In the News (from The Guardian): “Bomb in the beehive” “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” That’s what Einstein is reputed to have said … and the sentiment still chimes. A third of all we eat, and much of what we wear, relies on pollination by bees, yet they are dying in all corners of the world at a devastating rate. In 2007 the “colony collapse disorder” afflicting honeybees suddenly hit the headlines. Fanciful theories of “bee Aids” and what lay behind it ranged from an Al-Qaida plot and radiation from mobile phone masts to celestial intervention in the form of a “honeybee rapture.”

My Comment: The imbalance in Nature is a result of man’s ever-growing egoism and the hatred between people. We are the most powerful factor that causes a breach of balance in Nature.

The reason for this is that the more powerful a force is, the more subtle and unnoticeable it is. Thus, the most powerful and influential force in the world is our desire and thought (heart and mind). Therefore, if we are not trying to create a harmonious connection with others and with the surrounding world, then we commit evil and break Nature’s ecological and spiritual balance.

We don’t feel where forces that stir us, and drive us to balance, come from, but they act. This is not mysticism. In fact, the suffering we feel is a result of these forces’ influence, and unfortunately, these results are manifesting on the physical plane.

Each person and humanity as a whole cannot be convinced of anything unless they clearly see it. This is why it is so important for us to develop and disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah to the entire world, because it is the science of revealing the Creator, the general governing force of Nature. This revelation will convince us to correct our relationships – and we will survive.

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A question I received: I’m studying the videos and texts on the site and I’ve been learning a lot! I’m a teacher of philosophy in Brazil and my focus of study is the thinker Baruch Spinoza, a cherem Jew of the seventeenth century. Spinoza spoke about a God like Nature, a God not external, but internal and equal to Nature (where Nature is not seen only as trees, clouds, and so on, but the superior Nature that includes all of thing and energies). How does Kabbalah see God? And what does Kabbalah think about Spinoza’s philosophy?

My Answer: There is a huge difference between the definition of “God as Nature” in Kabbalah and in Spinoza’s philosophy. For example, there are differences in how they see the Upper Force as having a mind and a will, to make decisions, its goal and program, its separate, superior position over Nature, its causality and primacy, and so on. It would be best for you to sort all of this out for yourself.

To do so, it will suffice to browse through several articles by Baal HaSulam: “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy,” “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Part 1 of “Talmud Eser Sefirot” – Histaklut Pnimit (Inner Reflection).” Once you read them, I will be happy to speak with you on the subject. I will be in Argentina from August 26 until September 2.

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Lesson: “Kabbalah and Philosophy”

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A question I received: You say that if a person willingly and consciously carries out the program of creation, he will attain the Creator’s plan. But when a child is putting together a puzzle, all he wants is to arrange the whole picture, and doesn’t connect to the thought that had created the game, right?

My Answer: The child doesn’t merely put together the contents of the box that contains the pieces of a puzzle.  As a result of his actions, he develops toward a state when he discovers an adult’s intelligence within himself, much like the one used by the person who had created the puzzle.  He begins to understand the purpose and function of the game’s every element – and therein lies his growth.

Our whole life is a puzzle! But the puzzle contains the thought of the Creator who created it. Therefore, as we put together this puzzle with a conscious desire to attain its creator, we attain Him. From the very start we are created such that by seeking the Creator of the world in our state (and Kabbalah tells us how to seek Him), we reveal Him. The effort of the search is the only thing that is required of us, just as a baby needs only to nurse in order to grow.

Question (con’t:) And what about all these spiritual worlds if we reveal the Creator in our world?

My Answer: This is the inner mechanism – our connection to the Creator across all the worlds. I exist in this world only in my perception, understanding and sensation, while in reality I exist in the world of Infinity, connected inseparably to the Creator. But He wants me to desire this connection on my own volition. That is why I feel distant and separated from Him, so that, gradually, I could come to Him, to the state in which I already exist and in which I have always existed. I need only to add a bit of my own effort in order to reveal this mechanism.

