Entries in the 'kabbalist' Category

The Soul Is Ageless

Two questions I received on the spiritual advancement of children:

Question: If there are still 232 years left until the full correction, then why do we call our children “the children of the last generation”?

My Answer: Because the “last generation” starts from our generation on – it’s the generation of egoism’s correction and ascension to the Creator.

Question: Do children and youth go through the same degrees on the spiritual path as adults? If a child expresses worry about evil, what’s the right way to deal with this?

My Answer: The soul is ageless, and this is why Kabbalah can be taught to anyone and at any age. One must go through all the states. This is determined by the emergence of the Reshimot (the chain of informational data about each state). It’s because the soul must go through the same states it went through during its descent from above downward, but now it must go through them in the reverse order, ascending from below upwards.

However, the rate of one’s advancement through every state depends on the environment (the group), and can be virtually instant. The best remedy for all the “problems” along the way is communication with friends and watching our materials.

Related Materials:
Laitman.com Post: Interview with the Future
Laitman.com Post: To Be Born a Kabbalist
Laitman.com Post: Advice to Students: Study, Connect, Disseminate

The Turning Points of History

The Soul Is the Property of Bestowal, and Until We Develop It, We Remain AnimalsThree questions I received on the modern study method of Kabbalah:

Question: You wrote that the Mashiach Ben Yosef is the great Ari’s revelation of the modern method of correction, Kabbalah, in the 16th century. Can we make an analogy that the Mashiach Ben David is also a revelation – the one that was made by Baal HaSulam? Or will there be other revelations of the method that will be more complete and have a more powerful effect?

My Answer: In Article #102 of Shamati, Baal HaSulam writes the following about the Ari: “That is why the holy Ari, who was the Mashiach son of Yosef, was able to reveal so much wisdom, for he had the permission from ‘the revealed world.’”

As for the Mashiach Ben David, there are many mentions of him, but they all indicate something different and can only be understood through personal revelation, but I prefer to quote the primary source texts.

Question: What do you think about The Book of Bakhir?

My Answer: Baal HaSulam writes the following in the article “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two”: Ever since the teachings of the Ari were revealed in the world, all Kabbalists abandoned all other books and study only The Book of Zohar and the books of the Ari.”

Question: You said that 1995 was the starting point of the current events. What happened in 1995 that you are referring to?

My Answer: I felt this because suddenly, the students that started coming to study with me were different: They were serious, diligent, and persistent in their pursuit of the goal. Today they still make up the core of the worldwide Bnei Baruch group. Of course, there were also inner changes that are concealed from the average onlooker – a clearer revelation of new spiritual forces in the world.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Coming of the Messiah
Laitman.com Post: Worldwide Map of Bnei Baruch
Kabbalah Today Article: Isaac Luria – the Holy Ari (1534-1572)
Shamati #183: “The Discernment of the Messiah”

Kabbalah Is for Everyone


A question I received: I converted to Judaism five years ago after a lifetime of study and searching. In these past few years I have been awed by the Torah and its Pardes. Now, due to your lectures, I have fallen into a dangerous question. When Boreh Olam (the Creator) says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts,” and the wise men say that the Torah is the wisdom of Boreh Olam, i.e., his thoughts, does this mean that for the past few thousand years, the practicing Jew has got it all wrong, and in fact my search has brought me to the wrong place?

My Answer: Man was created egoistic from the very beginning. His thoughts are opposite to the Creator’s thoughts. The Kabbalistic group (Abraham’s students) was called “the people of Israel” because of their aspiration: Isra-El – straight to (similarity with) the Creator. This is how they lived until they fell from the spiritual level of “Love your neighbor as yourself” into egoism. This is called the destruction of the Temple.

Since then, this group has existed in exile from the spiritual level, in egoism and “unfounded hatred for each other.” Instead of attaining the Creator, He is concealed to them. Instead of direct communication with Him, there is religion. Instead of mutual deeds with the Creator (correction and adhesion), they perform mechanical “commandments” based on egoism (Mitzvot Anashim Melumeda – mechanical actions that are taught from childhood and are performed automatically).

No one is to blame for this condition of the nation – the downfall had to happen. But today (for nearly 100 years already), we are obliged to begin correcting ourselves and to thereby come out of exile. Those who oppose this are opponents of the nation, the world, and the Creator.

Besides this, you should just study Kabbalah. It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to. Kabbalah is for everyone!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Immerse Into the Waters of Bestowal, and You Will Become Pure
Kabbalah Today Article: Kabbalah Chronicles
Kabbalah Today Article: Inherit the Land
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Revelation of Godliness (Matan Torah)”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Exile and Redemption”

How Does a Kabbalist Organize His Day?

The Machsom Can Be Crossed Individually and as a GroupTwo questions I received on how to advance most effectively:

Question: Please tell us about your daily schedule and what kind of a daily schedule should a student of the Creator have in order to advance toward the goal most efficiently?

