A question I received: If a person tries to realize the principle of love for the neighbor right now, he will feel like a sheep in a pack of wolves. Where can he find adherents to support him?

My Answer: Why would he feel like a sheep in a pack of wolves? If a person opens a business without the intention of making additional profit, he will cover all his overhead expenses, expenses for the salaries of his workers, – everything except additional income, which is of no benefit to anyone for the vital necessities of life.

Therefore, he lowers the previously established price of his goods and offers people the goods at a price that is 10 or even up to 30 percent cheaper than what others sell them for.

Businesses, which don’t place receiving a profit as the primary goal will flourish, and this is not considered to be a “sheep in a pack of wolves” in any way. You are the owner of a business you live a normal life and receive a salary, like all of your employees.

We all need to cover expenses, including establishing a retirement fund, paying for medical insurance, and so on. We should live normal lives, go on vacation, and have everything that is necessary; we just don’t have anything in excess because we don’t need it. Let everyone else equalize to us at the expense of our surplus.

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In the news (from The MailOnline): “Barack Obama announces sweeping changes to the US financial system in a bid to end ‘culture of irresponsibility’” President Obama has announced the biggest shake-up of regulation of the US financial system since the Great Depression… Mr. Obama claimed his new ‘rules of the road’ were desperately needed because ‘a culture of irresponsibility took root from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street.’..

My Comment: Irresponsibility stems from our natural egoism, which does not let us consider others over profit, power or fame. Boosting and enforcing government regulations is not a substitute for people’s sense of responsibility for the world they live in. The Soviet Union has already tried and failed to cure egoism through force. This will be President Obama’s great mistake, but it will then be followed by the realization and acceptance of Kabbalah as the method of correction of man’s egoistic nature. Unfortunately, humanity will have to suffer a great deal before that happens!

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In the news (from USC Annenberg): “Family time decreasing with Internet use” More and more of America’s Internet-connected households report erosion of face-to-face family time, increased feelings of being ignored by family members using the Web… By 2008, shared time had dropped by more than 30 percent, to 17.9 hours. Reports of feeling ignored, at least sometimes, by family members using the Internet grew by 40 percent over the same period.

My Comment: This is not something to look forward to!  Our egoism is forcing us to move away from one another and to forget about ourselves and others by immersing ourselves in the TV and the Internet.  In the space where our desires ought to be fulfilled, we feel emptiness – that is why we are distanced from others and ourselves. When one is on an incorrect course, there are two methods to discern the error and make the necessary adjustments to reach the goal:

1) Accelerate the speed in the wrong direction! In so doing one gains some time by recognizing the error of one’s course, since the time spent moving in the wrong direction is filled with suffering.

2) Instead of moving in the wrong direction, delve into the study of the process that is controlling us. In doing so, one will be able to recognize its evil, instead of revealing its wickedness personally, through corporeal suffering. This action greatly reduces not only the time spent on the wrong path, but also the amount, level and magnitude of suffering, by transforming the corporeal and emotional suffering to the suffering of love.

In this way, we move from suffering over our own miserable state and the fact that we’re feeling pain, to suffering over the absence of eternity and perfection that we have not yet attained. Therefore, the second method is preferable!

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In the News (from Florida State University News): “Florida State study links ‘warrior gene’ to gang membership, weapon use” Boys who carry a particular variation of the gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), sometimes called the “warrior gene,” are more likely not only to join gangs, but also to be among the most violent members and to use weapons, according to a new study from Florida State University that is the first to confirm an MAOA link specifically to gangs and guns. Findings apply only to males…

“Moreover, we found that variants of this gene could distinguish gang members who were markedly more likely to behave violently and use weapons from members who were less likely to do either.”

My Comment: So what reason do we have to sue the miserable carriers of this gene? Do we do this because we cannot judge Nature or the Creator? Kabbalah suggests using these predispositions for professions in the army and the police. Meanwhile, correction is possible only through the Upper Light, which created these predispositions.

