Baal HaSulam, “The Inheritance of the Land”: Israel will not return to their land unless they all become one bundle.

Land (Eretz) refers to desire (Ratzon). We want to acquire the “land of Israel” which is a special desire that has to be aimed at the Creator, Yashar-El (straight to the Creator). This means that we have to focus our desire on the Creator, in order to bestow, and this is expressed when we focus ourselves on love of others.

How is all that related to the geographic location of the state of Israel? Is it about branches and roots? The Jewish nation can live on their land only if they are compatible with the laws that operate between the nation and the spiritual land of Israel.

This means that when my desires are focused on delighting the Creator, it is expressed in delighting others according to the principle of all of Israel are friends and are  mutually responsible for one another; don’t do unto others what is hateful to you; love thy friend as thyself; as one man in one heart, etc.

If I am attracted to that, it means that I correct all my desires with the help of the Upper Light, and then they change from foreign desires to internal desires; they turn from a dry land to a desire to Yashar-El. Then, as I enter the spiritual land of Israel in spirituality, I am attracted to the land of Israel in corporeality.

This is the reason that the Creator sent Abraham from Babylon to the land, which was the land of Canaan at the time, so that he would correct himself there and feel the true nature of Yashar-El. It is about both the internal work and about corporeal actions. The families of Abraham’s students collected their belongings, their camels, their sheep, and goats and travelled to that place. This transition was according to their work of connection, according to what Abraham had taught them.

The people in the world don’t understand the law of compatibility between a branch and a root. But it was expressed even in Babylon, when its people scattered all over the globe. First they were as one nation, although they were many tribes and extended families. Then when the ego erupted between them and began to expand, the signs of separation appeared.

People connected to one another, drew away from another, and thus they divided into groups that eventually left Babylon and scattered all over the world. This is how the nations of the world were created. They were formed according to the egoistic desires that determined their uniqueness and who could get along with whom. Consequently, we see that today every nation has its unique mentality, customs, traditions, etc.

In addition, people from all of Babylon who had a point in the heart gathered around Abraham regardless of the tribes or the extended families to which they belonged. When they heard the message that Abraham spread they felt that they wanted to belong to that group, which headed towards Canaan according to the law of branch and root.

The rest of the people didn’t know why they were attracted to different places. It is the same today: A person doesn’t feel that it is the Creator who sends him everything in life and that He guides him in a certain direction or another. It seems that everything happens by chance, without a cause, although nothing is random in nature. The reasons are simply concealed from us.

On the other hand, Abraham’s group received a clear order: “Go to your land.” In other words, the students felt very clearly the connection between the spiritual root and the corporeal branch. They were in a state of Canaan and therefore reached the land of Canaan.

Later they connect more strongly to one another until they reached the state of the “house of Jacob,” meaning unity in smallness (Katnut). Then they discovered that they lacked an additional inner drive, resistance, or in short, an addition, material for work.

Thus, their egoistic desire began to grow, which is called the exile in Egypt. This internal process was accompanied by an external process: They went down to Egypt. There they underwent different experiences according to their internal states: seven years of satiety, seven years of hunger, the plagues of Egypt, although all this took place externally and not in complete accordance with their internal states.

We cannot discern this connection; therefore, there is no point looking for definite parallels. In the spiritual exodus from Egypt, for example, all of Egypt, which means the whole egoistic desire, fell. After all, the children of Israel broke off from the big ego. It existed between them and didn’t let them connect despite all their efforts until they had a chance to rise above it. Generally speaking, this connection was possible only above the ego and not inside it or together with it.

But something different happened in the corporeal world. Egypt didn’t fall immediately after the children of Israel left it. After all, this world exists although there is nothing spiritual about it. This is where the lack of correlation between the spiritual destruction of Egypt and the spiritual branch stems from.

We establish our reality among us on the spiritual level, and the corporeal level, which is perceived by our five senses, remains the same. There is no spiritual content in it and it doesn’t have to become desolate according to spiritual events. This is how the difference between the levels is revealed as the corporeal Egypt remains in its place although it has been destroyed in our internal states.

