A question I received: There’s one problem I must resolve before I can start studying Kabbalah. I would really appreciate an honest answer from you, and I hope that my question won’t annoy you.

What is the connection between Kabbalah and Annunaki? If Kabbalah can “turn off” your ego, then what forces will take you over afterward? Before I start “turning off” my ego, how can I make sure that Kabbalah does not take advantage and seek control over people who aspire for greater self-awareness?

My answer: I am not familiar with Annunaki, but this teaching is not connected to Kabbalah in any way. A person who studies Kabbalah does not “turn off” his ego, and he is always able to control the situation. One also doesn’t turn off one’s mind or desires, but on the contrary – they grow together with one’s ego. In Kabbalah, one learns how to control his mind and desires, and to this extent, they grow.

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Questions I received on the perception of reality:

Question: In the “Introduction to the Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Baal HaSulam says, “All the worlds, both Upper and lower, are inside man.” Does the authentic meaning of these words mean that the entire reality takes place only in our imagination and is perceived through our senses (vessels of attainment)?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: If so, are physical bodies even real?

My Answer: “Real” is what I perceive.

Question: But we always learned that throughout all of its stages the soul is inside the insignificant physical body.

My Answer: I never taught this. Maybe I was talking about the soul’s body (not the physical body) – the Partzuf or Kli, and the soul is the Light inside it.

Question: If we accept this, then doesn’t it mean that everything around us (including our friends and family) doesn’t actually exist, but is just a figment of our imagination?

My Answer: Yes. However, instead of imagining things, we have to attain the state where we will perceive everything outside us as being inside.

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Questions I received from students who are starting out on the spiritual path:

Question: The way I see things now, I am not sure of anything: I don’t know what the truth is, whether the Rav is real, whether I am on the right path, whether I understand the books correctly, and if I have fallen beneath reason. There are things that I have to accept without knowledge, yet still be critical of them. However, my mind is limited, and hence my criticism is also limited. The way things are going, I might as well be using red strings or thinking that there are “souls” on a plate of food that I eat (“correct”). Is there some basic rule of thumb that I should accept, and then use it to discern the true direction, instead of remaining a puppet that’s controlled all the time?

My Answer: You should only accept the Kabbalists’ advice to study in a group, and wait for the Upper Light to make everything clear to you. I think that by fully participating, you will attain results in four to six months.

Question: I like downloading your lessons and playing them in the background while doing something else, for example, playing computer games. But later I start feeling guilty and thinking that I should either be serious about studying Kabbalah and dedicate all of my time and attention to it, or quit deceiving myself and stop studying altogether, because there’s no use studying the way I do. What do you think?

My Answer: Even this kind of study of Kabbalah is beneficial. However, soon you will decide that it’s time to leave the games behind and start paying more attention to the lessons.

Question (from a German student): I study Kabbalah and I would like to move ahead, but this is very difficult when studying alone. I am not Jewish, I don’t speak Hebrew, and I don’t know who to turn to. I am skeptical about the Kabbalah “experts” who have sprung up everywhere all of a sudden. Maybe I am just being too cautious and not trusting enough? Where can I get certainty about my path? Are there groups or individuals who help people like me find their way?

My Answer: Our German and Austrian groups, our online classes, and our entire archive are ready to help you immediately and at no cost!

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A question I received: I would really appreciate it if you would explain the following quote from Baal HaSulam’s article, “The Freedom”:

“Whereas if there is no such spark in man, but all the sparks of his essence are dressed in bestowal of contentment to their maker, then it is neither absent nor dead. For even when the body nullifies, it only nullifies from the aspect of reception for self gratification, in which the will to receive is dressed, and has no right to exist but through it.”

I don’t understand – how is it possible that when this body dies (which you said is perceived as changing one’s shirt), the desire to bestow does not die with it? When I die, then even if I will still have the desire to bestow, I won’t be able to bestow anymore – I won’t be able to realize my desire!

Or suppose that instead of dying, I survived a car accident or a serious disease, but I lost my limbs and had brain damage; then even though I am still alive, I will not be able to bestow! Without a body you can’t bestow to your friends or participate in dissemination. So how does one’s desire continue to exist and be realized if the body no longer exists?