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A question I received: Can you explain to a person logically, before the blows come, that equality, which may seem so dangerous and threatening is in fact not such a bad thing after all? Perhaps, one may even benefit from it?

My Answer: Every person wants to be above the rest, control others, and to use everyone. If he became equal with the rest, he would have nothing with which to fill his desire.

Equality is not a means to create a perfect human society, but it’s purpose is to adhere to the highest force of Nature, the Creator, and to be filled with the sensation of bestowal. A person needs to see that bestowal fills him. If people treat one another like that, they will see that even if they perform acts of bestowal egoistically, they enjoy it nonetheless. Each one feels that he is great, powerful and bestowing – more than anyone else! Clearly, it’s an egoistic sensation. Why do people make good deeds in the first place? Because there’s a value in them: in the form of appreciation and honor from society.

For instance, what good does a million dollar bank account do for you? What will happen to this sum tomorrow? Just think of the positive attitude you would receive if you were to use it to assist others! What sensations of greatness and honor! Your family, your kids, everyone around you would praise and respect you. That’s worth something. If social opinion changes accordingly, people will then value such fulfillment above anything else, since society dictates their behavior through its system of values.

Today above all else, social opinion makes us value money and its quantity. One has a million dollars in his account, the other, ten million! You look at the latter as if he is healthier, smarter and more handsome than the rest. If someone has a billion, he is simply an angel! Not a man of flesh and blood anymore, something unimaginable! Such is our inner nature. You can hate a person, but at the same time honor, respect and aspire to be close to him – it all depends on society’s appreciation!

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When analyzing the statistical data across the world concerning  negative social phenomena such as the rate of incarceration, drug abuse, depression, divorce, domestic violence, parent and child estrangement, we come upon some very interesting findings.

It turns out that these problems are almost nonexistent in poorer countries. When offered antidepressants, people in countries with a greater level of social equality would not understand what you are talking about. However, in societies where there is more social disparity, taking antidepressants is commonplace and many people have their own personal psychologist or therapist.

In the end it turns out that the problem lies not in poverty, but in the disparity between the various standards of living and how I assess myself in relation to others and in the inequality between us.  Equality is a law of Nature, so the less balanced a society, the more problems it has: crime, drugs, depression, divorces, etc. At the same time, the closer people are in their standard of living, the fewer problems of this sort we see plaguing their society.

You can live in a cave and be happy, or you can live in complete prosperity without any problems whatsoever – as long as everyone in your society lives in the same fashion. Problems arise solely from inequality, as it is precisely the lack of balance that is the root of all evil.

Bringing people to equality however, is no simple task, since it contradicts our egoistic desire. Thus, a person must be compensated: what will we get for being equal to others, since right now our desire is to be above others? Kabbalah tells us that only by revealing the Creator can we change this desire and therefore, live as equals. Revealing Him will fill all feelings of disparity and this will be the reward for the compromise we make to be equal to others.

Society is already beginning to understand that inequality breeds evil, as it opposes the main force of Nature in accordance with which everything must be balanced and congruous. We receive fulfillment from infinity, which exists in absolute equality and we therefore perceive any phenomenon opposite to it as ruin.

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A question I received: How will people as a whole develop the desire to unite? Other than suffering, what will rouse this desire in them?

My Answer: We are in an absolute and inseparable connection with each other, in a complete mutual guarantee. This state is designed by nature without our consent, and we have no choice.

Imagine that you have bought an apartment in a building with 50 neighbors, and when you signed the contract, you were unaware that you agreed to be in a mutual guarantee with all the neighbors. Now you are responsible for everything that happens in these 50 families.

This means that if one of them commits an offense, you will be held responsible and taken to jail instead of him. You will be held responsible for everyone. This is the reality of a mutual guarantee.

