A question I received: The first time I ever heard the melody Bnei Heichala, I felt that it was very dear to me. Could I write an adaptation to these melodies? It would require changing the melody a little. Would this decrease their value?

My Answer: The value will definitely be decreased, but there is a chance that the melody in this form will touch several other souls…

Different Versions of “Bnei Heichala” taken from the “Melodies of Baal HaSulam” page on Kabbalah.info:

Sung by Rabash
Instrumental Version
Performed Live by a Small Ensemble
Modern Version (Ambient + Metal)

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A question I received: Who should you release your personal anger on? Sometimes it’s felt very strongly, and so I wanted to know how it can be used, whether at all.

My Answer: There is no one quality that was created in us without a purpose, and we need to use all of them, including anger. However, how we actually use anger needs to be clarified. When feeling angry, we first need to unite with the One who initiates our existence – the Creator (“There is none else beside Him”) – and our initial conditions for being able to do so are in having a Reshimo and a desire. We then need to determine what depends on us, to which we say “If I am not for me, then who is?” As a result, we should come to hate that which is within us, preventing us from uniting our entire sensation into one whole (“Israel, Torah and the Creator.” Read Baal HaSulam’s letter “Taking the True Path,”* in Pri Chacham, pages 63-64). We should then come to hate external disturbances, treating them as impurities, and neutralize them within ourselves. And because of “the necessity to practice caution with the laws of nature,” one should take after the collective (see Baal HaSulam’s article “The Freedom,” item “Take After the Collective”).

* Note: Baal HaSulam’s letter “Taking the True Path” is not yet available in English, however, below is an English translation of a lesson on this letter with M. Laitman.

Lesson on Pri Chacham Letter on p. 63 – “Taking the True Path”

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Freedom of Will

Does man have the freedom to act according to one’s own free will?

If we consider our actions, we will find they are compulsory, that we are forced to do them, and that we have no freedom of choice, since our actions are driven by either pleasure or pain. Thus, we haven’t the freedom to choose pain or to reject pleasure.

Man’s advantage over the beast is only that one can endure suffering for a remote, future goal. However, here, too, it is not a choice, but rather a calculation. It follows that Providence guides every person towards the goal, using pleasure or suffering, and without consulting us.

The social environment determines what people enjoy; every movement they make is subjugated to the fancies of society.

It follows that if there is no freedom of will, one is not one’s own master. And if we are not our own masters, that is, if we do not do what we want to do, but what society dictates, then there are no reward and punishment. [Read more →]

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The very essence of the spiritual law is the love of others. In practical terms, it can be defined as “giving to others” so as to remember the intention.

The Necessity of Caution with the Laws of Nature

The safekeeping of creation extends from the Creator, who undoubtedly has purpose in His actions. Thus, one who breaches any of nature’s laws corrupts the goal, which is built over all of nature’s laws, put together. Hence, nature will punish him.

It makes no difference whether the supervisor is called “nature,” meaning mindless and purposeless, or is wise, knowing, sensitive, and whose actions are purposeful. In the end, we are obliged to keep the laws of Providence, i.e. the laws of nature. Moreover, we all admit that one who breaches the commandments of Providence – nature’s laws – should be punished.

Providence demands that we keep the law of giving to others in a way that each of us will work in the full measure required to guarantee the success of society. As long as we are idle in keeping this law in the fullest measure, nature will continue to punish us. And besides the blows we suffer today, we should consider the drawn sword for the future. We should draw the right conclusion: nature will eventually defeat us and we will all be forced to obey its laws in the fullest required measure.

The Wheel of Transformation

Although we see that bodies change from generation to generation, it is only so with bodies. The souls – the very essence of the body – do not disappear. Instead, they move from one body to the next, and from one generation to the next. [Read more →]

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The Allegory of the Lost Friends in the Desert

There is an allegory about friends who were lost in the desert. One of them had found a settlement and remembered his poor brothers, but he was so far away from them that he didn’t know where they were. He began to shout; perhaps they would hear him and approach the abundant settlement.

It is similar with the issue before us. We, too, have been lost in the terrible desert, along with the whole of humanity, but now we have found a wonderful treasure—the Kabbalah books that nourish our souls. But the memory of our lost friends who are still in the desert does not give us rest.

We are very far and our words are not heard. This is why we have written these texts, so our brothers may hear and approach, and be as happy as we.

Know, our brothers, that the wisdom of Kabbalah is knowledge of how the world has descended from its highest point to our lowliness. Hence, in Kabbalah we can easily find all the corrections on our way henceforth, from the worlds that preceded us.

