News Report (from Safe Haven): Has the bear market run its course? Is a new bull market on the horizon? … just as none of the previous “bottoms” since January were THE bottom, I see no evidence at this time to say that the November bottom has marked THE bottom …we are now dealing with K-wave winter and I want to again remind you of the signs that occur in this season.

• “Bankruptcies Accelerate and High Debt Eliminated by Bankruptcy” – This has obviously begun and is no doubt related to the housing and credit bubbles.
• “Social Upheaval and Society Becomes Negative” – We are only just beginning to see this.
• “Banking System Shaken and New One Introduced” – The banking system is now only beginning to be shaken. There should be much more to come.
• “Free Market System Blamed and Socialist Solutions Offered” – This has not yet happened, but just wait.
• “National Fascist Political Tendencies” – More to come.
• “Debt Level Very Low After Defaults and Bankruptcy” – This has not happened.
• “Trade Conflicts Worsen” – This basically has not happened.
• “View of the Future at a Low Ebb” – This has not happened as everyone seems to be looking for the bottom.
• “New Work Ethics Develop Since Jobs are Scarce” – If I can assure you of one thing, it is that this has not happened.
• “Greed is Purged from the System” – I can absolutely assure you that this has not happened yet.
• “Real Estate Prices Find Bottom” – This has not happened.
• “Investors are Very Conservative and Risk Averse” – Again, this has absolutely not occurred.
• “Interest Rates and Prices Bottom” – Not happened.
• “A New Economy Begins to Emerge” – Has not happened.
• “Stock Markets Reach Bottom and Begin New Bull Markets” – We aren’t there yet and I view any relief rallies from these oversold levels merely as intermission.

My Comment: These are the conclusions of an economist, but a Kabbalist’s conclusions are even more critical: in order for the crisis to end, man must correct it. The crisis is a disease called egoism. In order to overcome it, we have to cure or correct egoism, transforming it to bestowal and love (absolute altruism). We should at least begin correcting it, at least begin to realize the necessity of doing so, or at least be willing to hear about this possibility.  Even if we do just this much, the world will already start shifting from the crisis toward prosperity.

Over the course of the crisis we may encounter periods when it will seem as though the crisis is over, and we will begin to seek new egoistic ascents in various areas of our life. After all, the crisis is multifaceted and envelops all areas of our lives. The media has long been speaking of crises in science, education, family, and so on.

Our situation is similar to the Egyptian plagues, which were followed by periods when it seemed that all the bad things were over, whereas in reality those periods were only a preparation for the next blow. Eventually, Nature will force us to become an integral part of it and to function by the law of optimal consumption and absolute unity, according to the rule, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” However, this won’t be done forcefully, like in the Soviet experiment, but consciously. It is precisely by realizing this that we will reach the bottom of the crisis.

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A question I received: As one who struggles with being an egoistic altruist, I’d like to know what advice you can give us when we wear ourselves down to the point where we are no good to anyone? My mother used to say, “If you don’t look after yourself; you can’t look after anyone else.” I haven’t yet been able to discern some kind of “magical line” that tells me to stop looking after others and look after myself.

My Answer: You won’t be able to change without the Upper Light, but will always apply your egoism in different ways that appear altruistic, but are really egoistic underneath. Only the Upper Light which created egoism can correct it. We draw the Upper Light upon us through our studies. We have to approve of the way it will change us ahead of time, because right now we are unable to imagine our new, altruistic form.

Therefore, you should only study and “take less care” of others, until you understand how to do it correctly. Some people are unable to study; they can only “act.” They should follow the advice of Kabbalists on how to help others. Otherwise, the help turns into harm for the giver and the receiver.

Related Material:
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Free online Kabbalah course

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News Report (from LiveScience): “Wind Farms Could Change Weather” The scientists, Daniel Barrie and Daniel Kirk-Davidoff of the University of Maryland, calculated what might happen if all the land from Texas to central Canada, and from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains, were covered in one massive wind farm. Such massive wind farming would slow wind speeds by 5 or 6 mph as the turbines literally stole wind from the air. A ripple effect would occur in the form of waves radiating across the Northern Hemisphere that could, days later, run into storms and alter their courses by hundreds of miles.

My Comment: We will soon discover that all of our “good” actions harm us twofold:

• We spend more resources and energy on them than we do on the ecologically “harmful” ones,

• We think that their use will allow us to correct the environment, but in the meantime we’re falling behind with our own correction.