My Answer: Study in the morning before work for 1-3 hours. Devote all your free time to study, the group (physical or virtual), and dissemination of Kabbalah in the world (education). In general, you should learn and teach others about the world we live in, in order to accelerate the correction of our nature and to thereby become equivalent to the Creator.

Question: For now I don’t have a desire to fast. What is the purpose of fasting? Is it true that fasting is intended to keep me focused on the intention to bestow to the Creator?

My Answer: The restraint should happen in the area of expressing egoism toward others, and through the aspiration to devote all your free time to study and dissemination of the method of correcting man’s egoistic nature.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: It Takes Time, Effort and Experience to Reveal the Upper World
Laitman.com Post: The Rate of One’s Spiritual Development Depends On One’s Efforts
Laitman.com Post: Concentrate on Intentions, Not on Physical Actions

Report from the UK 2008 Congress


The Congress that is currently taking place in the UK is the first Kabbalistic Congress to take place after the revelation of humanity’s crisis. Just two months ago we held a Congress in Odessa on the Black Sea, and back then we still couldn’t speak about the future as explicitly as now, since now it is a definite requirement. We are entering the period that Kabbalah was intended for, the reason it was revealed to man, because its application can bring the world to the one and only goal, but through a completely different path – a path that is pleasant and swift, through realizing the law of Nature which states that “The global humankind must unite into one whole, according to the law of ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

This is against our nature, we hate it, it seems unrealistic, and is repulsive to us, but it is necessary because it is a law of nature. Hence, this state can be achieved either through great suffering, or by attracting the Upper Light upon us. Kabbalah is the method of attracting the Upper Light for our correction. So use this means, pass it on to others – and then all of humanity will gradually and easily shift to a different state that’s harmonious with Nature – the state of rest, confidence, and happiness.

Interview with the Future

There Are No Idols In KabbalahThe book Interview with the Future is based on Baal HaSulam’s original manuscripts in our archive that talk about our times and the generations of the future. Among these materials, Baal HaSulam’s newspaper “HaUma” (The Nation) was the first Kabbalistic newspaper in the world; he published it in 1940. (However, it was immediately shut down by the British authorities because of complaints from Kabbalah’s opponents.)

These materials are necessary for understanding the global crisis that’s taking place in the world today.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Will We Live In the Last Generation?
Laitman.com Post: What Would It Be Like To Live In a Perfect World?
Baal HaSulam Article: “Building the Future Society”

Even Anti-Semites Are Governed from Above


A question I received: I have a question about Anti-Semitism: Last week, the world’s leader of Christianity, Pope Benedict XVI, said that he concords with the attitudes of the World War II Pope (Pius XII), who helped the Nazis. We know that the Vatican has influence on world politics. What can we hope from the society if we aren’t welcome to them? How can we show them Kabbalah if the leaders think and act against all that is related to the Jewish people?

My Answer: Everything in our world is governed from above, as it is written: “There is not a blade of grass below that doesn’t have an angel above, who strikes it and tells it: ‘Grow!’” The angel “strikes” it because growth can only happen under the influence of suffering, which forces us to replace the current state with a different and more advanced state.

Kabbalah allows us to avert the blows by recognizing that spiritual development is necessary and to grow on our own, without waiting for the angel to strike. In so doing we will advance at our own rate, drawn forward by the good force. We will then reduce the time it takes to go through the process and make the path pleasant. This is what the Kabbalists do.

Since all the governance descends onto the world from above, we shouldn’t criticize the things taking place, because people are governed by angels. Instead, we should act in such a way that will cause better forces of governance to descend onto the world. The “Introduction to the Book of Zohar” talks about this from item 66 on.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Do You Get Rid of Anti-Semitism?
Laitman.com Post: Why Does Everyone Hate Israel?
Laitman.com Post: What Is the Spiritual Root of the Holocaust?
Attaining the World’s Beyond: Chapter 20-2  “The Path of Kabbalah”
Basic Concepts in Kabbalah: Chapter 6 “The Essence and the Purpose of Kabbalah”

Friends, Let’s Join Hands!

Friends, let’s join hands
So each of us won’t perish on his own:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn_Pa4iuxvU]

We are living in a global, interconnected world, where everyone depends on everyone, and on “the flap of a butterfly’s wings” in a “small village.” We have to join hands!

We have to make the world round, instead of polar. We have to become friends and relatives, instead of enemies and competitors.

We have to follow the law of Nature or the Creator – “Love they neighbor as thyself.”

We must only decide that there is no other way to live, and desire to live in this new world. Then – from above – we will receive the mind and forces to do this. This is what Kabbalists have done for centuries.

If we don’t, then the crises will grow worse, and through them the Creator or Nature will force us to observe His laws of Globality, Harmony, Unity, and Adhesion with Him.

What Does It Take to Be a Prophet?

ProphetTwo questions I received on prophecy:

Question: You don’t say whether there are any great Kabbalists in our time. What about prophets?