For instance, modern science needs only to look at a drop of semen to determine the future qualities of the person that develops from it. In other words, everything already exists within that drop of semen; all it needs is the force of development. The same is true with our soul – everything is already included within the tiny spark of Light and we need only to apply our own effort to it. We do not create a new creation; we merely reveal an already existing mechanism.

Our connection with the Creator already exists. All we need is to express the desire to reveal it!

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A question I received from my student: Can the Upper One pass on His desire to the lower one?

My Answer: This is exactly what He does, but only in response to our plea, “Give us the correct desires!” We pray only about our desire, for it to be like His: “Make your desire similar to the Creator’s desire.”

You don’t need anything else from Him, other than a new program for your behavior, for how to act. You have to receive a new mind, power and knowledge from Him, in order to be able to work with your “matter” correctly. More precisely, you have to recognize how flawed your current behavioral program is, because it is opposite to the program He is acting upon. And then, you have to ask Him to replace your program with one similar to His. That is when you will be corrected, made equivalent to the Creator.

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A question I received: There are pictures on your blog showing that you, too, enjoy life’s material pleasures. I really enjoy movies.

Does this mean that the spiritual goal isn’t important enough for me yet? I work to disseminate Kabbalah on the Internet and am learning to become an editor of Bnei Baruch’s materials. I always watch your morning lessons, and I devote a lot of time to the inner work. However, are my efforts enough, since I still find time to go to the movies once every week or so?

My Answer: Don’t restrict yourself in any way. Just study Kabbalah, and you will gradually change under the influence of the studies. For the time being, keep whatever previous pleasures you still enjoy, and just consider them your “little weakness.”

Asceticism, coercion and restriction run contrary to spiritual development! All the right inner changes occur in a person only under the influence of the Upper Light (Ohr Makif), according to the saying: “I created the evil inclination, and I created the Torah to correct it, because the Torah’s Light returns one to the Source.”

Through the study of Kabbalah, you initiate internal transformations, until you finally attain equivalence of form with the Creator. There is no other means to truly correct yourself. This is why Kabbalah is opposed to any sort of restrictions or any other means besides the studies.

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A question I received: What must a person do if he wants to save himself in this world? Until now he only had to think of himself, but now he finds that he has to unite with others in action. Is it enough that his sole intention is his own salvation?

My Answer: Yes, it’s enough. A person’s starting point is the question: “What is the meaning of my life?” But when one asks this question, it is important to understand precisely what it means. Either he is doing bad from a material point of view: he was fired from work and he has all sorts of problems, illnesses and troubles. Or, he is feeling bad because despite having everything, he feels empty and nothing in life fulfills him; everything is meaningless and empty.

There are people who are just doing bad materially speaking, and this is the part of humanity that’s located at the lower part of the pyramid. They are only able to hear about how they can fill themselves in the material world. And then, there are people who feel bad not just because they are missing material pleasures. Even if they have everything, they feel as though they have nothing. The reason for this is that a new, non-material desire has awakened in them – the point in the heart.

When the point in the heart awakens in a person, it means that a new desire or quality arises inside him. This desire is what Kabbalah speaks of, explaining why you can no longer find happiness in this world. So, go ahead and reveal the Upper World. Come and see for yourself just how wondrous the Creator is. After all, you no longer have any other choice.

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A question I received: What’s the meaning of the words “the evil inclination”?

My Answer: The evil inclination is your desire that you define as evil. In Hebrew, the word inclination – Yetzer, originates from the word Ratzon – desire. And it’s not just one desire, but many desires inside you that impede you from attaining the goal of creation, that appear as obstacles on your path.

The stumbling block on the path to the ultimate success is found within you; it’s not anything on the outside. However, you can’t destroy it or get rid of it on your own, despite the fact that you see how much trouble it causes you, how it ruins your life and stands in the way of your success! That is why this quality inside you is called your evil inclination.