We evolve by suffering that pushes us from behind, which seems unavoidable. Yet, here before you is a book in which all the wisdom of statesmanship is written, and all the arrangements of public and private life that will prevail at the end of days, presented in the books of Kabbalah. Open these books and you will find all the good conducts that will appear at the end of days. From those you will learn how to properly arrange matters today, since we can learn from history how to correct the future.

I have seen all that, and I cannot restrain myself any longer. Hence, I have decided to disclose the ways of correction. I shall call upon the people of the world with this Shofar (symbolic horn), which I think should suffice to gather all those who will begin to delve in the books and determine themselves and the whole world to a scale of merit.

Egoism and Altruism

There are two kinds of people: egoists and altruists.

Egoists are those who do everything for their own benefit. If they do something to benefit others, they need a worthwhile reward, such as money or honor. [Read more →]

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A question I received: For a long time now I’ve been connected to you through the website. I’ve stopped reading books and watching television. I rarely see my friends, and I don’t work since I recently gave birth. To my regret, I read an article in the book Shamati and realized that I’m presently on the level of a sinner. What should I do now?

My Answer: You shouldn’t regret reading Shamati. I think that you still have a long way to go before you’ll become a sinner. This is something you have to sense within you, even without a book. It’s something one feels in relation to the Upper Light.

When we study correctly, the Light shines, and we see our true selves relative to the Upper Light. We then have feelings of shame and sin, and these feelings push us forward toward correction.

Listening to lessons on Baal HaSulam’s original texts with commentary is the best thing you can do, because they are a very powerful medicine.

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A question I received: Is it possible to publish the Torah with an explanation of its inner meaning, the Sulam commentary? Many people I know say: “I only know the Torah of Moses. I don’t know The Book of Zohar, only Moses. I don’t know Rashbi, the Ari, or Baal HaSulam, only Moses, and I read his Torah every day.” The problem is that they read a beautiful tale without the inner meaning. Is it possible to publish the Torah with explanations of its inner meaning beneath the text? Does such a thing exist? It would open the eyes and hearts of many!

My Answer: This won’t open anything up for anyone. About twenty or thirty years ago, people used to ask how Kabbalah explains different excerpts from the Torah. Lured by these commentaries, they came to learn Kabbalah – myself included.

However, today people want to know about themselves, and they don’t care about what’s written in the Torah. One considers one’s own soul as being more important. In the past, people were interested in theoretical problems, but today, they are interested in practical problems, the problems of survival.

Thus, we should speak to people directly, and not confuse them with beautiful phrases. We should succinctly explain causes and their effects, get straight to the point, and tell people how they can change their lives in a way that everyone will understand. I dismiss those who set their terms and say, “I only want to hear it this one way.” Let them receive a few more blows of fate, and then they’ll feel the approaching disaster, the suffering, and will come without setting any terms. A hungry person is ready to eat anything, and doesn’t ask for a menu.

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A question I received in response to my post “It’s All for the Best (But We Can Get to It Faster)“: How can we progress without someone of Moses’ level guiding us forward? We don’t see the Creator’s participation in our daily routine. So who can we turn for answers? The group? Rav? Perhaps if we recognize our egoism and begin to move in the right direction as a group, then the Upper Light will become our guide? Who will guide us through the desert and the disasters that are coming at us so rapidly that we can’t even catch our breath?

My Answer: Baal HaSulam writes that his method can pull everybody out of egoism, and I’m certain of that. Also, I see from your progress, that you see it too. However, everything depends on our combined efforts. We can no longer reach the goal individually, as Kabbalists have done over centuries of exile. Instead, we are now beginning to build a group of “refugees” from egoism, from Egypt. We are facing the same task they faced: to reach the “Mutual Guarantee” (Arvut) – a mutual responsibility in reaching the goal. Our Moses is Baal HaSulam and Rabash, who are walking along with us. Soon you will discover them inside our group.

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A question I received on my post Depression – the Epidemic of the 21st Century: I usually hear you talking about materialistic psychology. What is it?

My Answer: Materialistic psychology explains everything that is based on precise experiments, statistics, without the use of philosophy or psychological theories – it’s nothing but bare practice!
The following is an excerpt from the article “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy,” where Baal HaSulam writes about materialistic philosophy:

“Not only is it the wrong place to argue with them about their fabricated conjectures, but also their time has already passed and their authority revoked. We should also thank the experts of materialistic psychology for that, having built its plinth on the ruin of the former, winning the public’s favor. Now everyone admits to the nullity of philosophy, for it is not built on concrete foundations.