It says that the spiritual root has to touch the corporeal branch, but only to touch it. It isn’t dressed in it and doesn’t operate in it.
[133998]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/30/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: People who survived the Holocaust ask how such a thing could have happened if “There is none else besides Him.”

Answer: It is impossible to answer this question on the corporeal level. A person asks simply: “if the Creator is good, He has to do what I think is good, but if I feel bad, it is sign that He is bad or that He doesn’t exist at all.” Then he reaches the conclusion: “Well then, the Creator doesn’t exist.”

In order to give a different answer, we need to explain that Israel has to manage the world and because they cannot manage it properly the world suffers, and of course the first to suffer are those who brought the world to this condition.

There is no other reason for the sufferings. The ball is always in your hands, from the days of Abraham onwards. And don’t say that you couldn’t and that you didn’t know, you have always known and always could. It is all very straight forward.

But if I say that to people, they may think that I blame them and that I am against them. It is like a child who is told that he did something wrong and he cries that daddy is bad. Why is daddy bad if I explain to you and show you your mistake so that you will not go wrong again? No, daddy is bad in any case! This is what he feels in his ego.

It says: “He has given a law that cannot be broken.” This is the reason that the Creator is called nature. Can nature change? If a volcano erupts, is it that the lava destroys someone and someone else is spared? would it hit someone and spare someone else? If it rains, everyone gets wet. Here there are no questions.

If the nation of Israel does not begin to do what they have to do, all the atrocities will repeat, and even more than once. If during your lifetime you repeat the same mistake over and over again because of your weak character you receive blows each time. The same thing happens with the world.

The atrocities of the Nazis we underwent during WWII can be repeated as many times as necessary until you will realize what you must do and do it. If you don’t, then Nazism will never end. We are facing this state right now and nothing can be done. Only our internal unity and our dissemination outward can prevent the adversity, not only for the Jews but for the whole world.
[133832]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/14, Topic: Holocaust Memorial Day

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Baal HaSulam, Shamati 159, “And It Came To Pass In The Course Of Those Many Days:” This is the meaning of “the king of Egypt died,” that all the dominations of the king of Egypt, which he was providing for and nourishing, had died.

The king of Egypt died inside us and  the control of the ego upon us disappeared. Therefore, we were not able to work anymore. We were always working in order to receive and then to bestow in order to receive.  And suddenly there is no one to work for since the desire to receive disappeared. And if there is no desire, then there is nothing to do, no desire to bestow or receive. The ego disappears, we come to despair and don’t know where to go.

We don’t have a reason to move; we feel disconnected from life, which suddenly becomes in vain. But, clearly this is exactly the passage to the next degree. If at this moment we are powerless, it precisely indicates our dependency on the force of desire and how it held us in its complete control.

“The king of Egypt died,” that is, our ego stopped being important to us. We no longer try to fulfill it as before, nor do we feel that there is any vitality in this fulfillment.

In ordinary life it is clear to us that if I we are fed up with a game, it is not as important as before, that is, that the king of Egypt, the ego, that was part of the game and fulfilled us, does not fulfill us anymore. Therefore, we look for another game, changing our place of work or lifestyle.

But, in spiritual work we don’t know how to change a problem. In regular life we have TV, the Internet, advertisements, and we constantly choose where else we can find enjoyment and what else can be experienced. We enter the supermarket and see endless varieties of wine, cheese, and meat on the shelves. If you don’t want one thing, take another one. This confuses people and creates an illusion of a variety of pleasures, and this calms people by showing them that there is always something to fulfill them. Nevertheless, we see that with all the sufferings, a large percentage of people suffer from depression, complete despair, and drug use.

Because we progress toward mutual spiritual work, today in our world people do not understand where the king of Egypt disappeared to. Before he provided aspiration for work from which we received different fulfillments. But today, everything has disappeared and this is a problem in our lives.

We understand that we cannot change jobs anymore; there is no place to where we can escape, and we will need to concentrate on finding a new king. Meaning, we must receive the control of the force to bestow without any reward, to receive force from above and perform actions that are directed upward and toward people outside of us.

