Questions I received on the connection between root and branch:

Question: I heard that there is no connection between spirituality and our personalities or physical qualities. On the other hand, there is a notion of root and branch, which says that every thing, object and quality in our world has a connection to its root. There seems to be a contradiction here. Doesn’t this mean that physical properties and personality are set according to spiritual roots?

My Answer: Of course there is a connection, and it’s direct: the root determines the result, such as one’s personality, habits, inclinations, and so on. However, the result does not undergo change because in our world it is impossible for any qualitative changes to occur. The only thing that’s always changing – even if we don’t realize it – is the soul, which strives toward the root and belongs to the Upper World.

Generally speaking, everything revolves around the soul. Because we don’t perceive the soul, we don’t understand the flow of life, since everything taking place has only one purpose – the soul’s correction.

Question: According to the law of root and branch, can a smaller one influence a bigger one, like in the example of the guest and the host?

My Answer: This is exactly what the Creator is waiting for us to do – to take control over the universe and thereby attain Him, become like Him, and reach adhesion with Him. Then there won’t be any difference between Him and us (by “us” I mean the common soul that’s absolutely united into one whole)!

During the process of correction, on the way to the final state (adulthood, Gadlut), we are like children, and all of the Creator’s actions revolve only around us – not us in the physical sense, but only our souls. We have to remember this, and if we wish to understand Him, we have to stop thinking about bodies (that is, about the excess things besides what’s necessary for the body to exist) and start identifying ourselves with the soul. We should perceive the body as temporary, something we were given during the period when we’re not fully corrected yet and are separated from the soul.

Question: Is there a spiritual root of good and evil? If yes, then what is it?

My Answer: The root of everything in existence is the one, unique Creator, the single force that governs everything. However, we perceive this force dually, depending on whether we are with it or against it.

For more on this, read the articles “Thou Hast Hemmed Me in Behind and Before,” “There Is None Else Besides Him,” the letter from page 70, and watch the lessons that I gave on these articles during the 2008 Odessa congress (see the Related Material below).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: We Raise the Entire Universe Up to the Creator
Shamati 240: Inquire Your Inquirers When They Inquire Your Face
Basic Concepts in Kabbalah: Chapter 8: The Language of Kabbalah
Odessa Congress – Lesson 1
Odessa Congress – Lesson 2
Odessa Congress – Lesson 3
Odessa Congress – Lesson 4
Odessa Congress – Lesson 5
Odessa Congress – Lesson 1
Odessa Congress – Lesson 2
Odessa Congress – Lesson 3
Odessa Congress – Lesson 4
Odessa Congress – Lesson 5

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Last weekend our friends in Mexico held a dissemination event where they gave out the newspaper La Voz de la Cabalá (The Voice of Kabbalah) at a very popular tourist site – the city of Valle de Bravo, 150 km from Mexico City. They disseminated about 1000 newspapers in two hours. For several years now our groups in Latin America have been setting an example in study, unity and dissemination!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Dissemination in Mexico
Live Kabbalah Classes in Spanish

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There are only 6 days left until the end of the huge internet dissemination project, Shana Tova (Happy New Year). Our internet department is asking you to help us reach 1,000,000 video clip views. Please view the following ten clips, and wait for each one to finish playing.

Don’t miss this opportunity to participate in Kabbalah dissemination in the world!

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A question I received: In a previous blog entry you wrote, “Everything relating to the body’s desires (such as food, sex, and family) that exceeds the normal needs, is superfluous. Hence it is harmful for the body and the soul, as well as for all of the surrounding nature, and it makes man imbalanced with nature. These excesses usually appear under the influence of society. Besides the bodily desires, there are additional desires that emerge in man because he lives in society. If he lived alone in the woods, then these desires would never emerge in him. There are the desires for wealth, fame, power, and knowledge.”

But what about man’s desire for beauty and the arts? Is spending time on the arts also harmful? And if there is nothing spiritual in this world, then how do you explain the masterpieces of art?

My Answer: Everything man creates in our world comes from his desires, whether physical (food, sex, and family) or social (wealth, glory, power, and knowledge). All art was brought about by man’s desire to express himself, or in other words, by the desire for glory, to stand out, to prove something (even if it’s to himself), to express his way of seeing things, and so on.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Irrelevant New Findings about the Arc of the Covenant
Laitman.com Post: Symbiotic Art Exhibit Portrays the Need for Responsibility Toward Life
Laitman.com Post: A Kabbalah Museum – Can There Be Such a Thing?

