A question I received: We know that in the past many Kabbalists were rather successful businessmen. What did it mean then to be “successful?”

My Answer: On the outside, Kabbalists always resembled other people. That was a period when they had to live like regular people since it was still forbidden to reveal the science of Kabbalah. Were they successful salesmen and did they keep their profits?

Baal HaSulam wrote that a person who studies how to become similar to the Creator, distributes his extra earnings among everyone, leaving only what was necessary for himself.

There has never been a single person who attained the spiritual and kept more for himself than what he required for a normal existence. On the other hand, it is forbidden to place oneself below the acceptable standard of living for the particular period or place.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: All But Necessities Should Be Dedicated To Bestowal
Laitman.com Post: Some Even Make A Profit Off Of Expired Food
Kabbalah Today Article: Can We Stop Being Scrooge?
Baal Hasulam Article: “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”- Lesson

Filed under: Society - 1 Comment →

A question I received: How will they define what level (of consumption) is necessary for life in the corrected society described by Baal HaSulam? Will each one decide it for himself, or will those who will govern this society (the government) set a common standard for everyone?

My Answer: Apparently a world governing body (a world government) will be created, as it is said, “A capital city cannot be without a ruler.” This will be a government of sages who have attained the Upper World, that is, our next (future) state.  Due to their having attained our future today, they will be able to govern the whole of humanity unmistakably.

When I say “to govern” I mean “to educate,” or more precisely to teach a man how to change himself to become more similar to the quality of Nature (the Creator), which is the quality of bestowal and love. To the extent of this similarity, we will feel ourselves become more perfect, eternal and fulfilled. But everyone will have to make these changes within themselves on their own, voluntarily and independently.

Therefore all governance will be implemented through education. When we talk about a person’s free will to change himself in order to become similar to the Creator, then the environment (society and the government) will have to help everyone realize that each one must become corrected individually, and that the only way to change their life on this earth and their eternal existence is to correct themselves. The governing of the billions of people on the planet by the spiritual government will consist of educating and providing opportunities to everyone to change themselves at the individual level.

Education is the only “reins” that a government has. All other means are based on suppression of freedom manifested as failure of the system and harm to its citizens. This is why proper upbringing and education must be started from the first days that a person enters this world with consistent content included in all educational and social institutions, etc.

In other words, they have to bring a man to the state that when he experiences the blows and negative reactions of society, he will reveal these reactions within himself, thus changing and bringing himself to a more corrected state.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Inner Harmony Of Humanity
Laitman.com Post: Influenced By Kabbalah Instead Of Alcohol
Laitman.com Post: It’s All A Factor Of Society’s Appreciation
Kabbalah Today Article: Time To Act
Baal HaSulam article: “Building the Future Society”

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

A question I received: If one wants to know whether he lives according to the principle of basic necessity – what should one do?

My Answer: Study. There’s nothing but evoking the Light that reforms through studying and coming to know yourself in relation to others, the society and the Creator. By doing this a person corrects himself.

How it actually works, absolutely escapes us. If you’re feeling down – start studying, for it is written “it’s a cure for every flesh.”  The root of all the problems is the crisis, in other words, the destruction and breaking of the common soul, which means that instead of remaining within love, we fell into hatred. Therefore, all we need to correct is that very root of every one of our problems.

The common soul had been in the state of Infinity and then it broke into a myriad of individual souls, separated by egoism. Such is our state today and because of that breaking, all we feel now is this world instead of Infinity. By correcting the breaking by the act of our uniting, we will once again return to the world of Infinity (infinite and eternal perfection).

Perhaps you are asking about a temporary solution. Let’s say that a person is hospitalized with acute pain and he needs surgery, but in the meantime he is given a painkiller, a sedative (not a cure, nor a treatment).

If a person asks for it, you have to help him. But together with the sedative, you need to explain the situation as it is: there’s a program for his development, and he’s under its guidance; there’s a purpose to his life, which is to reach an eternal and perfect state. All of his states and his entire destiny comes from one Source, and that Source is what cures him.