We only need to request to disconnect from any self-benefit, from our future, from fulfillment, and from good or bad feelings within us.

And afterward, when they walked in the desert and came to a state of Katnut, (smallness), they craved the servitude that they had had prior to the death of the king of Egypt.

When man had previously disconnected from working for his ego and had risen above it, he again is brought back to the feeling of the desires, intentions, pleasures, and fulfillments he had in the past! This is done so that above his feeling of disconnection, he will build the same state on a spiritual level.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/18/14, Shamati #159

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Before the Exodus from Egypt a person passes through “49 gates of impurity.” That is, he no longer believes in anything; he doesn’t expect anything; he sees that he just about doesn’t have any connection with the upper force and that it is impossible to change anything in his life. Where is this upper force found, which is “There is none else beside Him”? Everything is under the control of Pharaoh and it is impossible to do anything against the ego that controls him.

A person doesn’t understand and doesn’t believe in the “good that does good.” Only a thin thread connecting him to spirituality remains; it is so fragile that he no longer believes that something will come from it. The despair is so great, and the thread that holds him is the patience that is beyond the intellect and logic.

This situation gradually accumulates, and if the person truly reaches the 49 gates of impurity, then the upper power acts against them, acquiring redemption for him.

Here it should be mentioned that “every action leaves an impression,” time after time, a bit further and further, and so we count the 400 years during the period a person accumulates clarifications, efforts, even weaknesses, and over comings, which he succeeds in doing by himself or with the help of the Creator.

Our entire struggle to leave Egypt is under the control of the Creator, There is none else beside Him and He is the good that does good. And the Klipa (the egoistic force) denies the higher providence of There is none else beside Him in every possible way.

The servitude, the exile (in Hebrew, Galut) differs from the redemption (Geula) basically because of the letter “Aleph,” which is the Lord of the World. One must concentrate on this point constantly and not on anything else. Specifically it is necessary to constantly sharpen our clarification, fight against our nature, against Pharaoh, because there is none else beside Him, the good and that does good.

We don’t ask for someone to change anything; we don’t appeal our fate. Instead we only turn to the Creator with our requests. This is what there is none else beside Him, means, because everything that happens we connect only to Him. Only He performing every action, preparing them so that from within the struggle against all the disturbances in which He has wrapped Himself, we discover Him and turn to Him.

Exile means that we are still not ready, but we very much yearn to discover the source of everything that is happening, as it is said, “I and not a messenger.” This is a very important moment. This is our only work, and it is up to us to be ready for it.

It is very important to remain at this point like a ship or an airplane that we must constantly navigate to remain on the right track despite the wind and various disturbances. This is possible only with a good crew.

Everything is constructed so that a person is not prepared to maintain his position by himself. Problems fall on him, and then pity is taken upon him and he is given another opportunity. But this chance is specifically to build the right team for himself so that together with them he will maintain his direction.

It must always be remembered that all of the disturbances come from the Creator and not from Pharaoh or his army and that there are no accidents and no messengers. Instead everything comes directly from the Creator. Our task is to discover the Creator instead of all the sources of power and other actions. Through this, our servitude, the blows, and all of the events of the story of the exodus from Egypt are revealed. All of this is a struggle to locate the Creator through all of the disturbances that are found between the Creator and us.

In the beginning there is no connection between the Creator and us because we are opposites. And the disturbances come precisely so that we will use them to build a connection with the Creator. So we see that Pharaoh brings us closer to the Creator; the evil inclination is help against us (Genesis 2:18)  and we transform that into a connection with the Creator.

If we consistently work this way and try to build connection, then gradually we rise to a stronger and stronger connection, like the rungs of a ladder, and we fall into even greater disturbances, into a greater lack of connection. And again we try to build Pithom and Ramses and again fall, losing the connection, tearing, and becoming confused, denying any control by the Creator.