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News Report (translated from smi.marketgid.com): “Polish priest proves the existence of G-d.” 72-year old priest and mathematician Michael Heller has been awarded the world’s largest scientific prize for his work that indirectly proves the existence of G-d. Father Heller’s theories not only contain a proof of G-d’s existence, but also cast doubt on the existence of the corporeal world around us.

Father Heller has developed a complex formula that is able to explain everything, even randomness, through mathematical calculations. Previously, German researchers conducted a series of mathematical calculations showing that the probability of God’s existence is 62%.

My Answer: As usual, the mass media presents inaccurate information due to insufficient understanding of the subject: a theory cannot serve as proof. Proof can come only from a clear sensation, as well as the ability to repeat this sensation and to compare it with what others perceive. In other words, it must abide by the rule, “A judge has no more than what his eyes can see.”

Only the wisdom of Kabbalah enables man to reveal the Upper World or the Creator with such clarity. That’s because Kabbalah creates new qualities in man that are equal to Creator’s qualities, and then one perceives the Creator inside these qualities, according to the law of equivalence of form.

Everything else is like playing hide-and-seek in a dark room – instead of relying on clear sensations, people play around with numbers and philosophize using the earthly logic.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Will God Want to Repeat the Act of Creation?
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah and the Earthly Sciences
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Laitman.com Post: In the News: The Biggest Physics Experiment to Date, a Black Hole, and the End of the World

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There are only 7 days left until the end of a huge internet dissemination project, Shana Tova! (Happy New Year). Let’s pool our efforts to reach the biggest ever number of video clip views – 1,000,000.

Please watch all the video clips below and let every video finish playing. Don’t miss this chance to disseminate Kabbalah in the world!

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Related Material:
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Laitman.com Post: Announcement from Bnei Baruch Management
Introduction to Kabbalah Dissemination

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A question I received: Apparently Rav Baruch Ashlag (Rabash) wrote many books, including commentaries to the Talmud Eser Sefirot, to the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” to the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot” and others. What do you think about these books, and why don’t you disseminate them?

My Answer: Rabash only wrote his notes (Dargot HaSulam – the archive he left to me, which I published), articles (Shlavey HaSulam, which are articles written by his students), and letters (Igrot Rabash). In addition, it’s possible that some people have additional letters that were addressed to them. However, none of Rabash’s compositions were published during his lifetime! I was next to Rabash for twelve years as a secretary, assistant, student, treasurer and archive manager, and I can assure you that he did not write anything else.

When I started studying with him, I persuaded him to let me record his lessons. As a result, we now have over a thousand audio cassettes of his lessons. I made copies of all the cassettes and gave them to all his students. One of them edits and publishes these recordings, presenting them as the works of Rabash. Personally I believe that we have no right to pass off for original material something that was recorded while he spoke, then subsequently copied and edited into written form. Incidentally, this prohibition is a law in the Torah, and it applies to things that were not personally written. Moreover, there are many changes and additions due to the editing, and I think they distort Rabash’s explanations. Many of Rabash’s students agree with me on this. Hence, I recommend that you to listen to his voice – his audio lessons in the original, for example, the ones on this website – (it’s not affiliated with me or Bnei Baruch): http://ashlagbaroch.org/

Related Material:
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Laitman.com Post: Practical Advice by Rabash
The Path of Kabbalah: Chapter 2.10 – “The Sensation of the Light”

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Questions I received on family, relationships and Kabbalah:

Question: Can your wife who studies Kabbalah be your friend? Can you attain the Creator with her? If not, then what does “Man, Woman and Divinity between them” mean?

My Answer: She can! The real meaning of the phrase “Man, Woman and Divinity between them” is that the soul’s desires (the woman), together with the screen and the Reflected Light (the man), form a Kli (vessel). This is the condition for uniting with the Upper Light. The Light, the Creator, becomes revealed in their connection, called Zivug.