We have to stop lying to ourselves: The only thing that can correct the world is the correction of our egoism to altruism.

Related Material:
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News Report: Unless the circumstances of human life and civilization change, its swift genetic extinction is imminent. Every subsequent generation is sicklier than the one preceding it. In the end, a sick generation will beget a completely nonviable generation. People in the developing countries will last a bit longer. The financial crisis will lead to a crisis of the medical service available to the public. The quality of life will decrease drastically, and in one to two decades the earth’s population will shrink to one billion.

My Comment: There are many tragic forecasts of humanity’s near-complete extinction due to various factors. The science of Kabbalah does not exclude these possibilities, including world wars. Yet at the same time it offers the general solution to any and all possible crises and their consequences.

Because the cause of all the problems lies in the opposition of man’s egoism to the altruism of Nature, correcting man’s egoism will make man similar to Nature and hence will draw the positive forces of Nature. As a result, all the factors will transform from negative to positive, and humanity will develop until revealing the quality of eternity and perfection within.

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News Report: (translated from gazeta.ru): Analysts are eagerly looking for signs that the world’s financial markets are nearing the end of their collapse. Investors all over the world are waiting for the markets to finally hit the “bottom.” They’re hoping that this will be followed by a recovery, and then they will be able win back their losses, or perhaps to gain even more than before.

My Comment: The collapse will not be followed by a recovery. People are very far from understanding the cause of the collapse, because the cause lies deep in the egoistic qualities of our egoism and its opposition to the Creator. Even if the financial crisis will end, it will be replaced by another crisis, whether shortage of food and water or an environmental crisis. “The plagues of Egypt” will continue until we realize their cause – our egoism, called “the Pharaoh” – and annul it.

We must realize that the way out of the crisis is the way out of “Egypt” – out of our egoism. There is no other way.

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News Report: The British Journal of Psychology has published an article called “Being altruistic may make you attractive.” In it, scientists from the University of Nottingham in the UK conclude that altruism, or in other words – selfless behavior toward others – makes men more attractive to women. In fact, women value altruism in their partner over any other quality.

My Comment: This is just regular female egoism: women like altruism in men so that men will make selfless sacrifices for them, the women! But it’s hard to find such naive, selfless “knights” these days. They’ve all grown smarter and disappeared hundreds of years ago. They overgrew the animate altruism and became egoistically practical!

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A question I received: You look serious and wise, but your ideas and proposals to humanity are utopian. Are you really sure they can be implemented, or that there is even a chance of implementing a spiritual revolution of all humanity?

My Answer: Because I understand human nature, I know that all our desires, thoughts, and actions are absolutely egoistic and cannot be any different. However, because I also understand the nature of the Upper World and the Light, I am absolutely sure – and know from personal experience – that the Light which created our egoism can change it to altruism in an instant. However, It will do so only if we desire it.

We can develop this desire only by recognizing that our egoism is evil for us, by seeing how much suffering it causes us. The question is: How much suffering will it take? We can do it by studying a small crisis – such as the present one – and recognizing that our attitudes to each other are opposite to the global “village” of humanity. We can recognize this so deeply that we will start advancing to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” to equivalence with Nature or the Creator.

For example, we can institute a global education system that will teach everyone about the fact that we live in a world where everyone is interdependent. In addition, this can be explained by all the mass media and the educational institutions worldwide, from kindergartens to universities. (For more on this, see my “Lecture in Arosa.”)

Any attempts we make to this end – even the smallest first attempts – will already reverse our opposition to Nature, because through these actions we will turn to face Nature (the Creator) and come closer to It. If our overall desires will be to change, then this will happen easily, because the Creator hears none other than the request of the society.

Nature will execute its plan one way or another, and this plan is already complete and existent in the spiritual world. Still, it would be best to avoid the catastrophes, whether social, ecological, military, biological or others, which will force us to detach from egoism. There is a pleasant path to Nature’s goal (see the article “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose“); this is why we were given the science of Kabbalah. At the very least, we have to do everything that’s up to us, but the spiritual revolution will happen in any case!

A Parable: A man walked along the seashore and saw a boy picking something up from the sand and throwing it into the sea. The man came closer and saw that the things the boy was picking up from the sand were starfish; he was completely surrounded by them. It seemed like there were millions of starfish on the sand; the shore was literally filled with them for many miles ahead.

“Why are you throwing these starfish in the water?” asked the man, as he approached the boy.