As a result of our efforts we pass through 49 gates of impurity. If we reach the 49^th gate, it means that we have made a multitude of corrections on our connection with the Creator. But this is hidden from us. For a fraction of a moment we discover something and fall immediately. In this way we must discover all of the disturbances that are contrary to the fact that there is none else beside Him.

And the discovery is made according to the principle of “I and not a messenger” if we are ready to depict the upper force in spite of all the disturbances. The exile is given to us so that we can feel the Creator, locate Him within “out of nothing.” That is how we reach redemption.

So it is impossible to forget that all of the work towards redemption is to determine the fact that there is none else beside Him when faced with all of the disturbances that of course come from the Creator.
[131431]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/01/14, Shamati #190

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Baal HaSulam, Shamati #159 “And It Came to Pass in the Course of Those Many Days”: The thing is that, indeed, they were very fond of the work in Egypt. This is the meaning of “But mingled themselves with the nations, and learned their works.”

It means that if Israel are under the dominion of a certain nation, that nation controls them and they cannot retire from their dominion. Thus, they tasted sufficient flavor in that work and could not be redeemed.

At first a person is in his desire to enjoy and sees that he works for the sake of his ego. He learns and acquires knowledge and feels that he is above others since he understands and feels more than them.

The wisdom of Kabbalah opens before him the whole essence of life in this world and he looks down with contempt at all the other people who lie around on this planet and don’t understand anything. He feels that he is higher, more important and superior to them and his ego is filled with pride.

He receives explanations about good and evil and turns everything in his favor in order to calm himself. Now he has a tempting goal. He sees the wisdom of Kabbalah as his redemption and the answer to all the troubles since he arrived to this wisdom quite depressed having been beaten by life. Here he suddenly finds all the answers and comfort. He is glad that he isn’t guilty of all the evil he has done and expects things to be better than in the past. In short, he is very satisfied.

This is intentional, just like with small children who receive from the Creator energy to run around, to learn everything, and not to sit still and be lazy so that they can quickly learn about the world and develop. The same thing happens to a person when he begins to study, as it is written: “The thing is that, indeed, they were very fond of the work in Egypt, this is the meaning of ‘But mingled themselves with the nations, and learned their works.'”

The nations of the world are the states in which only the desire to enjoy rules, and Israel under the domination of Egypt is a state in which the desire to bestow that awakens in me works for the benefit of the egoistic desire. It turns out that I can be more successful than others. I calm myself; I understand and feel more as if I am getting more opportunities and therefore feel that I am better.

These are the onions, the garlic, and the squash that we ate in Egypt. At this initial state I can turn all the evil that is revealed for the benefit of my ego. This means that I am Pharaoh’s slave. Everything serves the egoistic desire, even the small desire to bestow in me that I have thanks to the study and my connection with the group.

This is how I use this method up to a certain point until there is suddenly a change in my feeling. This is called: “and the king of Egypt [who was good to me] died.” Then it is as if a new domination emerges. I don’t feel that I am so successful anymore and that this business is so simple. I cannot use the wisdom of Kabbalah to improve my ordinary, corporeal egoistic life anymore.

Here I begin to feel my slavery. The desire remains the same desire, the same king, but it is dead for me! The new phase begins: “and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage” What are we working for if it isn’t for our sake? And what will become of us?

We connected with the hope to discover the upper force because we thought that it is good for our ego, but now we suddenly discover that it isn’t the good we were waiting for and not the connection we thought it would be. We begin to understand the good and the connection in their real sense, which means that we are aware that the fruit will not be revealed in the desire to enjoy but only in the desire to bestow.

We still don’t understand the meaning of receiving a payment in the desire to bestow, but it will be revealed to us. We hope to feel good, but what is good in bestowal? We have to change our perception with regard to the coming change.

This is the meaning of “the king of Egypt died,” that all the dominations of the king of Egypt—he gave them food and livelihood—had died. This is why they had room for prayer. And they were immediately salvaged. And then when they walked in the desert and came to a state of Katnut (smallness), they craved the servitude that they had had prior to the death of the king of Egypt. Which means that they left the domination of Pharaoh.
[131307]
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/30/14, Shamati #159

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Question: The greatest fortune is not even whether I will or won’t pass through the Machsom (barrier); rather, it is that the Creator has brought me to study. What does this depend on?

