Two questions I received on the economy and religion:

Question: How can you explain the fact that in the United States, the financial crisis is drawing more people into religion?

My Answer: We observe this kind of reaction throughout all human history. In fact, this is the reason why religion was invented in the first place – to comfort man for the blows of fate that seem to come at him for no good reason. Religion promises people a reward for their suffering in the world to come. Of course, it is difficult to give up on a dream, and people are even willing to kill others who kill their hopes (the way I do).

In contrast, Kabbalah does not tell people to believe in unrealistic things, but rather urges people to change themselves in order to feel “the world to come” while still living in this world. One can enter “that world” only by changing oneself in this world. When one’s animate organism dies, the soul can only return back into this life; there is no “world on the other side.” Hence one will keep reincarnating until one enters the Upper World – the world of bestowal and love, while still living in this world.

Question: One reason why I am not satisfied with any method or religion is that at the end the believer is rewarded in paradise, but in a new status. That is, he does not have the needs, desires and pleasures that he sought in his life. So the person who is tested or being prepared in this life is different from the one who is being rewarded. I feel that this is unfair.

My Answer: Why so? Precisely religion promises you all the pleasures of this world, including sexual pleasures, exquisite heavenly meals accompanied by heavenly music, and so on! If a person can still believe in what religion promises him, then he is not yet ready to come out of the spiritual exile.

Baal HaSulam said that between the religious and the Kabbalistic ways of life and perception, there is a secular, materialistic period. After that, the Kabbalistic, “super-materialistic” period is revealed, because one discovers that materialism is also a religion!

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Laitman.com Post: Can Religion Come Out of the Crisis It’s In?

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A question I received: Why do you draw a connection between the financial crisis and a “global Kabbalistic revolution?” Isn’t this going a bit too far?

My Answer: There is a state of standalone objects, and there is a state when they unite into a system. That is when new and special laws are revealed – the laws of globalization, communication, interaction, and interdependence.

Standalone individuals in the animal kingdom are egoists, but as soon as they join together, a law is revealed that enables their system to survive. This law obligates them to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the system, for their society. Of course, in the animal kingdom this happens unconsciously; it is embedded in the animals by nature and they follow it blindly. The human level differs by man’s self-awareness. Man must carry out the same laws of nature consciously and willingly.

Hence, as long as we were not united, there was no need to take the system into account, nor to follow Nature’s law of “bestowal and love for one’s neighbor.” However, as soon as a tight interconnection emerged in Ancient Babylon – the first global civilization (global with regard to that time period, in a compact area), then a crisis was immediately revealed – our imbalance with the natural law of the human community, “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

In Babylon, we managed to solve this problem by annulling the very system or civilization. We separated from each other and scattered all over the world. However, today we are connected and there is no place to run. We can try, but by so doing we will only go back to the past. We can’t even imagine what comforts we will lose, because no country in the world today can be self-sufficient. This would be like going back to feudalism. Our development, its forms and pace are predetermined by nature and its integral law. Hence, if we go against it, we will perceive our opposition to it in the form of terrible suffering.

This is why Kabbalah says that the only option we have is to recognize the natural law of the human community, which is “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Of course, this type of relationship can be adopted only when every individual will be corrected from “for the sake of oneself” to “for the sake of others.” This can be done with ease if:

1. The society and the mass media will support and encourage this, and look down on those who do not do this (however, not by means of punishment);
2. People will study Kabbalah (for the masses, superficial familiarity with Kabbalah will suffice) and thereby attract our future state, which already exists.

I think that “procrastination is like death” – in the literal sense of the word.

Related Material:
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Article – “Lecture in Arosa”

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When I speak to economists about the crisis, I find that they and I are interested in different things. They are not interested in the cause of the crisis, and are willing to accept my explanation of it. What interests them is the evolution of the crisis, and what needs to be done here and now – by a bank or a family.