… For that reason we are grateful to materialistic psychology for having beaten it a deadly blow.”

Related Material:
* BLOG POST: Philosophy and Kabbalah
* LESSON: The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy – Baal HaSulam’s article with commentary by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD – wmv video | mp3 audio [57:39]

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A comment I received: I watched a lesson you gave recently on the Internet, where you talked about your blog for a few minutes, and I felt like you described exactly how I feel as a reader. Most Internet users can’t read Internet posts longer than a paragraph, or even a few lines. At most, the reader quickly scans the text, thinking, “Too many letters…” and moves on to read the comments.

My Response: My blog was created with a clear purpose – to explain Kabbalah. It’s not meant for arguing with anyone. However, some people may not be ripe enough for it. A person needs to have gone through all desires, one after the other – from bodily desires (food, sex, family, shelter), to social desires that arise under society’s influence (wealth, fame, respect, knowledge). Once a person has reached a state of realizing that none of these desires can bring about fulfillment, the point in the heart (the desire to fulfill the soul) awakens. This process takes thousands of years and many reincarnations.

Therefore, it is useless arguing with people who haven’t ripened yet. They still feel fulfilled by religion (a “deal” they make with the Creator: “I’ll do whatever You commanded me to do, and in return You’ll give me fulfillment and reward in this world, and the world to come”), wealth, and so on. I simply ask all such people to leave us, or to study a little bit at a time. However, everyone who is disappointed with life and who doesn’t see how to find fulfillment, is invited.

An ancient text says, “Someone by the name of Ptachia came to our village, stayed for a while, and left, and with him also the empty people…” The name Ptachia derives from the verb Liftoach, which in Hebrew means “to open.” This person knew how to open the higher sources of fulfillment to people, because Kabbalah is the science of fulfillment. And the empty people who left together with him were those who desired to be filled by the Upper Light.

And he took them to the desert, so that they would discover even more emptiness within themselves. This is because the initial disappointment and emptiness that a person feels when first coming to Kabbalah are insufficient for fulfilling the person with the Upper Light, both in the quantity and the quality of the emptiness.

Look at what Baal HaSulam writes in the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot,” items 1 and 2, about a person coming to Kabbalah:

1. At the outset of my words, I find a great need to break an iron wall that has been separating us from the wisdom of Kabbalah since the ruin of the Temple to this generation. It lies heavily on us and arouses fear of Kabbalah being forgotten from Israel.

However, when I begin to speak to anyone about the study of Kabbalah, his first question is, “Why should I know how many angels are in the sky, and what their names are? Can I not keep the entire Torah in all its details and intricacies without this knowledge?”

Second, he will ask, “The sages have already determined that one must first fill one’s belly with Gmarah and Talmud. Thus, how can one deceive himself in that he has finished the entire revealed Torah, and lacks only the wisdom of the hidden?

Third, one is afraid that he will miss out on something because of this engagement, as there have already been incidents of deviation from the path of Torah because of engagement in Kabbalah. Hence, why do I need this trouble? Who is so foolish as to place himself in danger for no reason?

Fourth: Even those who favor this study only permit it to holy ones, servants of the Creator. Not all who wish to draw close to the Lord may do so.

Fifth, and most importantly, “It is a conduct in our midst that when in doubt, do as the people do,” and my eyes see that all those who study Torah in my generation are of one mind, and refrain from studying the hidden. Moreover, they advise the ones who ask them that it is undoubtedly preferable to study a page of Gmarah instead of Kabbalah.

2. Indeed, if we set our hearts to answer but one very famous question, I am certain that all these questions and doubts will vanish from the horizon, and you will look unto their place to find them gone. This indignant question is a question that the whole world asks, namely, “What is the meaning of my life?” In other words, these numbered years of our life that cost us so dearly and the numerous pains and torments that we suffer for them, to complete them to the fullest, who is it that enjoys them? Even more precisely, to whom do I give delight?

It is indeed true that historians of all generations have already grown weary contemplating it and particularly in our generation, when no one even wishes to consider this question. Yet the question stands as bitterly and as vehemently as ever. Sometimes it meets us uninvitingly, pecks at our mind and humiliates us to the ground before we find the famous ploy to flow mindlessly in the currents of life as yesterday…

This blog was created for those who do not want to drown in the currents of life!

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