The “evil inclination” is evil only when you have made every possible effort to get rid of it… and failed. You then reveal that it has the ultimate power over you and everything you do. It always cheats you, but you forget this and endlessly follow its advice. Thus, the evil is a desire that coerces you.

The recognition of evil is not an easy process. You have to become a true judge of yourself and not give in to being “bribed.” You have to clarify what is your goal, who you are, what your qualities are, and to understand what you have to eliminate within yourself. And then you have to make the utmost effort to do this. And finally, whatever qualities remain that you just can’t change is what you call your evil inclination.

If you do this, you will be prepared for the correction to come from Above, and then the Light will come and correct you. Only once you have done everything in your power can you truly realize what evil is. This, in turn, prepares you to turn to the Creator with a plea and to entreat Him: “I want to get rid of this evil once and for all – but I can’t!”

And that is when you reach the realization that it was Him beneath it all. Inside the evil inclination, you reveal the connection with the Creator, His will in all that has happened. All of the problems that you can’t cope with are sent to you intentionally by the Creator, in order for you to build a connection with Him, to turn to Him.

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Three questions I received about difficult family situations:

Question: How does one reconcile one’s past? It is a past dotted with illness all my life and “child abuse” early on, culminating with a statement at a family reunion in front of my Grandparents that my Mother wished I would have died and my brother lived. How does one rid or clear one’s thoughts of this? Am I not receiving information correctly or do I not see what is in front of me?

My Answer: You have to forgive them! This is the Creator’s way of solving yet another problem through you. This will become clear to you soon.

Question: My father left most of his money to one son, leaving the rest of us just a bit. Needless to say, this has caused much friction between us. What do you suggest I do, as my anger is building to the point that I want to ruin my brother, and I have the means to do this very easily? I don’t even care about the money; now it’s just about principle.

My Answer: You have to obey your father’s will, and your brother is not to blame for this. Don’t change anything, but just agree with it. The Creator has set up this situation for you through your father and other relatives. Instead of focusing on all the other feelings, fulfill yourself with the aspiration toward Him.

Question: I am a young man but I have already endured too many losses of my relatives who were really good people. And now my father is in the hospital waiting for a surgery after having a heart attack on my granddad’s remembrance day. On the one hand, maybe this surgery is care from Above, so that something more terrible won’t happen to him. Still, I ask myself: why was he not guarded against any trouble? How can I keep getting up and believing every time?

My Answer: Our life should not be an escape from suffering, but an ascent above the suffering in order to connect with its source: the Creator.

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A question I received: When society tells me that I must have a new condo or a can of Coke, I don’t have to make any efforts of my own to be influenced by them. Does the same principle apply to spiritual desires? All they have to do is tell me that spirituality is something that’s good for me, or do I also have to do something myself?

My Answer: You don’t have to do anything more! Whatever your environment considers important is what you, too, will start to respect, to desire, and to want to have. When the people around you repeatedly tell you about how important an object or an event is, then you won’t be able to stop thinking about it; it will not let you sleep. This is because it cancels your identity, your personal “I”!

You will struggle and ask: What do I live for if I can’t have this or that? I am wasting my life without it!” You are not the owner of yourself, because society determines everything. Whatever goal it sets for you is the goal you will pursue. With the right “aiming” of the correct environment, anything is possible, even attaining the Creator!

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In the News (translated from RSCI): New research conducted at the Institute of Geography at the Russian Academy of Sciences shows that changes in the global climate that took place during the 20th century were due to natural causes. The Earth’s system continues to operate according to its natural laws and human society should consider the current global warming as a natural occurrence and not one caused by human activity.

My Comment: Everything comes from Above. The world is managed from Above and does not at all depend on what we do here on Earth. Everything depends on the goal that we have to reach – complete harmony between ourselves and the Creator, and how far we are relative to this goal.

We can influence the higher Management of this world only through the intention to become like It. In fact, everything that we perceive as negative events, forces or situations is part of the essence that motivates us internally and externally toward the attainment of the integral force of Nature.

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