If he is capable of seeing that all is not random and that he has to suffer incessant blows until he comes to find that everything has been done in absolute kindness in order to bring him to his destiny, this realization will calm him down.  This realization is his painkiller. Together with his studies, he begins his treatment, takes control of his destiny and secures his good fortune.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Cure The World, Cure Yourself
Laitman.com Post: Doctors Have A New Diagnosis, “The Crisis Syndrome”
Laitman.com Post: The Most Important Task In Life
Spiritual Search: Seventh Talk – “Two Worlds: Our World And The Spiritual”

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

In the News (from The Times Online): “Alcohol-related deaths up by 40% in ten years” – The number of people dying from alcohol-related causes rose by nearly 40 per cent from 5,287 in 1999 to 7,341 last year,  figures obtained by the Conservative MP James Brokenshire, a shadow Home Office minister, show.

The number of deaths among women rose by 32 per cent and among men by 43 per cent. Deaths with an underlying cause related to alcohol among people under 40 rose by 24 per cent, the figures revealed.

My Comment: Only education is able to change society and bring it to the perfect state, so that it will positively influence the economy, culture and the path of progress. I have included methods of the re-education of society according to the principals and methods of Kabbalah in my book “The Last Generation.” (available in Hebrew). There is no other path of salvation for all nations and the world.

Kabbalah does not just offer obvious natural methods such as education, but a method of self-discovery and change that is based on the structure of the Nature of the worlds and the souls. Therefore, though the actual proposal sounds trivial, it means “The Kabbalistic Education – A Person Changing Under Influence Of The Upper Light,”  which takes place exactly with “usage” of Kabbalistic texts. It is not just the studying of these texts as informational material that causes the change, but also the studying with the intention of changing one’s own qualities. In this case, a person draws onto himself the Upper Quality – the Light.

By using this method, we can change ourselves and the world for the better. All other actions lead to the growth of evil in order to come to recognize it and then subsequently to return to the method offered by Kabbalah.

The world is something that we perceive and it does not exist outside of us. It depends only on our individual inner qualities. Therefore, when I say “education” I mean the complete change of a person from the level (of comprehension) of this world to the level (of comprehension) of the spiritual (eternal, perfect) world. The manner in which a person perceives the world is the same manner in which he perceives himself. (See material about the perception of reality).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Heavy Drinking Is Not Just The Russians’ Problem Anymore
Laitman.com Post: Altering Human Genes Through The Study Of Kabbalah
Talks: “Perception Of Reality”
The Path Of Kabbalah: “The Attributes Of The Light”

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

A question I received: Many people today feel a sense of desolation that is not related to their lack of material possessions. What does a person feel in such a state? What questions about life does he ask himself?

My Answer: Every person wants to be safe, healthy and live a normal life. This necessity, along with its various internal and external fears and anxieties, is understood by all. Because our egoism prefers to avoid the problem, people try to calm themselves down. This is why, as we are seeing today, people either don’t want to talk about the crisis or they announce that it’s already behind us.

A person who experiences desolation asks himself whether tomorrow will be worse than today. Today, he is surviving somehow, but what about tomorrow? He is afraid of losing that which is his; he lives in fear of forthcoming losses.

The one who is employed fears losing his job. The one who already lost his job is dependent on the national welfare system. If the government runs out of money tomorrow, there will be no welfare system, as the system does not have a bottomless supply of funds. Where will the money come from to provide for all?

A few more thousand will be fired, the process will extend another few months and that’s it; the money will run out! What will we do? How do we feed ourselves, how do we pay for things? No one knows what will happen.

All of these questions are of great concern to society, but governments and the media are not addressing them. Another few months will go by and concealing the situation will become impossible; everything will come out in the open. Unrest is already flaring up in various places. What will it all lead to? Something unimaginable.

This is why the world needs the science of Kabbalah. Against the background of all these problems, people must know that there is a solution. The only solution can be found in the science of Kabbalah. For now, it’s fine if they just hear about it in a vague, concealed form. But when the blows hit, this information will suddenly become clear.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Crisis May Soon Bankrupt Entire Nations
Laitman.com Post: There Is A Purpose To The Turbulence In Our Lives
Kabbalah Today Article: What Happened?
Attaining the Worlds Beyond: 4.Nullifying Our Personal Interests.”Let the Kabbalah Be Your Guide”

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

A question I received: How can people determine what is a necessity today?

My Answer: The level of necessity of today is a medium level of well-being in the place where a person is living. There are many methods of verifying the actual mean level. Baal HaSulam covers that in detail in the article The Future Generation. He refers to creation of all kinds of committees that would check the actual needs of every person, and fulfill them.

All of that is measured according to the needs of an average person. Let’s say that each family must have a room for each of its members. Each person must have a job. The family must have a car to get to and from work and for other needs. All of that is determined in accordance with changes that occur in the world. Notwithstanding, a family must have everything it needs to exit normally.