My Answer: Here’s an explanation of Baal HaSulam’s quote that you cited: “Whereas if there is no such spark in man, but all the sparks of his essence are dressed in bestowal of contentment to their maker, then it is neither absent nor dead. For even when the body (egoism) nullifies, it only nullifies from the aspect of reception (the desire) for self gratification, in which the will to receive is dressed, and has no right to exist but through it.”

The desires remain. What changes is their intention or “clothing.” We live inside these desires, and we also perceive our body, or its presence, inside a certain desire, which becomes revealed in our “I” for a period of time (our life), and then decreases and disappears. This is what gives us the feeling of life and the gradual death of the body.

Read the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar ” and you’ll see what Kabbalah means when it says:

• The death of the body – the death of the egoistic intention
• The revival of a body – the birth of the altruistic intention

We only perceive our animate body until we correct our entire soul; that is to say, until we correct all our desires from “for myself” to “for others, for the Creator.” Then the perception of the body will disappear, because the desire in which we perceive this body will be corrected into bestowal, and it will become eternal because it helped us correct all the other desires.

Take this as a foundation: There is only the Light and the desire, and you feel everything (this world or the world to come) inside the desire. Everything depends on the desires – their size, quality, and similarity to the Light.

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Filed under: Spirituality - 1 Comment →

Questions I received on women’s spiritual advancement:

Question: Dear Rav, I have a practical question. How do a woman’s Reshimot differ from a man’s? Or is it more that she endures the states of her man in the Hisaron (lack)?

My Answer: A woman is the desire, and a man is the correction of the desire, the intention of bestowal. In our world, a woman waits for a man to do something, such as to marry her, and her part in this is relatively passive.

This comes from the spiritual roots: When the soul acquires the intention of bestowal, it is called a man, whereas a soul that’s unable to bestow is called a woman. The parts of the Kli or soul are also called male and female for the same reason.

So, without paying attention to your gender in this world, start being a man – that is, actively participate in your private correction and humanity’s common correction! Otherwise, regardless of your gender in this world, you are a woman.

On the other hand, a woman’s desire is very strong and steady. Hence, one has to be a strong woman on the inside (have a strong desire), and a strong man on the outside (have a strong intention).

“A woman never has enough clothes” – this reflects the soul’s correct desire for correction, an aspiration for beautiful clothing – the Light of Hassadim, which reveals the woman’s (the desire’s) beauty. In other words, the Light of Hochma is revealed in the Light of Hassadim.

Question: What should a woman do when she studies Kabbalah together with her husband?

My Answer: Study separately just like everyone else, and study together with your husband for at least fifteen minutes a day.

Question: How should a woman act toward the other men in the group?

My Answer: The group bears no relation to her!

Question: What should she do to help the group advance?

My Answer: Help disseminate in every way possible together with other women, and study.

Question: What should a woman’s attitude be to the men’s and women’s Kli in the group?

My Answer: All the women together are helping the men and studying – whether on their own, together, or with their husbands. Women don’t have a group, but they unite in order to combine their efforts in dissemination, to help one another, and to study. In other words, they can unite in every way other than to implement the principle “love thy neighbor” among them.

Question: Recently I heard that women should not watch the second part of the morning lesson (the Talmud Eser Sefirot) in real time, because there is a chance that their female essence may change.

My Answer: Nonsense. A woman does not have to study Talmud Eser Sefirot, but she’s not forbidden from doing it!

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Questions I received on mental disorders and studying Kabbalah:

Question: I have been hospitalized in psychiatric clinics many times, and I am still taking medication. Can I study Kabbalah, and if yes, under what conditions? Will I be able to join the Bnei Baruch group?

My Answer: You can study Kabbalah only under the condition that your mental state is completely stabilized, and you are absolutely certain that the medication is keeping you “normal.” If this is the case, then you can study Kabbalah, but in limited portions of time and material.

People are accepted into the Bnei Baruch group only after completing preliminary courses at “Campus Kabbalah.” We have had cases of people like you joining the group.

