal with external features if we have access to internality?

What is more, after a person begins the correction, he will want to put an end to everything that harms him and others. So we will leave different parts of practical science since today we see that it only brings about harm. The use of pure science in our world is a dirty business.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/27/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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An idol worshiper is one who works for the benefit of his egoism and turns it into an idol.

The nations of the world that create images and builds statues are not considered as idol worshippers because they are not aware that their original nature is the desire to receive. In other words, there are those who create corporeal images and there are other people who create imaginary images.

Ask any Jew why he closes his eyes when he says “Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God the Lord is one.” He doesn’t know. He doesn’t even understand that he does it because it is forbidden for a person to imagine any image!

The Creator is the attribute of bestowal and love and He exists only within our correct inner desire, and we can discover this attribute only according to our desire. Otherwise He doesn’t exist! He doesn’t exist in any place, not even as the Surrounding Light. Simply, we speak this way in order to express in some way the spiritual attribute in our corporeal language.

The Creator, (Bo-re) means “come and see,” and if you reach your vessel, you can discover Him. And He doesn’t exist outside the vessel. It is impossible to explain this to a simple person. He thinks that if he believes, this means that there is a Creator.

Actually, there is no basis for this. We ourselves create the Creator, which arises within us in from some kind of transcendental dimension according to our properties.
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From the Talk about Group and Dissemination 10/23/13

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There are two paths: the path of the Torah and the path of suffering. However, these are actually not two options because along the path of suffering, we receive blows that put us back on the path of the Torah.

So, we must realize as quickly as possible that there is actually only one path and that we need to advance by the Light that Reforms since the sufferings don’t correct us. Only a prayer, a request for correction, draws the Light, and then after going through several corrections, we reach the goal of creation.

The Creator is the absolute goodness that illuminates on us, and we have no choice but to advance toward the goal that has been prepared for us in advance. The goal is to do good to His created beings, so adhering to Him is the real benefit. This is what we should reach.

The good and benevolent Creator is revealed according to the law of equivalence of form to the extent that we are equal to Him. He is in absolute bestowal and love, and we must reach the same attributes, too. However, we approach this state gradually, discovering, time after time, the evil in us, trying to draw the Light that Reforms that is called the Torah. It corrects us and these portions of correction that are called “keeping the Mitzvot (commandments)” push us forward, one by one, until we become like ripe fruit that is ready for the “complete coupling” (Zivug).

This is how the Creator’s attitude toward us is revealed according to the purposeful providence. It operates that way in order to spur in us its different forms time after time. Thus, we know Him according to the principle of the advantage of the Light from the darkness.

So, he who is greater than his friend, his desire is also greater. When we ascend toward the Creator in the attributes of bestowal and love, we can better clarify how opposite we are from Him, and can clarify things more deeply as the picture becomes clearer and finer. Thus, we get closer to the Creator all the way to the last level of the clarification of the connection between us.

Baal HaSulam asserts that religion is a means, a tool for attaining the Creator, the goal of life. The means are given to those who work on themselves, and all the others are confused by their own ideas about religion. Instead of establishing the right order and the correct system, they are building an “idol and an image,” false images, as long as they have something to engage in without correcting themselves for the sake of love and bestowal, without yearning to reach the level of “from the love of the creatures to the love of the  Creator.”

According to this sign, we can differentiate between the wisdom of Kabbalah and all the other methods because none of them enables a person to change his nature from hatred to love. Therefore, they are all unacceptable.

This is why we study, disseminate, and work on the connection in the group, and by that we reach the recognition of evil. It turns out that the evil is our nature and we must get rid of it and change it to a different nature.

It doesn’t mean that I must destroy myself or hate my nature, although it is evil. No, I see what the Creator has given me in it, and I only must correct it gently and with great care. I have no other engagement in life, except for the correction of my nature. I mustn’t disrespect it, but I must study it deeply, accurately, and in great detail and then, from these corruptions, I understand what the correct form should be.

Therefore, the Creator is called “Boreh” (come and see). I turn my ego to “in order to bestow” and establish a restriction above it, a Masach (screen) and the Returning Light, and gradually form the Creator’s image from the corrected parts. I build Him in me.

Otherwise, He remains an invisible force that cannot be revealed in our senses. It is because He is revealed only according to our adaptability to Him, according to the law of equivalence of form.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/8/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Opinion (His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama): “All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.”

My Comment: The concealment of the Creator, the power of love that manages the world, is due to our egoism, which is the opposite to the property of the Creator and therefore it does not feel Him. The revelation of the Creator can only happen as a result of a change in our egoistic nature, from everything for oneself to the altruistic nature everything for the sake of others, according to the principle, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The call for the change of a person is found in all religions, but they cannot implement it because our nature can be changed only under the influence of the Creator, the Light of Ohr Makif, on it. Kabbalah allows this (See Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose“). This article also speaks about ethics…
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