This week we had a new guest at our center – Yossi Vassa, stage performer, actor, comedian and playwright of theatrical productions for children and adolescents, as well as other entertainment programs.

Yossi is successful not only in Israel, but also on Broadway, in Mexico, England, and other countries around the world. This intelligent and energetic young man repatriated to Israel from Ethiopia, and feels concerned about the unsuccessful absorption of his Ethiopian community in Israel. I have known him for a long time because my daughter’s fiancé, Shai Ben Attar, is the script writer and stage director of Yossi’s plays.

During our conversation we reached the conclusion that there is no such thing as a Jewish nation, but only a gathering of outcasts and refugees who haven’t been able to become a nation. This is because in the past, 3,700 years ago, the Jewish nation was created by means of the spiritual idea of union and brotherly love, above people’s individual egoism – and they attained this through the influence of the Upper Light. However, 2,000 years ago they fell from the level of “love for one’s neighbor” into hatred, and scattered like a bunch of nuts that fell out of a sac.

Now, the only way for us to gather back together and become a nation is by reviving the same foundation that existed back then – love for one’s neighbor. Only Kabbalah can provide this, or rather, only the Light that it evokes. We at Bnei Baruch hope that we will be able to evoke this Light and thereby bring the entire world to peace.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Building the Third Temple
Laitman.com Post: Zionism’s Bankrupcy

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In the past, before the destruction of the Temple, children were born into a society that perceived the Upper World and the Creator, and based its life on the spiritual laws. Children perceived the relationship of “love thy neighbor as thyself” as an obvious fact of life. They always saw the adults setting this example and aspiring to attain greater connection with the Creator, whom they clearly perceived. Children understood that they were born into this world and exist in it temporarily only in order to create a connection with Him.

In the Bnei Baruch group, our children (and grandchildren) participate in Kabbalah lessons prepared especially for them. Their relationships are built under the guidance of teachers according to the principle of the Torah – bestowal and love of friends. They completely understand that they, and all people in general, are interconnected. The lessons take place on Sundays and during the whole day on Saturday. On Saturday, boys come with their fathers to the morning lesson and then stay for the whole day. We have a special course for them. Every few months I also give a lesson (a test) to all the children.

It’s a great pleasure to see and hear them, their questions and answers, and to observe these growing people forming a completely new outlook on the world. We don’t realize what it means to receive the true picture of the world during the childhood years, to understand the world’s origin, meaning, and purpose. This picture permeates a child’s consciousness and remains in him as his nature. By watching their daily behavior when they are together or apart, when they are at our center our outside of it, in daycare centers or schools, we can see that they behave differently, and have a special, refined inner quality – spirituality. Their similarity to the Upper Force guarantees them success and safety in our world.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Lessons for Children Every Sunday
Laitman.com Post: Children, Souls, and the Point In the Heart
Laitman.com Post: The Solution – Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Chapter from the book, A Guide to the Hidden Wisdom of Kabbalah: “Who Can Study Kabbalah?”
Kabbalah for Children – Latest Articles

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Questions I received on the prophets, the future of humanity, and the Bnei Baruch community:

Question: I’m wondering whether I understand this correctly: None of the prophets ever spoke about what was happening in their time nor about the forthcoming destruction of the Temple, but only about our times – the spiritual ascent and elimination of egoism that will take place?

My Answer: Yes. See the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, page 99 А.

Question: I am worried: will humanity be able to change and understand what matters most, or will it be held back by the war between Russia and Georgia and the world will drown in madness and chaos?

My Answer: I hope that our dissemination efforts will bring the world to a peaceful correction, without preliminary fighting.

Question: I heard that there was a time when Bnei Baruch was looking for an opportunity for Kabbalists to live together. However, even though your students live near the Bnei Baruch center, they still don’t live together. Why is that? Do you lack finances, an appropriate place, or this is necessary to strengthen the desire?

My Answer: We wanted to create a model of the future society within a close-knit environment, until we discovered that it’s necessary to come out into the greater world and enlighten the whole of humanity, instead of isolating ourselves.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Egoism Is Destroying Itself
Laitman.com Post: Neither Side Is Right In the Georgian War
Kabbalah Today Article: “A Prophet In His Own Country”

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I had a meeting that was recorded with Avi Blizovsky, the editor of Israel’s popular-science website Erudite.

Avi is a well known popular science writer. Like many scientists I speak to, for the first half an hour or so he had a hard time envisioning the possibility that the world can be perceived somehow other than through the five senses. This perception is much too habitual and obvious to all, even scientists.

But as we kept talking, he began to understand what kind of science Kabbalah is – one that perceives the world in a different manner, not “within oneself” – egoistically, but “outside of oneself” – altruistically.

