A question I received: It’s been a while since we had the Kabbalah congress in Israel, but I still can’t shake off the feeling of how simple and open you are. I’ve always thought, like most people, that sages conduct themselves differently; that they’re overburdened by wisdom and need to evoke awe. After the congress, I find it harder to respect you, and without being able to respect you, I don’t have the same energy I once had to trust you and what you teach – that it’s the path to my future. What would you suggest I do?

My Answer: Baal HaSulam writes, in his Future Generation manuscripts: “The masses think that he who is in contact with the Creator stands above nature and they need to be afraid of speaking to Him or at the very least being near Him. For such is the nature of man: to fear what transcends nature’s bounds.

However, in reality, there’s nothing more natural than attaining contact with the Creator, for He is the master of nature. Truly, every creature is in contact with its Creator, although it neither knows nor feels it.

He who merits contact with the Creator merely obtains the knowledge of it, for there is nothing new in the universe, and it’s only that he was ignorant of it beforehand.

As a result, man becomes simpler and more natural, for he understands all people, maintaining quite intimate relations with them; he is close to the masses and loves them.”

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A question I received: Why do you reveal all of this secret knowledge to gentiles?

My Answer: I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the original sources: Baal HaSulam’s articles “Messiah’s Horn” and “The Arvut.”

A mutual guarantee (Arvut) among a single nation is capable of initiating the correction of the whole world. Likewise, all nations are incapable of carrying out this correction simultaneously. It is as the sages said: The Creator offered the Torah to all nations (through Abraham in ancient Babylon), but they declined the offer, because the magnitude of their egoism, their self-love, made it impossible for them to accept it.

Thus, Abraham created a group of Babylonians (people with desires for spirituality) who were ready and willing to renounce their egoism, and this group became known as the nation of Israel. The only difference between the Babylonians in this group and other Babylonians of that era was that Abraham’s group accepted upon themselves the method of rising above their egoism. Moreover, Abraham, who was a Babylonian priest, became the first Kabbalist. Therefore, by accepting upon themselves the required guarantee (Arvut), the nation of Israel was obligated to be the chosen people among all other nations.

In any case, the correction of the whole world will take place when all nations unite in their aspiration toward the Creator, and the Creator will reveal Himself to all nations. It is as it is written: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Creator, and all of the nations will flock to Him.” As such, the nation of Israel holds the responsibility for leading humanity to love for thy neighbor, and ultimately, to the goal of creation, which is to merge with the Creator.

My Current Mood: energetic

Related Material:
* ARTICLE: Who Is to Blame? – Selected pieces from a discussion on Baal HaSulam’s article “Introduction to the Book of Zohar”

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Do what you can and the Lord’s deliverance is as a wink of an eye. And the most important thing today is the unity of friends. Exert in that tenaciously, as it can complement all deficiencies.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 48

I have provided you with conducts by which you can nevertheless endure without regressing. The most special of them is adhesion (attachment) of friends. If you strengthen yourselves in that, you will certainly go from strength to strength on the rungs of sanctity.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 142

Hence, I shall remind you of the power of love of friends, especially at this time, as upon this depends our right to exist, and by that is our near success measured. So put away all your imaginary dealings and let your hearts devise and contemplate the proper modes to bond your hearts as one. Then, the verse “love thy friend as thyself” will literally be applied within you.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 144

One who is delivered by the Creator is delivered only when he needs deliverance today. One who can wait for tomorrow will gain his reason after his years. This happened to you because of neglect in my request to exert in love of friends. I have already told you in every possible manner that this remedy is sufficient to complement all your deficiencies.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 56

I shall ask of you to exert in love of friends, devise ways that can increase love among friends, and revoke the body’s lusts, as this is what casts hate, and there cannot be hatred among those who bring contentment to the Creator. On the contrary, there is love and compassion among them.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 145

If one does not have any desire and craving for spirituality, if he is among people who have a desire for spirituality, if he likes these people, he, too, will take their strength to prevail, and their desires and aspirations, although by his own quality, he does not have these desires and cravings and the power to overcome. But according to the grace and the importance he ascribes to these people, he will receive new powers.
–Baal HaSulam, Shamati, “He Did Not Say Wicked or Righteous,” article no. 99

Love one another as much as you can, as much as you love yourselves. Sympathize with your friend’s adversity, and rejoice in his joy as much as you can.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 54