However, the same thing can be true in our world: when the husband studies, he automatically provides spiritual support to his corporeal wife, even if she doesn’t study on her own. And if she desires it, then he is obligated to study with her. Then they will advance together. Rabash used to speak about this to his students, advising them to read his articles to their wives.

Question: Can man a learn to be truly faithful to his wife through self correction and attainment of spirituality?

My Answer: This is not Kabbalah’s objective. Nevertheless, a person changes as he gradually goes through the corrections.

Question: I’ve been single for three years. When I try to date someone, the relationship ends because I am excessively focused on the world of Kabbalah. What is the Creator trying to tell me?

My Answer: Finding a partner means finding someone similar to you – someone who is also focused on spiritual life and the spiritual goal. Please contact our dating department.

Question: You say that a man must be married to study Kabbalah effectively. What about someone who can’t create a family due to being born with a disability?

My Answer: If your disability prevents you from running a normal household with a woman, then this condition doesn’t apply to you. However, I find it practically impossible to imagine a case where it’s impossible to create a family.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: On the Men and Women Inside Us
Laitman.com Post: Men, Women, and the Soul’s Correction
Laitman.com Post: If He Loves You, He Won’t Come Between You and Kabbalah

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A question I received: I have been studying Kabbalah for two months. At first I felt filled to the brim by something good. But then the month of Ramadan started. I wouldn’t call myself religious, but for the past six years the one Islamic ritual I did observe is the Ramadan, where you fast for a full month.

This year I also started to fast on the first day of Ramadan, but horrible things started happening to me – my egoism started resisting it. My hatred of everyone, rage, and pain became so unbearable that I only lasted for five days, even though in prior years I had no problem observing the Ramadan fast from beginning to end. This time I didn’t just stop observing the fast on the fifth day, but also started feeling attracted to all kinds of “improper behavior” like alcohol, sex, and etc. I’m still studying Kabbalah, but I no longer feel inspired like before. What is happening to me?

My Answer: Kabbalah isn’t against religion as the cultural tradition of a nation. Baal HaSulam writes that even after all the corrections are completed, every person can keep his religion, meaning his traditions. I also observe the traditions of my nation, but only as traditions.

A religious person, on the other hand, observes religious rituals because he believes that he will be rewarded for it. But when one studies Kabbalah, he begins to understand that he is rewarded only to the degree that he corrects his desires, and the reward comes as the Light of fulfillment – the revelation of the Creator to man. Hence, spirituality or the Creator bears no relation to any physical actions in our world.

The religions were invented by people who are inside their egoism, and hence they do not have any of the truth of the Upper World. Nevertheless, if you take on the responsibility of observing the customs of your nation, viewing them as traditions that you want to respect, then it won’t be difficult for you to observe the Ramadan as a custom. As we say in Israel:Tzom Kal – have an easy fast!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Everything Comes From Kabbalah
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah for Everybody
Laitman.com Post: My First Book In Arabic

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Questions I received on Kabbalah books and how to study them:

Question: Why do Kabbalists advise us to read The Book of Zohar even if we don’t understand or attain what is written there?

My Answer: You can find the answer to this in item 155 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

Question: Five years ago you started studying The Book of Zohar with us. When do you plan to resume teaching The Book of Zohar?

My Answer: We study it for about an hour every week – see the media archive.

Question: The books that help to correct us are the books of the Ari, Baal HaSulam, and Rabash. But I cannot read them yet, and I’m not sure if I will be able to in the future. Can’t I advance by reading your books?

My Answer: Of course, my books also contain the force of spiritual advancement, but the books of our Teachers – Baal HaSulam and Rabash, are more universal and their Light is more powerful. Nevertheless, I agree with you that my explanations are closer to you and easier to understand. My advice is to read the texts of our Teachers, and then study my explanations.

Baal HaSulam did the same thing – he based his teaching on the texts of The Book of Zohar by Rashbi and the texts of the Ari. He took these books as a basis and wrote his commentaries to them. This is also how I teach: first we read the original texts, and then I give my commentary on them.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Shamati – The Most Valuable Book In the World
Laitman.com Post: The Collected Works of Rabash and the Talmud Eser Sefirot
Laitman.com Post: Correction Depends Only On Desire, Not Knowledge
Kabbalah Today Article: Rabbi Simon Bar-Yochai
Kabbalah Bookstore

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