“Waging war and keeping the Mitzva of choice should be made in a place of permission, since the act is only a matter of permission. Hence, even if one fails, the sin will not be so great. This is why it is considered near to the reward, since if he wins the war, he will bring a new authority under the Kedusha [holiness]” (Baal HaSulam, Shamati 142, “The Essence of the War”).

First of all, we need to consider whether we should fight against our evil inclination, which pushes us to war, or against the conditions of war, or not to fight at all. Therefore, here a war is by choice.

It is said that if a person wins the war with the evil inclination, he will make a new choice in holiness, i.e., by this, he will strengthen the force of bestowal, of love, and the connection between the parts of the common Kli, and therefore this is the right choice.

Question: Starting to fight with your egoism is essentially the same as fighting with the Creator. How can a person do such a thing, knowing that the Creator is behind everything and will be able to win only if He wants to?

Answer: Yes, but the main thing for us is to show where we are. If this is a war, i.e., all kinds of contradictions, then we choose the part closer to the Creator to support Him. Working with the Creator should be such that we do everything that depends on us and then ask Him to give us the strength to win this war.

We must firmly understand what the evil inclination is so as not to make mistakes and try to demand support from the Creator so that He directs us correctly to realize what egoism is and how we can conquer it.

We are obliged to seriously weigh what is in front of us, make a decision, and when we find out the answer and the right decision is, we will make a correction.

Question: And what is our most important weapon with an evil inclination?

Answer: Connection. Only connection.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/16/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati 142 “The Essence of the War“

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Question: Is the greatness of the Creator a force or a quality?

Answer: It is the force that gives birth to us, controls us, and connects us. What we have is just the force that can allow us to feel what He is doing to us. This is our force, and everything else is the Creator.

From feeling His actions on us, we move on to being in solidarity with Him.

Question: By what means can a person advance if he does not receive the greatness of the Creator?

Answer: He joins his friends and through them begins to feel the force that pulls them forward. It is called the greatness of the Creator.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/18/23, Writings of Rabash “What Is, “The Saboteur Was in the Flood, and Was Putting to Death,” in the Work?”

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“If you encounter this villain, draw him to the seminary, etc., and if not, remind him of the day of death.”

This means that he will remind him that the work should be in a place where he is not present, which is after one’s skin. This is called “working outside one’s body,” that he has not a single thought about his own body (Baal HaSulam. Shamati, 51. If “You Encounter This Villain”).

Egoism offends us by driving us into indecent, low states. This is its job. But we must ask the Creator to change us because we have no power against egoism. Only the Creator can help us.

Question: It is written: “If you encounter this villain, draw him to the seminary, etc., and if not, remind him of the day of death” What is this condition “if not, remind him of the day of death”?

Answer: If egoism does not agree, then remind it that we all die, and first of all it dies within us exactly when we want to get rid of it.

Question: What if this villain does not offend me and the scoundrels are nowhere to be seen as if they are hiding somewhere?

Answer: This happens because you love your egoism.

Question: How can I complain to the Creator about egoism, about the will to receive? Should I cry or just ask for advice?

Answer: You can do it in any way. If you blame your egoism for not allowing you to come closer to the Creator, then complain to Him about this evil force that does not allow you to reach Him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/23, Writing of Baal HaSulam, Shamati 51 “If You Encounter This Villain“

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Question: From the past state of connection and ascent, the state of burdening has come. How can we reignite our hearts and rise even higher?

Answer: We must understand that the state of descent is not really a descent, but an acquisition of new desires that were not revealed to you before. Therefore, you should be happy about this state because it indicates a future ascent, and you should connect with each other.

You need to develop a feeling between you that you are in a special state, constantly support each other, and come up with new actions and new opportunities.

It should be interesting for you to be together. You should have fun together. You should feel that by coming together, you are rising to the next degree and that the Creator is with you.
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From the 1^st part of the Lesson of the International Kabbalistic Convention “Opening Hearts” 10/01/23, Lesson 3 “Overcoming the Burdening of the Heart”

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Question: If there are friends in the ten who are not ready to be in mutual guarantee, then is there perhaps the need to divide the ten?

Answer: This is an extreme case. What can you expect from a person who is just beginning to study? Like at school, in the first years the child does not understand where he is at all.

A person repeats, learns, and connects with friends, but only when he really begins to enter into the system of mutual guarantee, is it considered the beginning of his spiritual work. There is no need to count either by years or by some degrees, you just need to continue.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/3/23, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

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Question: How can I understand at every moment of my life that I carry the “suitcase” of the Creator, meaning that I work for Him and not for myself?

Answer: The suitcase represents actions of bestowing to the Creator. If they are easy, then the suitcase is the right one and the action is correct. But if it is hard, it means that you got confused somewhere.

Comment: It happens that at the beginning everything goes easily, and then a person wants to take more for himself, and takes the wrong suitcase.

My Response: It means that there is an incorrect connection between friends in the group. Here it is necessary to assess how easy it is to carry the suitcase. The connection imparts lightness to the suitcase.

Question: My suitcase is my ten?

Answer: No, these are your personal desires that you must correct, fill, and come with them to the end of creation. Everything in our life is tied up in relation to this suitcase that you must deliver to its destination.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/17/23, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Lishma Is an Awakening from Above, and Why Do We Need an Awakening from Below?“

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, “Two Discernments in Holiness”

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2nd part of the Lesson — Lesson on the Topic “Conducting War Like King David”

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3rd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”

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Question: The army [in Israel] is totally mobilized. No one is running away from serving; there is 100% turnout. Moreover, those who left the country and have been living abroad for a long time, are coming back. They are returning to fight. A serious operation is being prepared, and there may be many victims.

What prayer should there be for our soldiers today?

Answer: For them to win! To win! This is an enemy that must be destroyed. Whatever they want to do to us, should be done to them.

Question: Is this what should be put into prayer?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Tell me, what is your personal prayer?

Answer: For them to return home with victory. That is it. For everyone to return!

Question: Would it be possible for us all to enter this prayer together?

Answer: Yes. If we all want it to happen, then it is possible.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/16/23

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Israel before vs. during the war”
Protests, political conflicts, street uproar and division among the people of Israel marked the situation before the war.

We need to combat our lack of unity. The issue is not differing party affiliations, varying viewpoints or demonstrations, but that we want to negate one another, which weakens everyone. It is perfectly okay to disagree and to argue, but we need to respect others and acknowledge their right to their own opinion.

Currently, during the war, the animosity seems to have mostly vanished among the people of Israel, and people stand together to provide mutual support. The mixed emotions of war have made us largely forget our hatred of each other. But we are far from distancing ourselves from the pre-war state, and we could return to it in a matter of just a few days.

A shared sorrow bonds us for the time being, but the hatred has gone nowhere. We see several heartwarming instances of mutual aid and selflessness, but they are merely the results of the blow we suffered. As soon as the external threat wanes, the internal animosity will resurface.

In order to reach genuine unity, we need to be willing to set aside our own interests and opinions in favor of uniting with one another. We are not there yet. Instead, we are in a state that Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) describes as “brothers in misfortune.”

We see several instances of self-sacrifice, mutual support and contribution to society for the sake of defending the country. However, we must not deceive ourselves and think that we have achieved any special form of unity, as it is all happening due to the pressure of a shared tragedy. We cannot carry over such unity to a level of developing our unity in a correct, positive and genuine manner.

To achieve true unity, we need to start from scratch, free from external influences that compel us to unite. We need to initiate unity ourselves, aiming to live harmoniously, peacefully and happily, connected to one another, growing closer together and loving each other. This necessitates a shift in consciousness rather than external coercion.
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