Answer: It is the Creator who brings the person to the good fate and we cannot influence this in any way. We can only try that by coming to study we will be able to realize ourselves.

Question: But why are we so few, such a small percentage?

Answer: We are not so few; we have very great spiritual strength, greater than the whole world. What kind of power does the whole world that is completely managed from above have in comparison to a single person who has freedom of choice and the ability to influence reality? It is impossible to compare this at all.

The total power of every person living in the world is equal to one person who is studying in a Kabbalistic group. If they want to influence the spiritual world, every one of them on their level must connect together to be equal to one of our friends.

It is just as all of the still are equal to one of the vegetative, all of the vegetative are equal to one of the animate, and all of the animate are equal to one man (Adam). So also among people, if they all are managed from above and there is one who is not managed and has some kind of independence, so all of them together are equal to that one. If they all connect on their physical level by nullifying themselves, they become equal to this one who is studying the wisdom of Kabbalah. The relationships between levels are like that.
[131328]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: Why do we want to come out of Egypt in the first place, what is so bad there?

Answer: We are made of two parts: the animate level and the human level. Therefore it is said, “the Lord will save man and the beast.” Everything depends on the extent to which you identify either with the animal or with the man.

The man in me yearns to open his eyes to the spiritual world, to understand why he lives, to see the way ahead, and to understand all of reality. The animal is attracted to the armchair and the TV in order to feel good and comfortable. It turns from side to side and doesn’t want anything.

This means that I have a choice: either this world or spirituality. We swing between these two states, and that’s the way it will be until the end of correction. We will receive increasingly greater temptations to enjoy egoistically and a greater hardening of the heart. We can be given a hardening of the heart even in our current state so that we will not be able to move even one millimeter.

If you feel good in this state, then there is nothing to talk about. If you don’t feel a need to advance spiritually, you need to develop in this world in order to discover its worthlessness.

Question: Does developing mean to receive blows?

Answer: There is a phase in a person’s development in which he receives blows, but he is still unable to understand why and where they come from. He is not developed enough yet. He has to receive a certain number of blows to try to escape from them in different directions until he begins to understand why this happens.

Before that he only wanted to hide from the blows and now he already has a question and wants to know why he receives blows. Clarifying the reason is already an upper level. He doesn’t simply want to erase what is bad on the current level, but he yearns to know where it comes from and why. He has already grown.

Then he ascends to the next level and finds out why the blows arrive. He begins to explore their source, why our life is the way it is and what are the laws according to which the system that punishes him is built. He wants to know all that.

Then he ascends even higher and wants to know not only how the upper system works but also the goal that it operates for, which means whether there is any plan. After all, he sees that the system operates systematically.

We constantly advance by blows, yet I don’t pay attention to the blow itself but to why I receive it and to its source. Eventually I rise above the blows and want to discover the reason for them. The blows force me to value their reason and then I begin to detach myself from my feelings and leave the animal to suffer. It is good that it suffers since there is no other way I can advance. I want to identify and to connect with the reasons for the blows, which means with the cause of reasons.

This is why I accept my advancement gladly. But I will not advance unless I receive enough qualitative blows on every level according to my questions, according to my appreciation of the blow. If I receive a blow but it is unimportant for me and what is important is who I received it from and for what reason, this is a totally different situation. The Creator has brought me all this way so that I will discover that He is the one who gives me these blows.
[131331]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/31/14, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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An article written by my student , M. Brushtein:

The Passover Seder (festive meal) is not far off.  Many people know that this holiday is dedicated to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, which occurred about 34 centuries ago.

Since then, this momentous event is celebrated every year for the whole week. If we consider that it is preceded by a lot of laborious activities and accompanied by all sorts of restrictions, there is a fair question, “Why is such special attention paid to this holiday?”