One cannot raise oneself above one’s circle. Hence, one must suck from one’s environment. And one has no other counsel, except through much work and Torah. Therefore, if one chooses for oneself a good environment, one saves time and efforts, since one is drawn according to one’s environment.
–Baal HaSulam, Shamati, “Raising Oneself,” article no. 225

You must know that there are many sparks of sanctity in each of the friends. And when you gather all the sparks into one place, as brothers, with love and friendship, you will certainly have a very high level of sanctity.
–Baal HaSulam, Pri Hacham (A Sage’s Fruit), Letters, p. 56

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A question I received: Kabbalists wrote a great deal about the men’s need for a group, the exile, the future generation and correction. However, they didn’t write about women and the time when a strong female desire will force men to correct the world. Why didn’t they write about women and how a woman should progress?

My Answer: Everything’s meant to happen in due time. The future is unknown, and our actions determine how it will unfold. At every stage, we gain a new realization of how we should progress. In Kabbalah we work with the Upper World, the Creator, and we cannot predict the outcome of our actions ahead of time. It’s because we are dealing with an enormous mechanism – a system of souls, filled with the Upper Light.

The only place where Baal HaSulam wrote about the future is in his personal notes. There he wrote about the different possibilities, but what will actually happen depends entirely on our actions. From the manuscripts he left behind, we’ve compiled a collection of articles called “The Future Generation,” as well as four books called Fruit of Wisdom (Pri Hacham, volumes 1 – 4).

Now is the first time that the method of the world’s correction is being realized, and Baal HaSulam, Rav Kook, and other Kabbalists of the 20th century all wrote about this. Hence, we are the pioneers in this process. Kabbalists, including the prophets, described only the law of nature and its strict execution (the path of Beito, lit. “in its time”). They described how this law of nature would manifest without man’s intervention, or in other words, what would happen if nature forces us to attain correction.

But those who aspire for correction can accelerate this process (the path of Achishena, lit. “I will hasten it”) and thereby experience it positively. In this case, the prophecies are not talking about us, because we mitigate and accelerate them with the help of the Upper Light, which returns us to the Source.

This is also why Kabbalists did not describe women’s intervention in the common correction. They considered it a part of the common movement. Today, aided by their texts, we are embarking on this path.

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A letter I received: Dear Michael Laitman, I’ve been studying Kabbalah for about five years, and I’ve become more and more concerned about the fact that I no longer find anything new in the text. I’m wondering whether I need to deepen my understanding of the text. In my heart, I try to constantly pray to get closer to spirituality. I’ve also begun translating The Talmud using the dictionary from the book, The Science of Kabbalah. As I understand it, I’ve strayed from the path. What should I do? Should I apply more effort in my studies?

My Answer: I advise you to start studying regularly with us in our virtual lessons, connected with the virtual group. This will allow you to acquire greater thoughts and desires from uniting with others, and out of such a unity, you will create a vessel. This vessel will be within you. And you’ll start feeling fulfilled in this vessel through understanding the Thought of Creation. [Read more →]

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A question I received: Although Baal HaSulam writes that a spiritual person leaves for himself only what he needs to survive and gives the rest to society, for some reason you don’t advise anyone to act this way. Don’t you agree with Baal HaSulam? Or are you afraid that this will scare people off? For instance, even though I myself am in need of money, I’m still scared of this!

My Answer: All our actions must correspond to Nature’s law. Should that be the case, we would feel ourselves as Nature’s integral parts – in the World of Infinity, that is, in the state of eternity and perfection, just like Nature (the Creator) itself.

Kabbalah – the science of the whole of Nature – helps us reach this state not through blows and suffering, but through conscious development. [Read more →]

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“Things will be bad. Very bad!” These are the opening words of a front page article in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper for intellectuals, businessmen and politicians, read by the upper, educated class of the Israeli society. The basis for this statement is the widely recognized situation in the financial world.

My Response: According to the science of Kabbalah, finances are the basis of humanity’s entire egoistic activity; they are the value, the measurement and the means to compare all connections and powers in a human society. Nature operates us in our physical desires (i.e. those that our bodies demand): food, sex, and family. As egoism evolved, social desires emerged: wealth, power, fame, and knowledge. In other words, all of our social relations are based on and measured by wealth (money, finances). We can’t imagine what our lives would be like if this common value were to be disrupted. However, one day we will have no choice but to replace it with a different value: everyone working for the benefit of others, and in return, receiving a normal life in the body, and unity with the Creator in spirit. Such a transformation cannot be accomplished with our own strength, but only through a comprehensible revelation of the Creator.