He is an avid follower of Darwin and a lover of all sciences. Since we in Bnei Baruch believe that Kabbalah dissemination is the only method of correcting the world, we have to continue having such meetings and patiently explaining to people that Kabbalah is a science about perceiving reality without the limitations of one’s animate body and the five senses.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Physics of the Upper Light
Laitman.com Post: Creation and Evolution
Article: “The Purpose of Studying Kabbalah”

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Four questions I received on children and Kabbalah:

Question: My children are six, five, and four years old, and they all love Kabbalistic graphs and charts. I draw these graphs for them on А4 printer paper with colored markers, and explain to them what it means in simple words, relying on material from the books Kabbalah Revealed and Kabbalah for Beginners. Maybe we could create a colorful children’s book with charts and graphs that includes simple explanations? Maybe we can even create a coloring book where children will have to use different color crayons to draw the Kli, the Light, the screen, and so on?

My Answer: I warmly welcome these ideas, and can’t wait to see the books!

Question: Do all Bnei Baruch children really have a point in the heart?

My Answer: No, not all of them.

Question: Then should they be studying the wisdom of Kabbalah?

My Answer: Yes, because it will help them avoid the long path of suffering.

Question: Are all the problems and misunderstandings that I have with my children caused by the fact that I only see the opposite side of their souls? What I mean is that their souls have “passed” through me, and now I see their AHP, but not their GE?

My Answer: You are only connected with your children on the animate level, and not on the spiritual level.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Worst Thing That Can Happen Is Having to Return to This World
Kabbalah on Education: “‘Higher’ Education: How to Raise Happy Children”
Kabbalah Today Article: “Spiritual Education”
Kabbalah for Children – Latest Articles
Buy this book: Kabbalah For Beginners
Buy this book: Kabbalah Revealed: The Ordinary Person’s Guide To A More Peaceful Life

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A question I received: I have been taking part in the lessons offered by Bnei Baruch. It seems to me that I’m a worse person than when I started studying. What am I doing wrong? I believe that I understand the importance of the group, but I don’t feel love for the group per say. Instead I feel this deep and ever widening divide. I’m judgmental and cynical, in my personal life I’m depressed, angry and irritable, and there is no logical rationale for it, but nonetheless I feel all of these emotions strongly. It’s like my mind or one part of me is on one track yet the feeling part of me (which drives me) is on another track headed in the opposite direction, coupled with a love/hate relationship with Kabbalah and the studies. Add to this the fact that I’m confused…

In the lessons we are made to understand that the material we study refers solely to spiritual states, but what is the goal ‘practically’ speaking? What kind of person am I supposed to be?

My Answer: All of us experience states like this, when we assess whether the spiritual growth offered by Kabbalah is correct or even necessary. Right now all of humanity is entering a period of reassessing its values, and this is why it is experiencing a crisis in all areas of life – education, politics, society, family, science, ecology, nature, and so on.

In addition, we are assessing our corporeal existence and the need to add spirituality to it (the revelation of the Upper World and the Creator) in our uncorrected egoistic desires (heart) and thoughts (mind). Your egoism will still go through many “disappointments” on the path of spiritual development, because egoism does not feel any fulfillment on this path, but just the opposite. To develop spiritually, one must eradicate one’s egoism. That is to say, one should not eradicate one’s desires and thoughts, but only their use “for one’s own sake,” changing it to “for the sake of others.”

So how can one advance away from egoism without having egoism’s support on the spiritual path? Egoism is against spirituality, and this is why egoism, our nature, is described as “Help against you,” because eventually it annuls itself. This happens because when you egoistically study Kabbalah in a group, attempting to create a connection with each other, then you attract the Upper Light, which corrects egoism. So the disappointments and descents are just egoism’s perception of the lack of egoistic fulfillment. Your future fulfillment will not come from reception, but from bestowal, from fulfilling others. It will come from the feeling of love and the realization that everyone is connected into one whole.

Hence, the only thing that will bring you to the goal – the eternal goal of creation, is persistent study, participation in the group, and dissemination, in spite of your egoism – “As an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load.” All the Shamati articles speak about this, so always keep reading them. And remember – this path can only be surmounted by those who walk it!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: When In Doubt, Disseminate
Kabbalah Today Article: “Quotes of Great Kabbalists”
Chapter from Book Basic Concepts in Kabbalah: “From the Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace in the World”
Baal HaSulam Letter: “The Labor Is the Most Important”
Chapter from the Audio Book “Attaining the Worlds Beyond”: Eradicating Egoism

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We will be holding a course for beginners at our Learning Center, starting September 3.