For now, my propositions that what needs to be corrected are the relationships between everyone – both organizations and people around the world, sound naïve to them, because they do not yet see the cause of the crisis – the lack of kind connections between people. These connections must come from the understanding that we are all part of one organism, and we can cure this organism only by mutually caring for all of its parts. That is the only way to solve this global problem and all the crises that are gradually becoming revealed in humanity today. They are being revealed because our egoistic development has brought us to the point where we are all united within a single organism.

With regard to the global crisis, the process has begun, but this is just the beginning. There is a lot to say about it, and we will talk about it much more in the future – its causes, progress, purpose, and possibilities of softening it – “the path of Light” that Kabbalah offers instead of “the path of suffering.”

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Questions I received on the virtual society of the future:

Question: Which technical means (Internet, TV, radio, and so on) can be used to create the virtual society of the future? Does the necessary technical support exist today? What other things are necessary that haven’t yet manifested in our world?

My Answer: We are starting to really focus on this now, and it is becoming our highest priority project – to create a virtual meeting space for all those who aspire to unite, who strive toward the Creator. As soon as this common aspiration will acquire the needed goal-oriented force, it will begin radiating with similarity to the Creator. He will then become revealed to everyone within this unity.

Your advancement upwards depends on the efforts you make to disseminate Kabbalah outwards – to add more souls to the correction. Hence I recommend not missing the opportunity to participate in the development of the virtual Kabbalistic community.

You can send your ideas to bbstate@gmail.com

Question: Since the internet is developing so fast, is there any point in hosting distance classes for beginners? Maybe we should have fewer classes like this?

My Answer: I think that soon this will come to an end on its own. However, as long as there are people who desire this, we should continue doing it. You should continue developing only the virtual education, communication, and even congresses.

Question: Your blog is already a virtual group for those who “enter” it. However, don’t real groups have a very big influence on the world Kli, while the influence of an internet participant is much smaller? Yet the combined influence of a large number of virtual participants is much bigger than the influence of real groups?

My Answer: Everything adds up to a combined effort until it will reach the necessary size, and then – inside this common mass – everyone together will start to feel the Upper Presence.

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Kabbalah in Second Life

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News Report (from PRNewswire): NEW YORK, Oct. 2 — In the wake of the collapse of major investment banks and the government’s proposed bailout of financial institutions, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is reporting a dramatic upsurge in the number of anti-Semitic statements being posted to Internet discussion boards devoted to finance and the economy.

Hundreds of anti-Semitic posts regarding Lehman Brothers and other institutions affected by the sub prime mortgage crisis have been submitted to discussion boards dealing with finance, with many more arriving by the minute. The messages rail against Jews in general, with some charging that Jews control the government and finance as part of a “Jew world order” and therefore are to blame for the economic turmoil.

My Comment: “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” items 66-71, (summary):

When the people of Israel make efforts to elevate the soul, then the nations of the world recognize this and value them. But when the people of Israel lower the greatness of spirituality, they cause the nations of the world to prevail over them, to accuse and humiliate them.

Spirituality can only be elevated through the study of Kabbalah. Then the nations of the world acknowledge that Israel is special, because it has the method to correct the world. But when the people of Israel do not engage in elevating the goal of creation, then the nations of the world degrade them, considering them useless and harmful to the world.

Hence, Israel’s fate depends only on the study of Kabbalah, and its entire descent was caused by the neglect of Kabbalah. Woe to them who neglect Kabbalah – their actions cause hunger, poverty, war, violence, pillage, killings and destruction in the world.

The Talmud says, “No calamity comes to the world but for Israel.”

The Tikkuney Zohar says: “Woe to them who cause poverty and ruin and robbery and killings in the whole world.”

But if they will reveal the method of correction to themselves and the world, then all the nations of the world will recognize the importance of Israel and they shall carry out the words: “And the nations of the world shall take Israel, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall posses them in the land of the Lord” ((Isaiah 14:2). And the words of The Book of Zohar will come true: “That through this composition, which is The Book of Zohar, they will be freed from spiritual exile by the Creator’s mercy” (Nasah 124). Amen!

Additional Comment: However, it’s also possible for things to take a different turn. The “patriotic” forces of every country, combined with the middle class that has fallen into poverty, may create a situation similar to Germany in 1929, when people will start demanding a powerful centralized government and compensation for their degraded state. This is how Fascism and Nazism arise.

