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: Please make a list of all the 613 desires that exist in a person, one by one.

My Answer: Just like that, you’d like me to describe all 613 desires in detail? But what for? Not a single one of them exists in you yet! They are revealed in a person after he crosses the Machsom, during his spiritual ascent. These are one’s desires to feel pleasure from the Creator, as it is written, “Taste and see how good the Creator is.”

By revealing the Creator, you begin to feel Him as 613 pleasures or delights. First you feel them in the intention to enjoy Him for your own sake (ABYA of the Klipot), and then you correct these to the intention of “for His sake.” Our language does not enable us to express or describe these desires, because we don’t have them.

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Two questions I received on work with spiritual descents:

Question: Sometimes I get this horrible feeling that everything I have in this life (my job, family, health, the world I live in) is about to collapse, and this feeling changes my outlook on life. How do we use such states?

My Answer: You should begin to understand that the birth of a new state occurs only through this path of “descents and ascents.”

Question: What is the meaning of “falling in order to rise”? If a person suddenly starts doing things he would never have done before, is this a descent?

My Answer: If this person studied Kabbalah in his free time, then this is a case of an increased egoism. It is written, “If one is higher than others, his egoism is greater than theirs.” This is talking about “falling in order to rise.” This is the correct process of revealing our nature! The benefit of this is that one needs an enormous desire in order to attain the Creator, and this is how such a desire gets created. This period will pass and be followed by a spiritual ascent. It will then be replaced by another descent, and so on – all the way until the full correction, the highest degree.

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Filed under: Spirituality - Comments Off on The Spiritual Path Is Paved With Descents Followed By Ascents

Excerpts from the morning lesson: A person has to ascend from the lowest level called “our world,” where everything is concealed, to the highest level called “the World of Infinity,” where everything is revealed. The levels of ascent are called “the worlds” and they reflect the degree of our desires’ correction.

There is no fulfillment without a preliminary feeling of emptiness. When each of us corrects his individual desire (emptiness), we give shape to the Upper Force, revealing it to the degree of our correction. This is why we ask this Force for correction rather than revelation.

The fulfillment of the desire does not happen through reception, but through bestowal. Otherwise it’s impossible to be fulfilled. To be exact, it’s possible, but the fulfillment will be limited to our world and our lifetime. Any more than that is impossible. This is so in order to enable us to arrive at another method of fulfillment – bestowal.

Then, a person is fulfilled by his love for his neighbor, by bestowal, rather than by something coming from outside. Suffering is a feeling of uncorrected desires. We perceive them as suffering because they differ from the Creator.

In Kabbalah we study our future states, and this enables us to develop. The development of one’s soul is analogous to the development of a child: by desiring to be grown ups, we draw the force of correction upon us.

One must perceive problems and suffering as a chance to advance by overcoming them. Everything happens only for one’s advancement. However, if one prepares correctly, then instead of perceiving the pain of the suffering, one will perceive its direction and move along it. In this case, instead of perceiving the suffering, one perceives the path.

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Without a doubt, every kind of suffering comes from the concealment of the Creator. Therefore His revelation will be the answer to the crisis.

Kabbalah states that the revelation of the Creator fills a person with pleasure and the sensation of eternity. How does the Creator become revealed to a person? Gradually, through the influence of the Upper Light that is drawn during the study of Kabbalah.

And don’t be surprised that one person can cause an ascent or a descent of the whole world, for there is a law that states: “The particular and the general are equal.”

In our times there is a need for Mutual Guarantee between all the people in the world. Hence, a global education is the biggest priority compared to all other issues.

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Preface to the Science of Kabbalah (Pticha).
Items 10 – 12, summary:

10. Thus, the Light of Life emanates from the Creator and, passing through the Worlds of AK and ABYA, it separates from the Creator until reaching the smallest desire, where its source – the Creator – is no longer felt. This state is called “our world.” However, by studying Kabbalah in a group with the intention to attain the Creator, one evokes the Light of the Upper Degree, which pulls the desire upwards, giving it the opportunity to ascend the degrees of the worlds all the way up to the World of Infinity. There, one can receive all the Light prepared for him by the Creator back in the Thought of Creation. It is hence written: “The Creator wishes to purify (from egoism) those who aspire to Him; to this end He has given them the Torah (the Correcting Light) and Commandments (the correction of one’s intentions from “for my own sake” to “for the Creator’s sake”).

11. The difference between spirituality and corporeality is this: The intention “for my own sake” is corporeal and its state is called “our world” (Olam Hazeh). The intention “for the Creator’s sake” (or “for one’s friend’s sake,” which is the same thing) is spiritual and its state is called “the Upper World” (or the Worlds of ABYA). The Upper World exists above the lowest of all degrees – our world.

