Three questions I received on uniting with others:

Question: How does working on dissemination and being in a virtual group help me justify the Creator? What if I don’t do any work?

My Answer: The Creator doesn’t need you alone because His task is to bring all the souls to unity in the common soul of Adam. Without uniting with the others, you won’t be able to reveal the Creator. You simply won’t be able to find the right direction.

Question: How can I find my group? Who should I contact?

My Answer: Visit our site and go to the “Contact Us” section. Or see this interactive map to find a group in your region and its contact information.

Question: What will happen if we won’t be able to unite?

My Answer: That’s impossible because our unity was planned by nature from the beginning, and therefore it has to come true. We will be obliged to attain the complete interconnection with each other, to be as one – absolutely united in harmony and love, as befits any integral system. The only question is how much more suffering will we go through in order to realize that this is the only way out of the crisis.

The following two situations are possible:

1. Undesirable: People will see that there is no rational solution to the crisis and that everything is falling apart: unemployment, total devaluation of money, total destruction of the economic relations, paralysis of the entire industry, an end to basic services for the population and to the supply of the bare necessities – just like in Hollywood horror films about the future. Under the pressure of despair, fear of murder, massacres, and rebellions, the authorities will feel that they have lost all control over the situation and will start a war. They will think that this is a solution to the problem, a chance to control the situation, to mobilize people and resources. It doesn’t matter who will start the war, but all the governments will be in favor of it.

2. Desirable: It’s possible that we will be able to give a timely explanation, and in addition, people will also understand it through our thoughts that are “in the air,” that the state of crisis is pre-programmed, rational, and a desirable part of Nature’s (the Creator’s) plan, and that there is a way out of it. There’s a way to find freedom from all the limitations and emptiness of our world, to find an eternal and perfect life above our egoism, which is the only source of all the evil. Then, instead of perceiving the world “inside us, egoistically,” we will begin to perceive it through the qualities of bestowal and love “beyond us.” We will then feel the Upper World, the other part of our universe, which has been concealed from us until now because we desired to receive everything “into ourselves,” and therefore we did not know “where we are from,” “what we live for,” and “where we go when we leave this world.” We only perceived a part of our existence.

In any case, either after the wars or a peaceful transition, we will attain the quality of bestowal and love, the quality of the integral system where “all people are one family.” We will then become equivalent to the Creator through adhesion and equivalence of form with Him. This is the only eternal state because all other states are imperfect, leading to it.

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Three questions I received on women’s role in Kabbalah:

Question: What is the role of women within Kabbalah? I do not see women featured in this system, such as having the right to teach, apart from the children’s classes.

My Answer: A woman is the carrier of the aspiration for the Creator, whereas a man is the one who realizes this aspiration.

Question: When women are awakened spiritually, do they experience the same feelings as men?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: Do I have to meet my friends from the virtual group physically? I have been participating in dissemination every day for a year. My teachers say that the topics discussed in the meetings are very important, but I don’t feel that I need this. I connect with the group in my heart and in my thoughts, and I definitely continue to contribute whatever I can from behind the computer screen. Do I have to force myself to do something that my heart isn’t drawn to?

My Answer: You don’t have to force yourself because you are a woman. But if this question was coming from a man, he would have to participate physically any time there is an opportunity!

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A question I received: I don’t understand the views of this world according to Kabbalah. You say that Kabbalah is against asceticism, and you also said that a Kabbalist has the biggest ego and wants to swallow the entire world. But in the Talmud it says, “The way of the Torah is to eat bread with salt, drink water from a cup, sleep on the ground, lead a life of hardship and labour at learning Torah.”

I also read this quote in Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “When a person, by means of his studies, reaches the level at which he wants nothing but spiritual elevation and at which he accepts only the bare necessities of life in order to sustain his physical existence, not for pleasure’s sake, this is the first step of his ascent to the spiritual world“ (Talmud, Psachim).

So, I’m confused by all of this. How are we supposed to behave in this world? Can you give me a precise answer?

My Answer: Before falling from the spiritual level 2,000 years ago, people could sustain themselves on the spiritual level (in love and bestowal) through restrictions and studying Kabbalah (the authentic, inner Torah). This way they were able to oppose the egoism that constantly increased inside them.

However, after the people fell from the spiritual level of “love for thy neighbor” into “unfounded hatred,” the sages of the Talmud made a special correction (addition) in the Upper Governance, as Baal HaSulam writes in item 11 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot“.