The tragic events that preceded the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and that subsequently occurred during the wanderings in the desert are well known. Along with this, one event stands out from all the rest. The fact is that nothing like that had ever happened to anyone else.

For the first time in history of humanity, the Jewish people decided to raise the bar of interpersonal relationships to the level of “as one man with one heart.” If we look at the holiday of Passover from this point of view, then much if not all of what that we know about Passover and the Jews may have to be radically reviewed.

Imagine for a moment the situation of those days. The Jews under the guidance of their leader Moses are leaving Egypt – a country, where they were enslaved for centuries. It would seem, what do former slaves need? – To settle quickly in a new place to live safely and enjoy new found freedom. But in reality, something strange took place.

After a long ordeal in the desert, the Jews gather at the foot of Mount Sinai and take on themselves, frankly, an unbearable burden. They agree to guarantee for each other. We know that this is impossible in principle. Didn’t people have other things? Who needed this mutual guarantee anyway?

But in fact, the answer is obvious: “In order for a people to live, thrive and grow, it must be united, and it is unlikely anyone will argue with this.” Question: “On the basis of the principle, ​​through what idea can this be done?”

Of course, you can unite the people on the idea of ​​universal equality and brotherhood and on the idea of ​​national superiority; it is also possible to unite the people by the American dream.

There is a practical question – “How and for how long will these principles and ideas work?”  We know the answers. With all that, these principles are rational and understandable, but the idea of ​​”mutual guarantee” or even worse – “love thy neighbor as thyself” – is irrational, that is, essentially impossible.

Why then, has the idea of ​​”love thy neighbor,” irrational at first glance, lived for more than 3,000 years and is perceived with understanding by anyone in the world, but rational ideas – “national ideas” are always taken ill and die within a generation?

And yet, how could the Jews implement this idea in reality? Let’s not talk about such things as the upper force or the Creator. Let’s talk about where we started – mutual guarantee.

It says in the Torah that the Jews, one and all, decided unanimously to guarantee for each other. It can be said it was a matter of the whole people, with all the consequences. Obviously, this was the reason for success.

Later, as we know and due to various reasons, the people became indifferent towards this idea in order to then return to it again.

In both cases, the Jews thrived and prospered. Having united as one man with one heart in those ancient times, the Jewish people became a model for many nations and the founder of the ethical values ​​that underlie the whole of civilization.

Today, the Jewish people as one, can give an example of correct relations. If all the people becomes engaged with this and if this idea becomes nationwide, as in the days of Moses, then without a doubt, the Jewish people will be able to realize it.

The choice is ours.
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Question: Why is it customary to have a meal on Pesach evening when the entire family sits around the table?

Answer: Pesach is a special holiday because it symbolizes the birth of the Israeli nation. It says that it is only after the exodus from Egypt that they become a nation, and that we cannot be called a nation as long as we are separated and divided, and the egoistic force tears us to pieces. It is only when we resist these foreign forces and try to connect that we discover the force of unity that ties us and that we become a nation. Therefore the Israeli nation today is not called a nation according to the true Kabbalistic definition.

Comment: This state of division was very strongly revealed during the elections in Israel that ended not too long ago and divided the nation into many parties and movements. The internal division is increasingly growing and deepening.

Answer: These elections were very harmful to the nation since we celebrate the fact that we have conflicts and that we hate one another. During the election’s propaganda, we emphasized these differences and everyone tried to harm the other as much as he could. This is terribly harmful to our nation, although it is called democracy. After all, the entire basis of the Israeli nation is unity above all the obstacles and the differences.

Question: But, what should we do if our opinions differ?

Answer: This is a very good thing! It is actually the connection between plus and minus that generates energy. It is good that we don’t share the same opinions. We only must learn how to connect above all the differences. Therefore, the connection to which the wisdom of Kabbalah brings us is far from being a simple idea. We must find the special force in nature that will help us unite despite our differences and oppositeness. The opposite opinions remain, but we know how to make peace between us above them so that love will cover all the sins. This is a very profound principle. We are both sinners, you and I, but we build a bridge above the hate we feel towards one another.

