Questions I received on how work combines with Kabbalah:

Question: Many people who study Kabbalah have a job that is not in harmony with the laws of nature, and on the global scale this type of work is leading the world to a global crisis. I am talking about any kind of work, from being a miner to an astronaut, which is meant to satisfy human egoism.

Kabbalah tells us to exist in harmony with nature and to take only as much as we need from it. But coal, oil, the cosmos, vehicles, and thousands of other areas we work in all disrupt the harmony of nature and the correct relationships.

What should the people working these jobs do if they also want to study Kabbalah? How can you study Kabbalah when you understand that what you do to make a living harms the system? Should we all change our jobs, and if yes,  what kind of a new job should we find?

My Answer: If your job doesn’t hurt anyone directly, then you can keep working there. Eventually, your circumstances will be changed from above according to your advancement into spirituality and the degree of your connection with the worldwide group.

Question: Can a person’s daily, professional activity help him to advance toward the Creator? How can a person change his profession (especially in midlife) so it will become an additional, efficient instrument for advancement (in addition to the books, the group, and the teacher)? Or would you say that a person’s job doesn’t matter, and one’s movement toward the Creator is independent from one’s day to day work?

My Answer: If your profession is not intended to hurt people (such as theft, and so on), then it doesn’t matter where you work. A person is judged according to what he does in his free time – the time he has left over from work and other responsibilities. He is judged by how efficiently he uses this time for his spiritual improvement.

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Preface to the Science of Kabbalah (“Pticha”). Items 6 – 9, summary:

6. The five phases of the desire’s development from the Creator to its completed form comprise all of creation. Subsequently the desire is divided into different parts, but each part also consists of all these parts (according to the principle of a holographic image).

The Worlds of Adam Kadmon and Atzilut are still not separated from the Creator through their qualities. Hence, when the soul ascends to these worlds from our world, it merges with the Creator.

7. In the World of Beria, just as in phase 2, the desire to bestow is manifested. Therefore, when the soul is there, it feels independent from the Creator. Nevertheless, this does not make it separate it from the Creator, because it desires to bestow just as He does.

8. In the World of Yetzira, just as in phase 3, the desire to receive is manifested. However, this desire is still insufficient to separate the soul from the Creator.

9. In the World of Assiya phase 4 is manifested – the fully developed desire, called “the body.” It is completely separated from the Creator and feels absolutely independent. The Light inside it is called Nefesh – still, because the desire has no movement of its own.

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Three questions I received on work in the group:

Question: You say: “Don’t connect through your bodies, but through the ‘points in the heart’ – you must feel that they are together.” How do we do this?

My Answer: The point in the heart is a Reshimo (reminiscence) from a past spiritual state. However, now it desires the Creator, spiritual fulfillment, egoistically. With the help of the group, you should try to connect these aspirations for the Creator, even if they are egoistic. Together with the group, you suppress all your other aspirations for this world. You exalt the Creator and belittle this world.

As a result, everyone starts to feel that it’s vitally import to reveal Him, and this will bring you to the goal. See Baal HaSulam’s Letter from p. 70, “I am Sick With Love.” It’s an egoistic aspiration, just like a man yearns to be united with the woman he loves! Nothing more is required of us, because the actual correction of our egoistic nature to equivalence with the Creator is done by the Upper Light (Ohr Makif) – see item 155 of “The Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.” It created us and only It can correct us! However, It’s waiting for our desire and readiness for this to happen.

Question: What is the difference between nullifying oneself before the Bnei Baruch group and nullifying oneself before other groups that have similar ideas of equality?

My Answer: The difference is the groups’ goal and the method of attaining it.

Question: What should we do when we meet the friends, but there’s no connection between the points in the heart and the meeting turns into a painful and boring pretense? Is this still considered an attempt at the mutual guarantee, unity, and overcoming the ego, or is it better not to even go to these meetings at all?

My Answer: It won’t happen by itself, you have to make efforts and work on it. We’re working against our ego, after all; this isn’t exactly “love at first sight.”

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A question I received: “A cell in the eye is more important than billions of cells in a finger. That is how much more important one organ is than another. The difference between the souls is the same: from the moment they came out of the general soul, the souls are completely unequal to each other. And we exist in this world the same way – there is no equality between us. However, in the process of self-correction, each one of us completes himself to attain the height of the Creator” (This is a quote from the Academic Course in Russian – Kabbalistic Anthropology, Lesson 3 – “The Spiritual Construction of Adam HaRishon“).

Does this mean that if my soul’s root is that of a simple worker, then I’ll always remain second-class? If the Creator made me this way, then is this forever, or for a long time?

My Answer: Every person who completes himself to reach the level of Creator, becomes absolutely equal to Him! You should go over the topic: “The opposite connection of the desire and the fulfillment” (Erech Hafuch Orot VeKelim). When one who originated from the lowest place acquires a screen and Reflected Light, he is elevated to Keter – the Creator, just like one who originated from a higher place. The difference lies in the work, and the reward depends on the effort. So it’s useless to just sit there and suffer – you have to work!

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A question I received: Listening to your latest lessons, I have come to the following conclusion:

According to Russia’s character and mentality, this country is a sensitive system, whereas the United States is the opposite – a logical system. Israel, according to its root, must regulate the balance between them. Then, with Israel as a connecting link, this system will bring harmony and prosperity to the world.