Humanity must realize that this agreement for an absolute and complete mutual guarantee is currently pressuring us and that every person is responsible for the whole planet. What can we do against this extremely difficult and irrevocable agreement? After all, being responsible for everyone is unbearable! People will feel that there is no choice other than through their own will to connect to others in the correct, good way. However, the whole problem is that we will not be allowed to do this.

Even when we develop the understanding of the need and the desire to unite, and all the governments consent to this at some meeting (like the G20), even then every person individually, as well as entire nations, will discover their inability to unite. Although everyone will seem to realize the hopelessness of the present state, at the same time there will be no opportunities to unite. This is the revelation of a foreign force over us.

It is as though someone from above is purposely building obstacles, tripping us, and not allowing us to achieve what we desire, in spite of all of our efforts and against all logic. And then “they will cry out from this work.” When this occurs, the third force will be revealed: one who wishes to come out of this state must use the Light from the Source in order to replace the hatred in him with love and to begin to love that which he hated previously.

We don’t even realize how much we hate the Creator currently, how distant we are from Him and opposite in our qualities. It is hard to believe that love for Him is even possible. After all, it is He who created everything bad in this world and placed us in the lowest state.

We hate Him specifically and no one else, since “There is None Else Beside Him.” And from precisely this point that every person needs to reach in his personal development, we need to completely turn everything in the opposite direction, and begin to love.

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A question I received: In a recent answer you gave you said that the capitalist system of America was evil because it focused on the self rather than on the whole of society as so many other countries do. However, how do you account for the fact that the citizens of the U.S. give more to global charity than any other nation and exceed all of Europe in their charitable giving?

It seems to me that the New World that emerges out of the current global crisis will come from the ingenuity and ambition of the American people which comes from a pioneering spirit that is fueled by an independent and capitalist system.

All people of sound mind, no matter how wealthy come to the point of giving. If one looks at the life of many wealthy capitalists, including, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Soros, and many, many others… they have given a great deal to society. Don’t you agree?

My Answer: The system is a thing of the past, because it is built on competition, rather than on unity of people. The system has become opposite to Nature, and therefore needs to be changed into one that is congruent with Nature. To the extent that we stay opposite, we will suffer blows and setbacks.

As for the American spirit – to be pioneers and set an example for the rest of the world – I agree!  But what does it mean today, if not to show the world the proper example of friendliness and mutual benevolent connection?

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In the News (from The Wall Street Journal): “White House Set to Appoint a Pay Czar” – The Obama administration plans to appoint a “Special Master for Compensation” to ensure that companies receiving federal bailout funds are abiding by executive-pay guidelines, according to people familiar with the matter. The administration is expected to name Kenneth Feinberg …to act as a pay czar for the Treasury Department.

My Comment: Firms’ executives continue to assign themselves payouts in billions of dollars. And they are right – who shows them a different example, since the government does the same! The egoistic feast goes on! Then – “after me the flood.”

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A question I received: You said that if a person begins to bestow, he or she will be filled with vitality and confidence. What will change, precisely?

My Answer: Such a person will be accepted and appreciated by the world and will receive tokens of respect. It will serve him or her as a stimulus for the egoism to rise even higher, to bestow even more, to take even more pride in it.

The place of evil competition will become benevolent and people will gradually begin to appreciate the quality of bestowal for what it brings them: respect, importance in the eyes of society and a feeling of dignity. People will sense that the quality of bestowal is the source of vital strength and universal respect because this quality brings goodness. A person will then be motivated to aspire to it.

You are concerned that those who bestow will be used? But we are talking about a society that feels that there is no other choice to save ourselves from annihilation, than by making the mutual connections.  Nobody is asking such actions from you today – they have no value nor are they necessary. In a short while however, society will be faced with such problems that any person capable of helping others will be valued.

Nobody needs your bestowal right now. We are separated: You don’t need me, and vice versa. If you want to help me, it seems suspicious to me. But if I can’t move on my own and someone is ready to help me, he is a savior in my eyes! That’s why we should wait, since realization comes only after necessity.

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