The Book of Zohar tells us that Rabbi Shimon’s ten students who sat in a cave and wrote this book hated each other so much when they began to study at midnight they wanted to burn one another. But, to the extent that they studied together and made efforts in order to gradually build the bridge above their burning hatred, they reached spiritual revelations about which they tell us later in The Book of Zohar. Such a bridge can be built only above opposite opinions.

Question: Does that mean that whenever we have disputes, we always can build a bridge above them?

Answer: We can always build a bridge above our disputes, and moreover, it is forbidden to pressure a person to force him to concede and change his opinion. The more different his opinion is from the others, the better it is.

Question: So, what will build the bridge between us?

Answer: For example, we can take an electric or electronic system that actually works thanks to the fact that it burns energy as a result of the potential gap between two electric wires that reach it. When we are in a conflict and opposite one another because of our egoistic nature, and, at the same time, connect above it, these two levels create spiritual attainment within us. We attain the spiritual world in the potential gap when we discover and get to know not only our current corporeal world, but also the upper world. The attainment of the spiritual world is called a soul.
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From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Filed under: Holidays, Israel, Israel Today, Kabbalistic Sources, Nations of the World, Spiritual Work, Zohar - No Comments →

Question: I don’t feel myself enslaved; it seems to me that I am a free man. So how is the instruction on the Passover holiday to represent myself as leaving the servitude of Egypt every year relevant to me?

Answer: It seems that we are free because we don’t feel that we depend upon each other. We try to arrange our lives so as not to be associated with anyone, so nobody will bother us. That is our nature.

For the sake of this independence, we invent new computers and mobile phones. In every house there are so many household appliances that require minimal help from others. This makes it easier for our egoistic nature, and we carry out its demands: I don’t touch anyone and try not to have anyone touch me.

But basically, all of us are connected and interdependent. It becomes clear that all the still, vegetative, and animate nature also constitute a single integral system in which everything is connected with everything else. So the wisdom of Kabbalah warns us that we depend upon one another and we will yet discover this dependence in the future.

If we don’t attain unity, then it will be very bad for us. In the meantime, we don’t feel the necessity for this to any great degree and because the wisdom of Kabbalah was not disclosed in the bondage of the previous generations, thousands of years it was in hiding. We didn’t have a need for it as we were not ready to discover that we are interdependent.

But today the whole world feels this mutual dependence. To the degree that it discovers this negative connection, it will turn to the Jewish people, for only this people possesses the method that makes it possible to unite above all differences.

There is a very great demand for this method in the world today. Therefore if we don’t convey this method to other people, we will feel very strong pressure. Anti-Semitism will continue to grow and the nations of the world will bring more and more claims against the Jewish people, blaming us for all their troubles.

They won’t exactly know the reason for their hatred towards us, but it is derived specifically from that. This pressure can be expressed in different ways, as we see in the attitude of the United States towards Israel deteriorating day by day.

Question: When you look at the world today, would you define our state as slavery?

Answer: Certainly, we are enslaved to our nature. I am always carrying out the commands of my inner nature and I obey them without any clarification, criticism, or opposition. I am simply not prepared to go against it.

My egoistic desire demands that I succeed and obtain benefit without considering anyone else. And if I am in an integral connection with others, how could I not take them into consideration?  I become limited in all of my actions.

Question: So the problem isn’t in my doing well,  but my doing so at the expense of others?

Answer: I cannot even succeed that way. Today not even an entire nation can succeed if it is isolated from others. All of them are discovering the necessity for connection with each other, but they cannot do this correctly. Nobody knows how to establish good connections between them: America, Russia, China, Europe, Jews, and Arabs.

Nobody can succeed and go out in the first place if it isn’t done through a totally good connection. It follows that the most successful will be the one who most accurately takes our mutual connections into account and acts accordingly. And this is what going out from slavery to freedom symbolizes. Everyone, all of humanity, must learn this.
[156073]
From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 3/15/15

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Filed under: Globalization, Group Work, Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, Perception, Spiritual Work, Unity, World - No Comments →