Two questions I received on “Who is the Creator?” and “Who am I?”:

Question: On the one hand it says that the Creator is a quality – the quality of bestowal, which the person needs to attain, and which is within the person. But on the other hand, the Creator is always described as something outside of me, someone I must pray to. He’s described as an essence that is separate from me, as a force that controls everything. So who is the Creator? Is He inside me or outside?

My Answer: The Creator is the innermost part of you, but as long as you don’t perceive Him this way, you imagine everything to be outside of you, including Him.

Question: In the morning we say: “Lord, the soul that you have given me is pure… You have breathed it into me… and you will return it to me in the future…” My question is: Who or what is this “I,” “inside of me,” “within me,” etc., that this blessing speaks about? According to the blessing, if the soul is inside this “I,” then who am “I”?

My Answer: You are a desire, an aspiration toward the Creator. That is what the soul is. Everything else is desires needing connection to this aspiration, and you are the one who needs to make such a connection. It is possible to the extent that you feel the Creator’s importance. However, you need to first correctly define who the Creator is: the property of bestowal and love for others.

Related Material:
Kabbalah Today Article: Between Creator and Creature
Kabbalah Today Article: Making Room for the Creator
Article: Who am I?
Baal HaSulam Article: Body and Soul

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The descent of the Upper Forces evokes the birth, or emergence, of an expanding universe, both the universe as a whole and each of its parts: the formation of microscopic particles and atoms, the complication of the structure of matter, chemical interactions that are set in motion by heating-uncharging and condensing-cooling, the formation of structures, the congestion of substances, and the formation of stars, galaxies and planets. On one of these planets, bio-polymers form – the basis of life. Their evolution constitutes the evolution of life, leading to the emergence of reason, consciousness, and eventually, the human, an intelligent bio-mass that is aware of its own existence – Behina 4 (Phase 4).

The human, however, is only the first and lowest degree of the ladder upon which he ascends (and the universe and this world ascend together with him). This ladder leads to the state where the human is fully conscious of the entire universe, a state called the World of Infinity, complete adhesion with the General Upper Force of the entire super-system.

As matter develops, its speed of development constantly increases. When the human emerges, the developing system’s acceleration is at its utmost. A social community of people emerges, and egoism’s growth develops it into an informational community. Mass media and communication channels unify everyone in one place, opinion, consciousness and experience. A person becomes a cell in the organism of the general system, similar to a cell in our body. Everyone’s unification within one organism is determined from the beginning. Every person’s dependence and influence on others is determined by the informational unification, rather than the physical one. The more the information is qualitatively developed, the greater influence it has on the entire system – an influence that is physical, informational, cognitive and spiritual. The spiritual influence bears the greatest result on the whole system, raising it in the general, collective consciousness to the level of the super-system – called “the Creator.”

Related Material:
Kabbalah Today Article: Creation and Evolution
Article: Soul as a System in the Model of the Universe
Article: Attainment of Unity of the Universe
Article: The Historical Aspect of the Science of Kabbalah
eBook: The Science of Kabbalah (Pticha)

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A question I received: The history of Kabbalah shows that those who had great spiritual attainment had tragic fates. Where are the positive examples? And how can this attract people who already have enough misery in their lives?

My Answer: It’s true that when we take an outside look at the fates of Kabbalists, we find that they were persecuted, condemned, afflicted with sickness and so on, no less than other people. So where in all this do we see the Creator’s help!?

The fact is that a Kabbalist is very much connected with the entire world and receives suffering for everyone. However, he then raises the suffering he feels up to the Creator, and also receives the reward for everyone. Thus, when he feels the suffering, he also sees its perspective, the future salvation – the same as how a person who works very hard rejoices ahead of time, knowing that he will receive a great reward for his toil. But we, who are watching from the outside, only see his suffering and his efforts, whereas in reality he feels the Creator’s presence and grace in everything.

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News Story: Vatican – It’s OK to Believe in Aliens

“‘Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God,’ the Vatican’s chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones … Funes said that such a notion ‘doesn’t contradict our faith’ because aliens would still be God’s creatures.

Funes urged the church and the scientific community to leave behind divisions caused by Galileo’s persecution four hundred years ago, saying the incident has ’caused wounds.’

In 1633 the astronomer was tried as a heretic and forced to recant his theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.

‘The church has somehow recognized its mistakes,’ he said. ‘Maybe it could have done it better, but now it’s time to heal those wounds and this can be done through calm dialogue and collaboration.'”

My Response: Kabbalah says that relative us and this program of actions, we are the only ones in the universe. This is because humanity constitutes one created soul, and by attaining ourselves and the Upper World within this soul, we discover that we are united into one whole with the Creator. We cannot discover any more than this (see the related material below on the attainment of reality). It explains that everything we attain, everything we perceive as existing, is what we reveal inside us, and anything we don’t feel remains outside us, as if it is nonexistent. Everything exists relative the observer. The religions will experience such setbacks again and again, because they are based on suppositions rather than attainment.

Related Material:
TV Program: Perception of Reality – Lesson 1 of 2 (25 min)
TV Program: Perception of Reality – Lesson 2 of 2 (25 min)
Article: Baal HaSulam on Our Perception of Reality
Article: “I Saw a Reversed World” – What Is Reality? How Do We Perceive It?
eBook: Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life

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News Story: Why Are Men Going Off Sex?

“Men are increasingly going off sex due to stress, depression and the inability to talk about their problems, experts have claimed.

A team at a relationship counselling service has reported a whopping 40 per cent increase in the number of lazy blokes, admitting that, despite being physically able to have sex, they don’t have any interest.