Since then, only the “Light of the Torah” (Ohr Makif) can bring about a correction. This Light descends on a person who has gone through the proper preparation (in the group), during the study of Kabbalah with the right intention. It is written: “I created egoism and I created the Torah for its correction, because its Light returns one to the Source (to bestowal).”

Hence, only the correct kind of study will evoke the Light, which will make all the corrections and changes. So organize your studies – and relax!

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A question I received: What happens to a person who converts to Judaism? Does a Jewish soul really incarnate into a gentile if his intentions are sincere and he is fully aware of what he is doing?

My Answer:
1. You must differentiate between our earthly traditions and the spiritual actions. A person can do the physical actions on his own, but not the spiritual actions. No physical actions can correct the soul, or even any earthly, physical qualities of a person. The only thing that can correct a person is the Light that descends during the study of Kabbalah, when one learns about the corrected states and how to come closer to them. It is called “the Light of the Torah,” about which the Creator said: “I created egoism and the Torah for its correction, because the Light in the Torah returns egoism to the corrected state.”

2. The soul is a “part of the Creator in man” (Helek Eloka Mi Maal), or in other words, it is the quality of bestowal (love for one’s neighbor) that a person acquires, because this is the only quality that the Creator has (“Good and Does Good”). When one acquires this quality, one become Isra-El, which translates as “Directed toward the Creator.” Everyone else are gentiles (nations), meaning egoists, regardless of their physical origins and whether they were born Jewish or not.

We all came from Ancient Babylon and we must all attain correction. In the past this was achieved by a small part of the Babylonians, the group headed by Abraham, and they were called Isra-El – those who are directed toward the Creator. Today, everyone must do this.

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A question I received: When does the Surrounding Light influence me – only during the lesson or also during dissemination? (Considering that while I’m doing it I aspire to attain the Upper One through the unification with the group.)

My Answer: It influences you during the study, dissemination, and other group actions, depending on your intention to connect with everyone in order to reveal the Creator – the quality of bestowal and love. The Surrounding Light is the Light that will fill you on a higher level.

The fact is that you already exist in all of your future states. However, you don’t perceive it. You must attain these states yourself. By aspiring to them, you draw the influence of your future state upon you and it changes you, making you similar to it. Everything depends only on your desire, your aspiration to that future state.

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The Congress in St. Louis showed that America is really waking up. Americans have always considered themselves a nation of pioneers, a nation that discovers something new. And that is what’s going to happen: America is going to tell the whole world about Kabbalah, about the correction of the world and the attainment of its goal. But first, we have to tell America about Kabbalah. Our North American groups showed that they are ready to do so.

Here are some memorable moments from the St. Louis Congress:

[Show slideshow]

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1. The Light is the Creator. The Light is always the source of everything! In the beginning the Light created the creation, and hence creation is completely subject to the Light. If the Light were to disappear, then the creature would cease to exist. Every movement and change that takes place in the creation happens only under the influence of the Light.

Creation is lifeless and motionless when the Light influences it with the smallest possible force. If the Light shines stronger, then to this degree the creation undergoes a qualitative change, transforming from “still” to “vegetative,” where it starts to sense and perceive. And so on.

2. The Light is the Actor. The Light is always the source of everything! This is why it is written: “There is none else beside Him” and “The Creator is your shade.” You must “find” the Creator in every circumstance and definition, since He is the one who made this state happen.

3. I Control the Light! When you strive to change something in you, you must evoke the Light upon you, and It will change you. The Light can influence me and my Reshimot, and it will change me only in a way that brings me closer to the goal of creation. In other words, the only thing that I can ever do in my life is accelerate my spiritual development. Or, through my lack of desire to evoke the Light’s influence upon me, I can evoke the Light’s absence, and then I will experience all kinds of suffering – because the Light is life.

However, if my desires come from the Light, then I cannot exert a return influence on the Light with my desires. I must receive a desire for the goal from a source other than the Light, and then I will be able to influence the Light with this desire and evoke an additional influence of the Light on me, accelerating my path. This is why I am given the correct environment (the group), which is the only opportunity for me to evoke acceleration toward the goal.

4. The Woman’s Role. The group isn’t influenced physically, but through one’s desire. Hence, a woman who participates in the group’s work (by studying virtually and disseminating Kabbalah) and desires to receive the correct influence from the group, receives it and uses it to involuntarily turn to the Creator (the Light). With the exception of physically participating in communication with the friends and studying virtually, she does everything else just like a man and goes through the same states.

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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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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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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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