Baal HaSulam writes about this alternative to the path of Kabbalah in the book “The Future Generation.” Russia is perhaps closest to this than any other country.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Why Does Everyone Hate Israel?
Laitman.com Post: The Solution – Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Laitman.com Post: The Writings of the Last Generation
Laitman.com Post: Where Is the World Going – Nazism or Global Unity?
Kabbalah Today Article: Unraveling the Zohar – a Wakeup Call

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Questions I received on different colored Light, Kabbalistic prophets, whether physical qualities can give one an advantage in spiritual development, and more:

Question: Right now I am studying the “Preface to the Book of Zohar,” where it talks about green Light, red Light, and so on. Is this talking about my impressions of the white Light?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: Why doesn’t Kabbalah have its own prophet?

My Answer: Any Kabbalist who has attained the level of communication with the Creator is a prophet.

Question: Who is the source of information?

My Answer: The Creator, the Light.

Question: Can one’s ability to feel the desires of his neighbor through body language help him feel the spiritual desires of his neighbor? Wouldn’t this mean that these abilities give him an additional skill and prowess in being able to realize himself spiritually?

My Answer: No! There are no physical qualities that can give you an advantage in spiritual development.

Question: Is it possible to create a search of “groups by region” on your website?

My Answer: You can find the contact information of groups all over the world here.

Question: How do I identify my true “I”?

My Answer: In relation to the Creator.

Question: How do I know that I am not lying to myself?

My Answer: In relation to the group.

Question: What’s the difference between the animate and the spiritual “I?”

My Answer: “For your own sake” or “for the sake of others.”

Related Material:
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“Preface to the Book of Zohar” – Lesson 2
Attaining the Worlds Beyond: Chapter 3 – “Receiving for the Sake of Giving”

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A question I received: You say that the only important thing to reveal the Light while reading a text is the intention to reveal the Light, to change ourselves and to become like the Creator. So, if I have this intention but I read other spiritual books like the Gospel, Dharmapada or the Quran, if I read them with the intention to change, will I change and reveal the Light? I find some of these books very emotional and I feel that they help me to change just like Kabbalistic books do.

My Answer: The fact is that Kabbalistic books were written by people who attained the Upper World or the Creator through their corrected qualities, and who then wrote their books from that spiritual level. The same people also drew special connections between their writings and our world.

Hence, if we want to raise our qualities to their spiritual level, to become similar to them or to the Creator (which is the same thing), then the Light of their spiritual levels descends from those levels to us only when we study their books, which describe the qualities of their levels. This Light shines on us from afar, gradually reforming us to match the qualities of these levels (qualities).

It says in the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot” that the authors of the Talmud made special spiritual corrections so that when we study their books, we can receive Upper Light (Ohr Makif) from the study. No other means can help us reform ourselves, and this has been verified for millennia! In our days, the only thing that can withstand the egoism of our generation, the only texts that can help correct our souls, are the compositions of Baal HaSulam. The choice is yours.

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Kabbalah Today Article: Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) – 1884-1954
Article – “Kabbalah as a Root of All Sciences”

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Questions I received on the goal, the Ten Commandments, humor, Aviut, the point in the heart, and Torah and Mitzvot:

Question: One of our salutatory expressions is: “One Goal!” What singular word best sums up that one goal?

My Answer: Dvekut (adhesion).

Question: What is the Kabbalistic meaning of the Ten Commandments?

My Answer: Correction of the ten fundamental qualities of the soul.

Question: Could you please elaborate on how Aviut changes its qualities during Zivug de-Haka’a in each of the five levels, and what happens with Kashiut alongside?

My Answer: I explain this in great detail in my book The Science of Kabbalah (Pticha).

Question: Does humor have any value in the spiritual world?

My Answer: Yes, because it’s created by a combination of opposites.

Question: Can a Kabbalist see whose point in the heart has truly awakened?

My Answer: Yes. But more importantly, the person must feel this on his own and realize his point in the heart. He can do this by developing it in a group (being in contact with other points) and through study.