Question: Why can’t someone who is mentally ill, with Bi-Polar disorder, study Kabbalah?

My Answer: His existence in this world is his correction in this life cycle (Gilgul). Just like any other person with a mental disorder, he is correcting his soul with his sorrowful existence.

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Questions I received on the Surrounding Light:

Question: Is the Surrounding Light a force that always influences us even though we don’t know about it?

My Answer: The Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) influences us only when we evoke it.

Question: By studying Kabbalah, do we develop a sense that enables us to perceive the Surrounding Light’s influence?

My Answer: Yes, provided that one desires to acquire the property of bestowal.

Question: The Surrounding Light changes us so we will create an intention “for His sake”?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: Can we practice connecting with the Surrounding Light while thinking about our sensations of Kabbalah, or when having a conversation with someone who does not study it?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: Can Ohr Makif influence us all the time, if we are advancing along the process of correction?

My Answer: It influences us only when we evoke it.

Question: Does It influence us before the Machsom too, or only afterward?

My Answer: It can influence us at any time and place.

Question: Are the changes in one’s sensations and perception of reality a result of this force’s influence even before the Machsom?

My Answer: Yes – always.

Question: Does Ohr Makif lead us toward the goal whether we want it or not?

My Answer: Ohr Makif moves one toward one’s root to the extent one desires it.

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A question I received: If the purpose of your blog is to disseminate Kabbalah to the outside, wouldn’t it be better to give preference to questions from people who have little familiarity with the subject, and set aside your students’ questions?

My Answer: I answer everyone’s questions. But what ends up happening is that the answers that get published are responses to my students, because the beginners’ questions always repeat themselves, and I don’t answer the same question twice. When a person enters this blog, if he is really interested in the topic of the blog, then he should study it and look through all 550 previous posts.

Do you have another suggestion for how I should react to the constantly recurring questions? Maybe we should collect them and publish them on a separate page together with the answers, and then redirect people to that page?

I warmly welcome all beginners! After all, this blog is educational. Please give me suggestions on how to improve it. I thank you in advance!

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Filed under: Notices - 3 Comments →

A question I received: The Second Jewish Temple was built under circumstances of violent opposition — both from the external foes of the God of Israel and also from within the Jewish community in Jerusalem. Does not the building of the Third Temple (as soon as possible) surely speed the coming of the Messiah – God’s man who alone can bring about peace?

My Answer: It will not accelerate anything, but will only bring more harm. It’s because the nation must first be corrected on the spiritual level, as this is the meaning of building the Temple (the common soul, in which the Creator is revealed). We have to build the Temple inside us by attaining brotherly love, and inside this love we will attain the Creator (the presence of the Shechina), as it is written, “Prepare a place (the common desire) for Me and I will dwell among you.”

Only then can we build a symbol of the Temple in stone. The Messiah is not a person, but the force that pulls the entire humanity out of egoism. Baal HaSulam writes in the article “Messiah’s Horn” that the way to reveal the Messiah in the world is by disseminating Kabbalah among all the nations. And this is what we are trying to do.

It’s possible that the Messiah – the force and method of the souls’ correction, will be represented by a person – a Teacher who will enlighten and lead by example.

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Two questions I received on the Olympics:

Question: Do the Chinese participants of the Olympics have an advantage because millions of people are thinking about them and hoping that they will win?

My Answer: Yes. People’s thoughts influence each other because we are a single system of souls. We are only disconnected from each other in our imagination! Hence there is more than just psychological influence when you have millions of fans present as well as the feeling of being at home – in addition you are also influenced by any number of people who are merely thinking about you.

Question: How does the wisdom of Kabbalah relate to sports and body culture, with regard to how it’s expressed in the Olympics?

My Answer: Sports should exist for the sake of interaction between people, rather than competition between them. Since people do the latter, sports has become political, economical, and physically harmful. The intentions of the players should be similar to a game of “giveaway checkers” (where the objective is to give in) – every person should feel like he’s the host who welcomes the guests and wants to please them. One way to express this on the outside is through athletic games. Right now we find it difficult even to imagine such a scenario – a contest for the sake of bestowal, friendship, and union with the “opponent.”

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