All the ascents, descents, changes and movements that transpire in the Upper Worlds don’t take place in some imaginary space. They are changes in the size of one’s intention “for the Creator’s sake” and the accompanying desire. The greater the desire, the closer it is to phase 4 and the lower it is.

12. The essence of all creation is the desire (to receive pleasure, fulfillment). This desire requires correction. We are commanded to “purify” it with the help of:

• The Torah (the Upper Light), and
• The Commandments (changes of the intention from using the desire “for my own sake” to using it for “for the Creator’s sake”).

Otherwise we will not be able to attain the Upper Goal – the Thought of Creation.

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” item 68:
Do not wonder that the action of a single person will trigger a descent or an ascent of the whole world. For it is an unbending law that “the general and the particular are equal.” And all that takes place in the general takes place in the particular parts as well. And vice-versa: everything that happens in the particular parts also happens in the general, for the general cannot come to be, but after the particulars have been revealed, according to the quantity and quality of the particulars. Hence, the actions of every person raise or decline the whole world.

Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”:
Each and every individual in society is like a wheel that is linked to several other wheels in the same machine. And this single wheel has no freedom of movement in and of itself, but continues with the motion of all the other wheels in a certain direction in order for the machine to perform its general purpose. And if there is a breakdown in one wheel, it is not seen as a breakdown in this one wheel, but is assessed according to the service and role it performs in the entire machine.

Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”:
The collective has only what its individual parts have. And the benefit of the collective is the benefit of each and every individual. He who harms the collective harms himself as well, and he who benefits the collective takes his part in the benefit, because he is a part of the whole. And the whole is not worth more than the sum of its individual parts.

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A question I received: I don’t understand the views of this world according to Kabbalah. You say that Kabbalah is against asceticism, and you also said that a Kabbalist has the biggest ego and wants to swallow the entire world. But in the Talmud it says, “The way of the Torah is to eat bread with salt, drink water from a cup, sleep on the ground, lead a life of hardship and labour at learning Torah.”

I also read this quote in Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “When a person, by means of his studies, reaches the level at which he wants nothing but spiritual elevation and at which he accepts only the bare necessities of life in order to sustain his physical existence, not for pleasure’s sake, this is the first step of his ascent to the spiritual world“ (Talmud, Psachim).

So, I’m confused by all of this. How are we supposed to behave in this world? Can you give me a precise answer?

My Answer: Before falling from the spiritual level 2,000 years ago, people could sustain themselves on the spiritual level (in love and bestowal) through restrictions and studying Kabbalah (the authentic, inner Torah). This way they were able to oppose the egoism that constantly increased inside them.

However, after the people fell from the spiritual level of “love for thy neighbor” into “unfounded hatred,” the sages of the Talmud made a special correction (addition) in the Upper Governance, as Baal HaSulam writes in item 11 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot“.

Since then, only the “Light of the Torah” (Ohr Makif) can bring about a correction. This Light descends on a person who has gone through the proper preparation (in the group), during the study of Kabbalah with the right intention. It is written: “I created egoism and I created the Torah for its correction, because its Light returns one to the Source (to bestowal).”

Hence, only the correct kind of study will evoke the Light, which will make all the corrections and changes. So organize your studies – and relax!

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A question I received: Listening to your latest lessons, I have come to the following conclusion:

According to Russia’s character and mentality, this country is a sensitive system, whereas the United States is the opposite – a logical system. Israel, according to its root, must regulate the balance between them. Then, with Israel as a connecting link, this system will bring harmony and prosperity to the world.

However, today we have the opposite situation: every country seeks to declare its exclusive superiority, pushing the world to the brink of war. If the two superpowers – with Israel’s participation – were to replace their mutual antagonism with mutual cooperation, they would bring the entire world to a new ascent.

Is this summary correct? If yes, then how can we aid this process? Is it realistic for politicians to unite on a higher level and avoid massive bloodshed?

Leonid Elizarov, PhD

My Answer: I agree with you. This is exactly the direction we are working in.

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Two questions I received on holidays and religion:

Question: Which Jewish holidays will remain after the Mashiach (Messiah) comes and why?

My Answer: The only holiday that will remain is Purim because it represents the full correction of egoism, when all the differences between people are erased and everyone is equal and merged with the Creator in a complete, perfect and eternal state.

Question: If you really believe that the religions will disappear, then you underestimate their role and necessity in people’s lives.

My Answer: Nothing will happen by force! Nature will lead humanity by suffering and realization to unite and be as one family. Then we will all reveal the Creator and clearly communicate with Him, and religions will be reduced to domestic customs.

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