News Report (from Safe Haven): Has the bear market run its course? Is a new bull market on the horizon? … just as none of the previous “bottoms” since January were THE bottom, I see no evidence at this time to say that the November bottom has marked THE bottom …we are now dealing with K-wave winter and I want to again remind you of the signs that occur in this season.

• “Bankruptcies Accelerate and High Debt Eliminated by Bankruptcy” – This has obviously begun and is no doubt related to the housing and credit bubbles.
• “Social Upheaval and Society Becomes Negative” – We are only just beginning to see this.
• “Banking System Shaken and New One Introduced” – The banking system is now only beginning to be shaken. There should be much more to come.
• “Free Market System Blamed and Socialist Solutions Offered” – This has not yet happened, but just wait.
• “National Fascist Political Tendencies” – More to come.
• “Debt Level Very Low After Defaults and Bankruptcy” – This has not happened.
• “Trade Conflicts Worsen” – This basically has not happened.
• “View of the Future at a Low Ebb” – This has not happened as everyone seems to be looking for the bottom.
• “New Work Ethics Develop Since Jobs are Scarce” – If I can assure you of one thing, it is that this has not happened.
• “Greed is Purged from the System” – I can absolutely assure you that this has not happened yet.
• “Real Estate Prices Find Bottom” – This has not happened.
• “Investors are Very Conservative and Risk Averse” – Again, this has absolutely not occurred.
• “Interest Rates and Prices Bottom” – Not happened.
• “A New Economy Begins to Emerge” – Has not happened.
• “Stock Markets Reach Bottom and Begin New Bull Markets” – We aren’t there yet and I view any relief rallies from these oversold levels merely as intermission.

My Comment: These are the conclusions of an economist, but a Kabbalist’s conclusions are even more critical: in order for the crisis to end, man must correct it. The crisis is a disease called egoism. In order to overcome it, we have to cure or correct egoism, transforming it to bestowal and love (absolute altruism). We should at least begin correcting it, at least begin to realize the necessity of doing so, or at least be willing to hear about this possibility.  Even if we do just this much, the world will already start shifting from the crisis toward prosperity.

Over the course of the crisis we may encounter periods when it will seem as though the crisis is over, and we will begin to seek new egoistic ascents in various areas of our life. After all, the crisis is multifaceted and envelops all areas of our lives. The media has long been speaking of crises in science, education, family, and so on.

Our situation is similar to the Egyptian plagues, which were followed by periods when it seemed that all the bad things were over, whereas in reality those periods were only a preparation for the next blow. Eventually, Nature will force us to become an integral part of it and to function by the law of optimal consumption and absolute unity, according to the rule, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” However, this won’t be done forcefully, like in the Soviet experiment, but consciously. It is precisely by realizing this that we will reach the bottom of the crisis.

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Two questions I received on finding the truth:

Question: I have a friend who started studying Kabbalah with Bnei Baruch but left because you are a liar (at least that’s what he says). Personally I think he’s accusing of this because sometimes you say contradictory things. However, later I realize that I misunderstood you or that you were just explaining something very succinctly. Yet your opinion is still unclear on many things.

Sometimes you say one thing, and then you contradict yourself, and I can understand how my friend – who is interested in Kabbalah and understands that there is much truth in it – finds it difficult to study with you. I don’t even know what to tell him. I will be glad to hear your answer.

My Answer: I won’t try to defend myself. Listen to the explanations by my teacher, Rabash (all the recordings of his lessons are available online), and check: how do you understand him? Don’t listen to me, but read the original articles by Baal HaSulam (which is what we study), and instead of my explanations, try to understand them on your own.

A person should choose a teacher that suits his personality, goal, and so on, as it is written, “Let a person study where his heart feels joy.” Why is it possible for different places of study to exist? It’s because as long as a person’s desire for the Upper Goal hasn’t formed inside him, he feels drawn to this goal in different ways: by withdrawing from the world, through religions, “spiritual” practices, diets, omens, and so on. We cannot interfere with this, because one has to go through the search for the truth on his own.

So it’s possible that your friend is still at this stage of searching. For example, some people who come to study with me are just “passing by” and they later turn to religion.

I explain things to the extent of my knowledge, attainment, and ability to express what I feel and realize (in the heart and mind). Your accusations are sincere, and they should emerge in a student as he studies Kabbalah, because everything is built through combining two things that are incompatible: egoism and the Creator. Perhaps you still have to sort things out, and possibly look for a different place of study. But one way or another, the truth will become revealed.

Question: How do we make “sure” that the Kabbalah teachings we receive are truly Kabbalah? Since it’s a very high level of knowledge, how can the clueless make sure he is receiving true Kabbalah, and not “mysticism”? How can someone who does not know Kabbalah filter the teachings to make sure he is on the right path?