“If they stay on the shore until the morning tide, they will die,” answered the boy, without interrupting what he was doing.

“But this is stupid!” yelled the man, “Look around you! There are millions of starfish here, the shore is filled with them. Your efforts won’t make any difference!”

The boy picked up the next starfish, thought for a moment, then threw it into the sea and said, “No, my efforts will change a lot… for this starfish.”

Then the man also picked up a starfish and threw it into the sea. And then another one. By the time the night was over, there were many people on the shore, and each of them was picking up and throwing starfish into the sea. When the sun rose, the shore was empty – no soul was left unsaved.

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A question I received: “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Why? What was the motive? What was the plan? How could the Creator make this world without thinking through all the consequences!? This is proven by the story of the flood where G-d said “I will blot out man whom I have created… for I am sorry that I have made them” (Gen 6:7) – as if He didn’t know this was going to happen.

My Answer: There are only two things in existence: the creation – the will to receive Light, and the Creator – the Light, the will to give pleasure. As long as the creation is equivalent to the Light and wishes to receive “for His sake,” in order to please Him – it receives the Light. And if the creation does not desire to act “for the sake of Creator,” then it is opposite to Him, because He desires to please the creation. Then the creation does not feel Him or His Light, but instead feels complete darkness, a black copy of the Light – our world.

“In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth” means that He created the qualities of bestowal and reception. What for? In order for man to intermix these qualities within and make a free choice about which of them to use: egoism or altruism. You can read the rest in my books (available for free download).

Related Material:
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Questions I received on the source of our problems and the way to solve them:

Question: Is the source of all the problems taking place in the world my desire “to receive for myself”?

My Answer: Yes. And this is true for each and every one of us.

Question: Does the solution lie in redirecting this desire so as to use it for the good of the society?

My Answer: Yes. Then it will come back positively for you.

Question: Do I have to develop the desire to bestow?

My Answer: Yes. In fact, this is the only commandment (instruction given by the Creator).

Question: But if I don’t have this desire, how will I know what to develop?

My Answer: From the point in the heart, with the help of the right environment.

Question: I don’t understand: what kind of a connection do I have with the Creator?

My Answer: You’re connected to Him through the spiritual “navel,” and you’ll discover it through connecting with friends.

Question: How can we do something good for those who don’t aspire toward spirituality?

My Answer: Tell them about the cause of the suffering in the world and how to transform it to joy.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Correction Lies In Unity
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Baal HaSulam Article: “The Freedom”

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News Report (translated from RB.ru): The global financial crisis, which has brought bankruptcies and countless job losses, has revived the European people’s interest in the ideas of Karl Marx, the founder of scientific communism. Book publishers in Berlin say that The Capital – Marx’s main work – is becoming a best-seller.

Recently the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, was seen reading this book. The German minister of finance, Peer Steinbrueck, said positive things about the book, and even the Pope in Rome praised it for its “deep analysis.” The longer the financial crisis continues, the more confused people become. They are asking, “Why did this happen to me?”

My Answer: I hope that they will come to the idea of Kabbalah just as fast. Universal equality, the idea that everyone deserves to receive what they need and are expected to give according to their natural skills, the idea of mutual guarantee and brotherhood – these are all good things, but only as the means and not the end. They should be a means to make us similar to the Creator, come closer to Him, and attain adhesion with Him. Otherwise these ideas – they way they are usually used – will once again lead to terror regimes and a world war.

Bringing the communist idea to life was a failure because in theory everything is nice and true, but it is impossible to transform man’s egoistic nature into altruism. (See Baal HaSulam’s newspaper “HaUma (The Nation)”). This is where the entire humanity will “stumble.” The crises and globalization will reveal to us that we are tightly interconnected, and hence we must observe the rule of “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” However, our nature won’t allow us to do this. We are ready to destroy one another and the entire world, because we can’t live in a mutual guarantee (See the article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee).”

Hence, only the method of correcting human nature from egoism to altruism – Kabbalah – will help us survive. That’s because Kabbalah draws the Upper Light on a person, which created us and is the only thing capable of changing us.

Kabbalah will change man, as seen in practice, and will enable us to observe the law of brotherly community within the closed global system of mankind. This is why it is natural for people to be interested in Marx, but his theory cannot be realized in practice. To do this we need the Upper Force that corrects man, and only Kabbalah can provide it for us. I hope that people will soon realize this and will desire to actualize it the good way, instead of inflicting much more suffering on themselves.

Related Material:
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