The course will run for 24 weeks, and will be led by two of Bnei Baruch’s veteran students, Tony Kosinec and Mike Kellogg. Any newcomer to Kabbalah will benefit by acquiring a firm basis in Kabbalah’s basic concepts, including:

• What Kabbalah is and isn’t,
• How Kabbalah defines our perception of reality,
• What determines our feelings of pleasure and pain and how to correct the source of suffering,
• How to understand the “language of the Kabbalists”
• What Kabbalistic texts are actually talking about,
• What is free will is and how to attain it.

For more information about the course, and to register, visit the information page, or go directly to our Learning Center.

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Questions I received on what to do with a boyfriend who doesn’t study Kabbalah and women who hate dissemination:

Question: A woman becomes fulfilled spiritually through a man – I feel this very clearly. However, all I can think about is my boyfriend, who doesn’t study Kabbalah. I broke up with him when I encountered Kabbalah, but now we are back together and I am still studying Kabbalah. I feel like I prefer spending time with him over going to the lessons, and this scares me because I’m neglecting my purpose and the Creator’s goal for me. I can’t leave you and the group and the entire world Kli. I need you and you need me. But on the other hand, I am drawn to my boyfriend. I really want to be on the path and develop my Kli together with a man, but I feel like I wouldn’t be able to manage without my boyfriend.

My Answer:
1. Calm down.

2. If he loves you then he won’t interfere with your Kabbalah studies.

3. If you still can, choose another man who will study Kabbalah for sure.

4. Don’t force him to study, but gently and lovingly get him involved in passive participation. We’ve had cases when husbands got involved in Kabbalah this way, and then continued studying even when their wives left Kabbalah.

5. In any case, creating a family is more important than Kabbalah! After that your priority should be your work, and then Kabbalah.

Question: Can one woman teach another woman in the Bnei Baruch group?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: What should we do with women who only want to study and hate the idea of dissemination?

My answer: When a woman first comes to study Kabbalah, then she should be taught the basics – just like a man. After that she should be offered a chance to take on “extra weight,” such as participating in dissemination and paying Maaser. If she doesn’t agree to this, then we don’t continue working with her – let her study at home on her own – the Internet is free. We’ll think twice before letting her attend a Congress, and might even decide against it. People who don’t disseminate are depriving themselves of the opportunity to advance because they don’t develop their Kli by adding the desires of others to it, in order to reach the necessary critical mass.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Women’s Spiritual Progress
Laitman.com Post: Women on the Path of Kabbalah
Laitman.com Post: The Cycle of Descents and Ascents, and the Correction of the Maaser (Advanced)

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The Bnei Baruch Band has recorded another song called “The Last Generation.” (The English translation of the lyrics appear below)

So we thought we would succeed if we would think a lot,
So the philosophers sat down and calculated:
If we strain our mind, we might find a solution.
All this may be true – but it led to nowhere.

So we thought we would succeed if we explored a lot,
So the scientists sat down immediately and began to count:
If we find the formula we might prevent disaster.
All this is certainly true – but they also developed the atom bomb.

It may be right under our nose,
Waiting for us to tilt the scale.
It is already here, it is the right time,
For the last generation,
(The last generation, the last generation)

We thought we would succeed if we stopped breathing,
If we fly to the Himalayas to be with the Hindus,
They sit there and meditate all day long,
They are still alive – but have long gone to sleep.

We also thought we would succeed if there were equality,
So the communists said: let’s split up the riches,
Let’s forget about the ego and live the good life,
And what happened to us? It is even worse than Sodom.

It may be right under our nose,
Waiting for us to tilt the scale.
It is already here, it is the right time,
For the last generation,

We also thought we would succeed if there were tranquility,
So the mysticists sat down and thought of a solution:
Let’s close our eyes tight and try to relax,
It was very nice – but nothing happened.
(Nothing happened, nothing happened)

So we said it might be better to just forget everything.
Yes, to take some pill, it will make us feel good.
We can just escape to our imagination.
It may true – but in the end it certainly won’t help.
(Certainly won’t help, certainly won’t help)

It may be right under our nose,
Waiting for us to tilt the scale.
It is already here, it is the right time,
For the last generation,
The last generation,
The last generation.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Solution – Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Kabbalah Today article: Echoes of the Future

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The International Academy of Kabbalah is proud to announce that on 08-08-08, two hours before the grand opening of the Olympics in China, we aired a new site in Chinese.

The site was created in two days by three people:

Asta Chepukaite (Lithuania) – content manager and executive editor;
Olya Utkina (Kazakhstan) – design;
Sasha Gerdev (Bnei Baruch Israel) – programming.

And this is just the beginning. We are only starting the work of developing, optimizing and popularizing the site!

We would like to extend a special thank you to Leonid Makaron, who made this site possible and continues to advance our dissemination in Chinese.
Lechaim World Kli!

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