My Answer: Don’t believe anyone! Regardless of what anyone might say, he could be a liar. And the more eloquent and persuasive he is, the greater liar (or actor) he could be.

It’s also possible that a good, honest person is speaking from the bottom of his heart, but he is simply mistaken. So who can you believe? No one! Everything was arranged this way in our world on purpose, to enable a person to shape himself by searching for the truth. One does it precisely through doubts, without any foundation, belief, or hope placed in someone else. It’s like he hangs over a cliff, not knowing how to take the next step.

You are the only one who can find the truth. But if you believe what someone else says, then you won’t be realizing yourself and will remain a puppet. Hence, the lack of confidence and the total disorientation will force your egoism to turn to the Creator. This is how He entices us to Him!

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News Report (from BBC News): The report from [the UK’s] government advisor Sir Jim Rose … calls for children to learn more about well-being, happiness and healthy living. … Sir Jim proposes a greater emphasis on life skills, including making lessons about emotional well-being and social skills a compulsory part of the curriculum.

My Comment: Not one modern education system works to create a human being out of a child. Parents and teachers don’t even understand that it’s necessary to work this way with a growing person. If a child were abandoned in the woods, he would remain an animal. Likewise, if we simply stuff him with knowledge, he becomes a miserable robot.

Upbringing means teaching a child the method to become a human being. In Hebrew, a human being is Adam, originating from the word Domeh – similar to the Creator. It is written that Adam was created in the Creator’s image and likeness, and then he sinned and fell, acquiring egoism and becoming opposite to the Creator. Now man must find the path of correction on his own and attain his initial similarity to the Creator – the quality of bestowal and love, the only quality of the Creator.

A question I received: My question is about the need for a regular education. We study with our son at home because we are completely dissatisfied with the approach of the schools. But maybe it would be better for our son not to study at all and to develop spontaneously? And later, when he reaches high school age, he can decide what academic field he wants to go into?

My Answer: It’s necessary to give a child information about our world and whatever basics he needs in order to learn the profession he will later choose. The Torah states, “One who doesn’t teach his son a trade turns him into a bandit or thief.” And in addition, it’s necessary to work with him on his inner development, to shape him into a human being.

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Two questions I received on work with spiritual descents:

Question: Sometimes I get this horrible feeling that everything I have in this life (my job, family, health, the world I live in) is about to collapse, and this feeling changes my outlook on life. How do we use such states?

My Answer: You should begin to understand that the birth of a new state occurs only through this path of “descents and ascents.”

Question: What is the meaning of “falling in order to rise”? If a person suddenly starts doing things he would never have done before, is this a descent?

My Answer: If this person studied Kabbalah in his free time, then this is a case of an increased egoism. It is written, “If one is higher than others, his egoism is greater than theirs.” This is talking about “falling in order to rise.” This is the correct process of revealing our nature! The benefit of this is that one needs an enormous desire in order to attain the Creator, and this is how such a desire gets created. This period will pass and be followed by a spiritual ascent. It will then be replaced by another descent, and so on – all the way until the full correction, the highest degree.

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A question I received: What is “the evil eye”?

My Answer: When I look at others, my egoism evokes feelings of envy, hatred, and a desire for power. I don’t wish others well, or at least I don’t want them to do better than me. If I wish them well and want them to succeed, then it’s only in order for everyone to see that I’m even more successful.

Since we’re all interconnected, this “evil eye,” or this desire, influences others. Our life is a proof of that. This is what my teacher Rabash explained. Our desires work for us or against us, since we’re connected in a single system. Our desires “wander” inside this system, and we can’t escape our influence on everyone and their influence on us. Our thoughts about one another and about the world as a whole have produced our mutilated world and our sick society. We are the cause of all our suffering.

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A question I received: You used to say that Kabbalah is only for those who want to listen and study, for those who aspire to reveal the Creator. But now you say that everyone has to hear about it, even if they don’t aspire to the same thing. Why this change of opinion? Do you think that because of the global financial crisis, we now have to involve even those who couldn’t care less about Kabbalah, or about anything at all but their earthly, egoistic desires?

My Answer: I don’t think anything myself. This is what Baal HaSulam wrote, and I am just following his instructions as much as possible. I am certain that only this knowledge can benefit the world. And if someone disagrees, I don’t take their opinion into consideration! How can I consider the opinions of people who can’t see beyond their egoism, don’t understand the world’s governance, and don’t feel the Creator and His actions? If you have the remedy for a dying patient, how can you just stand by and not hand it to him?