‘They tend to be men in their thirties, forties and fifties and married. It is a serious issue. It counts as a psychosexual dysfunction, rather than just a relationship problem, because these men haven’t simply gone off their partner but off sex altogether,’ a newspaper quoted Peter Bell of the organisation as saying.”

My Response: The feeling of emptiness, the lack of fulfillment from the Upper Source – even if only subconscious – leads to general depression and the suppression of all bodily desires. Lately this isn’t just a problem, but a universally acknowledged fact.

However, the study of Kabbalah brings about an outburst of all desires and growth of egoism, both on a widespread scale and individually. It is written, “since the destruction of the Temple, only those who work to become similar to the Creator have retained the true taste of copulation.” Mainly, this refers to spiritual copulation – Zivug de Haka’a with the Upper Light, but it also has results in our world. It is talking about people who are working on the intention to bestow…

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A question I received: It’s good to be able to justify, but how can I do it if I feel a burning anger for the whole world? I mean, a person has nothing but his own feelings, and if he feels bad, then how can he justify it? I know that you have to remember everything as coming from above, and that “there is none else beside Him.” But what about everything that is truly wrong? Even when I do appeal to the Creator to save me from my feelings, and to correct my intention, I feel stuck. What should I do?

My Answer: We can’t correct our own selves; only the Upper Light can, because only the Upper Light can create every action in our world. We are under the illusion that we do things. We move as if we’re in the dark, thinking that we are this world’s active objects. However, in reality, our desires influence the Upper Light and evoke its reactions to the degree of our similarity or dissimilarity to Him. The Upper Light’s program is to raise us to become like Him. If our actions are against this program, we then evoke upon ourselves its corrective response, the negative force – suffering. If we study His action, and aspire to become like Him and correspond to His program, we’ll then start feeling comfortable. We’ll begin revealing the Light – the Creator – and feeling ourselves inside Him, in the world of eternity and perfection.

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Two questions I received in response to my post “On Love”:

Question 1: When I do not feel that my relationship with my friends is based on love, is it because my attitude towards them isn’t as it should be?

My Answer: Of course, it depends only on you.

Question 2: If love is only possible between the Creator and man, how is it possible to know when the Creator is among the creatures’ relationships?

My Answer: You discover it through your love for Him.

Related Material:
* Practical Advice by Rabash

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A question I received: You once said: “Egoism’s growth doesn’t allow for romance. Today, romance no longer exists and it isn’t going to come back. Instead of a husband, today’s egoism demands the Creator!” Here lies a serious problem. In order to start a serious relationship with a woman, one has to as if, skip something. In the past, a man would meet a gentle and fragile girl who brought out the strength within him, and whom he wanted to take care of. These instincts kicked in automatically. Today, we don’t meet “gentle women.” The women today have turned into aggressive hunters. How does one develop a desire to fulfill a woman?

My Answer: It’s time to shift your attention to the Creator, since as you can see, women no longer need it.

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A letter I received: I’m ashamed of my desires, and I’d be ashamed if you knew what they are. More and more, I feel that I want it all: all the women, all the power, money, and honor. I feel so envious of others that I don’t know where so much envy can come from! My body refuses to do anything, and I feel like a bottomless glass. I also feel that absolutely nothing is up to me, that I’m like play dough, or a feather in the wind.

Yesterday I had the desire to become president, but today I can’t even get out of bed – I have no motivation or desire. I want to roll up into a ball or burst into pieces.

Yet, I try to connect all that’s happening to the Creator, and I’m thankful that I can at least think about Him. At other times I try to fall into oblivion and forget about everything. I have faith, but with a hint of reproach.

I always remember that you and the group are there, and other people who are searching. Whether I am suffering, trying to run away from the suffering (to forget about it all), trying to find the meaning of my life (if you can even call it a life) and of all life in general – I believe that only the Creator can help me, no one but Him.

My Response: This is life – your first realization of it. Later on, you will understand the changes you’re going through, and right now, you’re learning about yourself, your nature, and your egoism. You’ll later come to hate your egoism and decide to separate from it – and that will be your return from exile.

All of these states are wonderful, because you’re delving into nature, and the Creator is teaching you who you are. After all, you’re not forgetting about Kabbalah and about Him. Read “There Is None Else Beside Him” and other articles from Shamati (I Heard).

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A question I received: These days, many women are taking national leading positions. Some examples are Angela Merkel (Germany), Tarja Halonen (Finland), Vaira Vike-Freiberg (Latvia), Cristina Kirshner (Argentina), Pratibha Patil (India), Gloria Macapagal (The Philippines), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia), and Yulia Tymoshenko (Ukraine). It also looks like France and the USA are next. What does Kabbalah have to say about this situation of women taking national leadership?

My Answer: It doesn’t correspond to the spiritual system. In our era, equal rights seems correct and just, while the demands of spirituality (where the woman helps, directs, strengthens and approves, while the man attains the Upper Light of correction and fulfillment) seem sexist.

Nevertheless, if we don’t correspond (as much as humanity’s desire for spirituality develops) to Nature (the Creator, the property of absolute love), we’ll disfigure our existence. Our dissimilarity and imbalance evoke the negative forces of correction, which we feel as suffering, and Nature (the Creator) will nevertheless make us follow its laws by force.

So we can follow Nature laws either by being forced, i.e. through the path of suffering, or we can consciously will ourselves to follow them. The place of our freedom is not in inventing our own paths, because there’s only one truth and only one path to it (the same path through which we descended from the World of Infinity). The place of our freedom is in our aspiration (our request for correction), above our egoistic aspirations (to receive), and our striving toward the goal of Nature (to bestow).

Why is it that women are being allowed to take leadership positions in our times? It’s because they use their egoism more carefully than men. When it comes to today’s enormous egoism, a woman’s egoism is better and calmer than a man’s.

(In the photo: my daughter and I.)

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