Nature shows us the harmony that prevails in it and the complete bond that exists between all of its parts. Human society must become just like that.
The idea of collective awareness must be willingly accepted by everyone. And for this reason, there is yet much suffering that will hit the world, and there is no easier path to maturity than the path of Kabbalah.
Baal HaSulam, “The Future Generation”

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Report: Anti-Semitism, Anti-Zionism and hatred toward Jews, supported by a number of governments, have become a growing tendency worldwide over the past decade, says a report on Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism, prepared by the Office of the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism and presented to the U.S. Congress.

My Response: As a matter of fact, this is how it should be, because the UN represents all nations of the world, which, according to Kabbalah, consists of Israel and other nations.

Baal HaSulam. Introduction to the Book of Zohar, item 66:
Everything divides into two parts: internality and externality:
Humanity: Israel and the nations of the world.
Israel: the workers of the Creator and those who don’t work for the Creator.
The workers of the Creator: Kabbalists, and those who merely carry out the actions of the Torah.
The nations of the world: the righteous and the destroyers.
Everyone from Israel: the “point in the heart” and the “heart.”
If a person from Israel elevates his externality above his internality, he causes the nations of the world to overcome Israel.
If a person from Israel elevates his internality above his externality, he causes the nations of the world to recognize the value of Israel.

Therefore, in this situation, everything depends entirely on the Jews. If they begin to fulfill their mission toward the world, which is to disclose the method of spiritual and corporeal attainment, then the world will value and love the Jews. Otherwise, the more the world suffers, the worse it will act toward them.

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A Statement: The Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, Jonathan Sacks, wrote a book on “How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations.” According to Rabbi Sacks, all religions should be recognized as genuine. Of course, fundamentalists anathematized the book, and charged Rabbi Sacks with heresy.

My Opinion: All this happens because people consider religions to be “genuine,” possessing absolute higher knowledge, instead of an expression of culture and peoples’ way of life. Religions were invented by people. There’s no reason to credit them as being anything more than clubs, which people turn to for psychological help in our unstable lives. There’s good in them, but nothing divine or genuine!

Article by Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose” (note that in this article, when Baal HaSulam says “religion,” he means Kabbalah)

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News Story: Leviev: Zionism is bankrupt because of ‘new American religion’

Businessman Lev Leviev, one of the world’s most notable diamond dealers who recently moved to London from Israel, declared that Zionism has gone bankrupt. In an interview with the newspaper Haaretz, Leviev stated that life in today’s Israel is losing its Jewish substance. Leviev, who also owns a chain of private schools in Israel and abroad, also came forward with his criticism of secular Israeli education.

My Response: This is all true. Zionism’s bankruptcy was predetermined long before it began, just like how all of humanity’s endeavors have been carried out without understanding history’s plan. The Jews were given the right to return to the land of Israel on condition (from Above) that they return to their spiritual root (the spiritual land of Israel), to the qualities of bestowal and love, like it was before the ruin of the Second Temple and the exile. As Baal HaSulam writes, in the article, “A Speech in Celebration of the Conclusion of The Zohar”: “The Creator gave us this land, but this only gives us the opportunity to receive it through purifying ourselves (from egoism).”

If the Jews don’t use this opportunity to ascend spiritually, but instead wish to simply exist in Israel, on “the holy land,” like all other nations, then “the land will reject you.” Moreover, there’s not much time left for us to either begin the correction or be expelled from here once again.

Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the Creator’s plan, thinking that a modern religious upbringing is sufficient, that it educates the Jewish nation and provides the knowledge necessary to fulfill its Creator-given mission.

Baal HaSulam writes, in the article, “The Revelation of Godliness (Matan Torah)”: “‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’ – Rabbi Akiva says: ‘it is a great rule in the Torah.’” This is what the main goal of education should be. Knowledge of the nation’s customs and culture should be secondary. The sages say: “Why should God mind whether one slaughters at the throat or at the neck?” After all, the commandments were given to cleanse people. “Cleansing” means cleansing our desires from egoism – this is the goal of performing commandments. Egoistic desires comprise a person’s whole life, and such desires are what make people opposite from the Creator, whose nature is absolute altruism. Moreover, it is decreed that we need to attain adhesion with the Creator, that is, complete equivalence with Him.

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