In your opinion, who should people listen to if not the Kabbalists? The global nature of the crisis indicates that everyone must know about the reason for their suffering. This is exactly why Kabbalah is now being revealed. See the articles “Time to Act,” “Messiah’s Horn,” and others.

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News Report (from asahi.com): A 15-year study in Akita Prefecture has found … that men who said they had something to live for ran a 38 percent lower risk of dying than men who did not. Moreover, the risk of dying of a stroke was as much as 72 percent lower for those with something to live for. … The results suggest that finding a purpose and joy in life may override the purported risk of suffering a stroke due to stress, the team said. It added that it did not know yet why there is such a difference.

My Comment: When there is a goal shining for you from afar, it fulfills, energizes and revives you. However, all our goals gradually become worthless – with the exception of the spiritual, Upper Goal. Therefore, studying Kabbalah is beneficial, even for your health!

News Report (translated from expert.ru): “Sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock” Goods are disappearing from the distribution facilities. This is happening because banks are not giving loans to the suppliers and manufacturers. Because banks are limiting the credit lines, everyone is left without resources. Meantime, the suppliers are demanding payment prior to shipment.

My Comment: The only thing that will enable us to understand how to arrange our lives in the new, united world is the knowledge about the global interaction, knowledge of the laws of this closed system. Kabbalah provides this explanation. Only this wisdom can give people the energy to unite (Ohr Makif) in spite of every person’s individual egoism.

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Excerpt from Rabash’s article “About Love of Friends – 1” (Essay 3, 1984):

We are all parts of one whole, but our egoism divides it into separate, disconnected fragments. By desiring to restore this mosaic, I connect with all those who also seek unity, and with our efforts we draw onto ourselves the force that operates in the whole. This force corrects us and bonds us together. In doing this we become similar to Nature.

When we are inside a group of people who aspire to unite, we have to express a warm attitude toward our friends, even if we don’t actually feel it. We are playing against each other, and together we are playing against our egoism. We have to do everything possible to confuse our egoism and conquer it. A game is not a deceit, but a serious affair that enables us to develop.

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A question I received: In the article, “Building the Future Society,” in item 18 of section 3, “Principles of the Future Society,” Baal HaSulam lists three fundamental principles of disseminating Kabbalah in the world:

1. Satisfaction of Desires; 2. Proof; 3. Circulation.

From your lessons I’ve understood that in our time of an escalating crisis, the method of “Proof” is the most suitable. But what is your opinion about the method of “circulation” (agitation and propaganda)? Is it necessary in order to accelerate the dissemination of Kabbalah?

My Answer: When we’re dealing with a patient who has a deadly illness, we use any means possible to save him. Similarly, if we are in a situation that threatens the world’s existence, we must use any means possible to prevent the suffering, ruin and death. However, in our case, circulation (agitation and propaganda, as you put it) must be a non-coercive explanation of the fact that we won’t survive without using the method of Kabbalah. The dissemination of Kabbalah must be general, directed at everyone rather than at specific individuals. We cannot try to scare people into it, because in order for a person to correct himself, he must gain an awareness of the reality.

The correction of one’s egoism (one’s nature) is the only truly conscious act a person can make in this world, because he does it through understanding and comparing this world with the spiritual world! All other actions are made only from one’s understanding of the egoistic world and false gain, where one is entirely controlled by one’s egoism, like a puppet.

Hence, it is written about people who haven’t yet begun analyzing their nature and comparing it with the Upper Nature: “They are all like beasts.” It’s because “Man” (Adam) means “To be similar to the Creator.” It is also written, “Let us make man in our image and likeness” – from the beginning. After this man’s ruin (the downfall of sin) occurred, and this is what we must correct.

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A question I received: I had an interesting thought: maybe the reason for the current crisis isn’t that egoism is growing, but the opposite: that egoism has stopped growing, has ceased developing? When humanity’s egoism was growing, humanity constantly adopted new levels of social development. But now it resembles a horse that can’t pull anymore – it has stopped and is beginning to eat all the grass around it. And when that grass runs out, the horse will die.

Or the horse will have to find the strength to go on. If this is so, then it would be more correct not to cure people of the egoism that they already have, but on the contrary, to stimulate their egoism to grow to a new level, to reach a new level of desires. And we can do this by telling them about all the wonderful things that await them at the next stage.

My Answer: This is exactly what Kabbalah does: It doesn’t scare people with what’s happening in the present, but shows them the reason for the crisis in order to tear them away from making pointless efforts to “bring the dead back to life” using the old methods. In order to tear people away from egoism, it tells them about the evil in it; but then, in order to draw them forward, for them to desire something higher and better, it draws them to the study, which speaks only about the higher and better world.

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