My Answer: As my answer I’ll quote the following news report (from livescience.com): “Hours before China’s worst earthquake in three decades, animals at a local zoo began acting strangely. Three days before the earthquake, thousands of toads roamed the streets of Mianzhu, a hard-hit city where at least 2,000 people have been reported killed. The day of the earthquake, zebras were banging their heads against a door at the zoo in Wuhan, more than 600 miles east of the epicenter. Elephants swung their trunks wildly, 20 lions and tigers, which normally would be asleep at midday, were walking around, and five minutes before the quake hit, dozens of peacocks started screeching.”

Question: Are these animals prophets?

My Answer: A prophet is someone who is connected with Nature (the Creator). If one unifies with Nature, then he perceives it beyond time – not in relation to himself, but the way it truly is. The past, present, and future converge into one. So go ahead and make predictions!

A Kabbalist is someone who has restored a part of his connection with the Creator, and to that degree he understands His thought, plan, and goal. He can continue increasing his similarity with the Creator (the quality of bestowal that exists in Nature) to the level where he can fully comprehend Him – the level of a prophet.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: All the Prophets Wrote About Us
Kabbalah Today Article: A Prophet in His Own Country
Kabbalah Today Article: Isaac Luria – the Holy Ari (1534-1572)
Baal HaSulam – Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag

What Would It Be Like To Live In A Perfect World?

perfectNo one has the slightest idea of what will happen to the economy a second from now. Experts create the most complicated models to try and predict the future based on past experience, but even the most precise statistic is just a slight distraction from the uncertainty that weighs down on us. More and more, the leading economic analysts conclude their articles with a hint: as long as the global markets are uncertain, we shouldn’t bet on the future.

What’s really the problem? Why don’t we know what will happen to the systems that we have created? Experts say: “The problem is a combination of too many factors.” However, there is a clearer explanation: the system can no longer continue working by the principle of the circular firing squad. Today, in the age of turbo-globalization, you can’t sneeze without the entire system vibrating back at you. Alan Greenspan, the head of the US Federal Reserve System said: “The main reason for what is happening is human nature, which does not fit the boundaries of the economic models.” He said this back in September 2007. He also admitted that using regulation to fight crises has never been effective.

The problem is not that the unpredictable human nature makes us act for the sake of our narrow personal interests. This is what happened in the past, but today the situation has changed dramatically: we have all become an integral system, one whole. This is why all the old methods aren’t helping us.

Life demands that we bring our nature to equivalence with the new reality. Instead of repeating old mistakes, let’s use successful, time-tested models as an example. There are many wonderful examples of integrality and true reciprocity.

For example, take the human body. It completely depends on the altruistic behavior of its cells. Each cell works for the benefit of the organism, keeping only what it needs to continue performing its function. In fact, we are speaking about a precise regularity: every natural system depends on the proper interaction of its parts. As soon as one cell starts harming the organism instead of benefiting it, the rest of the cells unite to help the organism and return the system to balance.

And we are no exception. Baal HaSulam – the great Kabbalist of the previous century – writes that we need to treat the laws of nature with caution: “Every person who breaks the laws of nature deviates from the goal that nature has set for him, and hence nature will punish him.” This brief description of the mechanism of the modern crisis was written over half a century ago.

There are no appeals in nature’s court. And we are far from following nature’s laws. We live by the motto: “Get rich, be bold – no matter at whose expense.” This is what our inner voice whispers to us, and we gladly obey it.

This is where the problem lies. Imagine what will happen if one cell suddenly “changes its mind” and starts caring only for itself. Doctors have a simple name for this: cancer. Hence, the present crisis is a symptom of an illness that needs treatment.

As soon as humanity became a single system, it immediately started being governed by the corresponding laws. We are no longer “forgiven” for the things that we could get away with before. Continuing to live the old way is like jumping off the roof of a skyscraper and hoping for the best. The rules of the game have changed: now, instead of using one another, we have to take care of everyone. And until we dare to do this, the crises will continue afflicting the planet.

There is an effective method that can help us to ease the process of changing – social opinion. Everything will become much easier when communication channels, the press, mass media, and the internet will explain to people that we are all part of one system where one individual’s loss is everyone’s loss, and everyone’s gain is the gain of every individual.

The way million of dollars are being poured into the economy today is like pumping a critically ill person with pain relievers. Instead, we must fundamentally change our very approach and replace the “I” that currently stands at the center of our worldview, with “the society.” However, this society won’t be a bubbling mass of separate elements, but a family.

Just imagine: everyone around you are your closest relatives. You sincerely wish for all of them to be happy and you help them all, and they feel the same way about you and help you. In addition, we receive all the assistance necessary to maintain such a lifestyle from the financial institutions. This way we attain balance between us and with nature. It’s because the laws operating in a loving family are the exact same laws that we are now breaking – the laws of a single, integral, and perfect system.
(Written by the Bnei Baruch publishing dept. manager).

Related Material:
Kabbalah Today Article: What Is Happening to Our Economy?