However, today we have the opposite situation: every country seeks to declare its exclusive superiority, pushing the world to the brink of war. If the two superpowers – with Israel’s participation – were to replace their mutual antagonism with mutual cooperation, they would bring the entire world to a new ascent.

Is this summary correct? If yes, then how can we aid this process? Is it realistic for politicians to unite on a higher level and avoid massive bloodshed?

Leonid Elizarov, PhD

My Answer: I agree with you. This is exactly the direction we are working in.

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Two questions I received about the future:

Question: I wish to pose a question in regard to technology and the construction of the Third Temple. Have you considered that the Third Temple could be considered the structure of the system in which the virtual connection could potentially provide a nullifying experience? Given the fractal technological benefits and endeavors such as the LHC provide, it is not difficult to recognize the wisdom of Kabbalah’s importance to our generation.

My Answer: Certainly, “The Temple” means the general union of all people’s aspirations for the Creator, for bestowal to the society and the Creator, and for love for one’s neighbor, rather than a physical building. In addition, it’s certain that one of the foundations for this will be a virtual connection of all the people in the world.

Question: Does every person have to study Kabbalah in order for a change to take place? And is it even possible that everyone will study Kabbalah?

My Answer: No, not everyone will have to study Kabbalah. Each person should study according to his desire.

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Two questions I received about Kabbalah study:

Question: Should I think about a question and about whether I should really ask it, before asking it for everyone to hear? My question can influence different people differently, both positively and negatively. Of course, the definitive point to any question is your answer, but still, can you explain this?

My Answer: You should try to answer your own questions. Even if your understanding is incorrect or you can’t find the answer, nonetheless your studies and the group will lead you forward. The attainment of the Upper Level does not depend on how much you know, but on how much you are influenced by the Upper Light.

Question: Is it possible for someone who’s been studying Kabbalah for five years not to have a point in the heart? Or does everyone studying Kabbalah have it?

My Answer: If a person studies because he desires to find the answer to the question about the meaning and purpose of life, then this question comes from the desire to attain the Creator – “the point in the heart.”

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Two questions I received on what will happen to the Internet during the crisis:

Question: In this great international crisis, plus everything that is apparently still in store for us, it is reasonable to assume that many different infrastructures will be affected, including the Internet. How do you think this will affect the role of the virtual group and our dissemination in the entire world, which happens primarily through the Internet?

My Answer: If we use the Internet correctly in order to correct the world, then it will remain, or be replaced by something even more suitable for this goal.

Question: Are you still working on materials to submit to the Google 10^100 project? At first everyone was excited about it and there was a lot of talk about it, but now it seems like everyone forgot about it. Will Bnei Baruch participate in it or not?

My Answer: We did what we could, and the rest does not depend on us. In the midst of it, the crisis struck. It looks like Google has forgotten about it, or perhaps something is still happening there, but since no one is contacting us, we are keeping quiet as well.

To be frank, I don’t believe that such undertakings have good intentions or integrity from the start, but I’m obligated to participate if there is an opportunity. In addition, working together on these projects helps us unite!

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A question I received: In considering the first commandment of fear of the Creator, do you know why the Kabbalists wrote the Niggun (melody) “Gesher Tzar Meod” (A Very Narrow Bridge) which suggests that the main thing is “not to fear”?

My Answer: The lyrics of this song are as follows: “Our entire world is like a narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be scared of anything!” It means that all the disturbances on one’s path come from the Creator, and one attains Him only by overcoming them.

As for fear, there are different kinds of fear:

1. Fear of this world, when one desires everything for himself, and the more the better, and so he won’t have to pay or be punished for it.”
2. Fear of the world to come, when one thinks, “I don’t want to go to hell, but to heaven, and to the best possible heaven.”
3. Fear of “Will I will be able to reach similarity to the Creator?” – for my own benefit.
4. Fear of “Will I will be able to attain bestowal to the Creator, without any thought of myself?” This is the real fear of the Creator. Everything else is fear for yourself.

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Questions I received on women’s spirituality:

Question: Does the word “man” used in Kabbalistic books also apply to women? For example, “if a man feels a Reshimo, then he’s worthy of attaining spirituality, of feeling the Upper World, and comprehending the reality” (this is a quote from the book Kabbalah for the Student, Introduction to Pticha).

My Answer: Without a doubt, all people – both men and women – must attain adhesion with the Creator. The only difference is that men must perform more corrections than women, according to the structure of their souls.

Question: I heard that you don’t approve of women studying at night. Is this true?

My Answer: Anyone can study whenever it’s convenient for him or her. However, since it’s necessary for the men to unite, the best and most effective time for them to study is together with us.

Question: A man’s egoism and difficulties are revealed in relation to the group. How, and in relation to whom, does a woman’s egoism become revealed?

My Answer: Her ego is revealed in relation to a man, or the men’s part of the group, in the sense that the men are the source of a woman’s spiritual advancement. By making efforts to advance spiritually, a woman realizes that she can only do so through the men’s part of the common group.

Question: You say that spirituality has no connection to our bodies. Then why is it important for us to dress modestly when we come to the Kabbalah center? Shouldn’t the men overcome their ego and stop looking at women as sexual objects, but as their equals in correcting the world?

My Answer: You have to help the men disseminate Kabbalah to the world, instead of showcasing yourself to them. This is why you’re permitted to come to the center! Do you want to be a person who’s of benefit to the world, or a “woman”? When you have to do work together with the men, it’s important that there be no difference among the participants.

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