As a matter of fact, the problem is not what you have, but your attitude towards it. After all, the Creator doesn’t want you to suffer. The purpose of creation is to delight the creatures. Therefore, you confine your earthly life to the needs of your physical body – no more and no less.

You have to fill your desires for food, sex, family, wealth, honor, power and knowledge. You should feel no lack in those desires, and they should be filled to the measure that is an essential necessity for the life of your animal body. Anything that is beyond a necessity should be used to bestow to your fellow man.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Bestowal Can Fulfill Us More Than Anything Else
Laitman.com Post: Why Our “Sacred Values” Aren’t Up For Sale
A Guide to the Hidden Wisdom of Kabbalah: “The Creator Has to Give; We Have to Receive”
Spiritual Search: “Our World and the Spiritual”

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

A question I received: Why is it that humanity’s natural development does not lead to the understanding that we must all be connected with each other in a benevolent connection?

My Answer: Everyone can give and take using their egoistical qualities – at work, in commerce and socially. When our egoistic properties reach a global, international level, we reach the maximum realization of our desires. This is where the first phase of human development ends and another begins – the phase of correcting the developed desire.

Nature demands that we restore the connection among us, which was broken before we were even born. This connection can only be corrected with the help of the Light, which the science of Kabbalah can provide.

The desire to start a family, to provide for your children, to be a good neighbor, to give and receive, to make money with each other, to live in peace, – all exist within the egoistic desire.

But if we are talking about a new system of connection among us, this is not a system of mutually beneficial trade, but a system where I am obliged to give to all; I must invest in everyone. This is not a transition to more trade with a higher degree of participation, although the world might understand it as such. Everyone understands that we must be interconnected in a positive way. But what Nature demands of us are heartfelt relationships based on the principles of bestowal and love, and not just honest trade!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Why Is It Easier To Love Sushi Than To Love Your Neighbor?
Laitman.com Post: The Revelation Of Our Connection Is A Sign Of The Coming Of The Messiah
Kabbalah Today Article: Soul Splitting
Kabbalah for Beginners: Chapter 7.”Concealment—a Requisite for Free Choice”

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

In the News (from Gallup): “Obama Averages 61% Job Approval in June” U.S. President Barack Obama averaged a 61% job approval rating for the month of June…The 61% average represents a five percentage-point drop compared to his 66% average for his first 11 days in office, Jan. 21-31, 2009…

My Comment: The real trouble is yet to come! When it will, both viable anti-crisis programs and the means to implement them will be absent! Those capable of hearing about the true solution, which is correction with the help of an external force are ordinary people, and not presidents.

Therefore, only the wide circulation of Kabbalah throughout the masses will change public opinion in favor of the necessity of its implementation.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Media Must Help Turn Our World Into A Giant Classroom
Laitman.com Post: A Spiritual Revolution Is Inevitable
Laitman.com Post: The Writings Of The Last Generation
Baal HaSulam Article: “Messiah’s Horn”
Interviews: Enlightenment of Humanity

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

In the News (from The Guardian): “Young, jobless, broke: today’s lost generation” – A recent survey by Post Office financial services found that most 16- to 24-year-olds believe that it will take a decade for their living standards to return to pre-crisis levels. On the wider labour market survey measure, an alarming 18.3% of 16-to 25-year-olds are unemployed. David Blanchflower, the labour market expert, said, “The danger is that we have a lost generation.”

My Comment: This means that their children will be just like them.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Great Britain Is Raising A Generation Of Bums
Laitman.com Post: How To Help The Vulnerable Lost Young
Laitman.com Post: A New, Spiritual World Awaits Us
Laitman.com Post: Nature Has Set A New Condition For Our Well-Being

Filed under: Society - No Comments →

In the News (from VOA): “More Than a Billion People Hungry in the World” – A new report found more than one billion people around the world are going hungry. …we can eliminate hunger in the world, we have the resources: the food is there. It’s not a lack of food …it is lack of access to food…

My Comment: Nature has everything in abundance, except human brainpower!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: New Study Shows Brains Develop In The State of Chaos
Laitman.com Post: Don’t Mess With Nature’s Balance!
Laitman.com Post: We Really Can Do Something About The Weather!
Kabbalah Today Article: I Saw a Reversed World

Filed under: Society - No Comments →