Question: In the Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot, Baal HaSulam says that observing Torah and Mitzvot is the attainment of real life. What does it mean to observe Torah and Mizvot for someone who isn’t religious and has no Jewish cultural background?

My Answer: It means to correct one’s natural intentions in all of one’s actions, from “for the sake of oneself” to the intention “for the sake of others.” This is done by means of Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light) that descends onto a person during the study of Kabbalah.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Solution – Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah and Humor
Laitman.com Post: Listening to a Kabbalah Lesson Each Time Like It’s Your First
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah Is for the Whole World
Chapter from The Open Book – “Freedom of Choice”
Shamati #25: “Things that Come from the Heart”
Buy the Book: The Science of Kabbalah (Pticha)

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Question: I found some information on Kabbalistic Cosmology on The Alchemy Website. Would you please comment on this?

My Answer: Kabbalah was concealed for millennia so humanity wouldn’t become confused while it was developing egoistically, until it would grow disillusioned in egoistic development. During this period, many amateurs who dabbled in Kabbalah wrote an overabundance of books on it. And in our times it’s even more so – anyone who has the time of day for it (from “self-made experts” to philosophers) are writing anything they feel like about Kabbalah.

I study Kabbalah only from the primary source texts, written by authentic Kabbalists. If you want to know the truth, then all of the authentic Kabbalah, including the primary source texts, can be found on our website.

Question: Are there any innovative articles that explain Kabbalah in the light of mathematical and physical achievements? Perhaps these explanations will help people see Kabbalah in a new way, for example, by seeing how it relates to nuclear forces and particles, the theory of relativity, the numbers theory, chaos theory, and others.

My Answer: No, and I don’t think that this is necessary. People come to Kabbalah through the need of the soul, not through the desire to penetrate into subatomic particles.

Question: In regard to your blog entry, Why Did I Write About Rav Berg and the Kabbalah Centre on This Blog?, how is it known that there is only one true source of Kabbalah?

My Answer: There can’t be several because the Creator is one.

Question: What’s going on with the World Wisdom Council? We have not heard much as of late.

My Answer: To tell you the truth, I also don’t know what’s going on with them. I was interested in this council as long as there were opportunities to disseminate Kabbalah through it by participating in international forums – such as the ones that took place in Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. Today I no longer need this, since the most important thing today is dissemination on the Internet. All the world’s “wise people” are in a crisis!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Illuminati’s Coming to Get You… NOT!
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Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace In the World”
Chapter from the book The Science of Kabbalah (Pticha)

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A question I received: Four years ago I had a tremendous thirst for science and knowledge. I saw so much meaning in these things that I devoted my life to them and became a Doctorate student majoring in environmental law. But since I found out about Kabbalah in 2006, my values gradually changed from material to spiritual. The 2008 Congress in Israel played a major part in this. I see great spiritual meaning in Kabbalah and it has become my true goal. But what should I do with my corporeal science? I’m no longer interested in it because now I know that I can bring harmony to the surrounding world only by changing myself.

I have a problem now: I am unable to complete my dissertation on the environment the way I’d like to – by integrating Kabbalistic elements, because legal scholars consider that environmental problems can only be solved by developing legal regulations and programs, such as reducing carbon emissions, and so on. But I can already see that these means will be ineffective and pointless. I feel that instead of working on my science I want to work on translating Kabbalah texts and do something real like write for the mass media and disseminate in other ways.

So my question is: Should I continue writing my dissertation “the proper way” just to get a PhD, or should I drop out of the doctorate program?

My Answer: I also wrote my dissertation on the topic “Kabbalah as a Method of Irrational Attainment,” even though I personally find Kabbalah to be the most rational science of all. I had to write something that I personally disagreed with because otherwise I would never have defended my dissertation. But after I received my PhD, I gained an ability to speak on a different level – as a Doctor of Philosophy. When I appear at international forums and interviews, the fact that I have a PhD changes something in people’s consciousness. This is why I think that you have to complete your dissertation.

You cannot write “against science” while you aren’t a scientist yet. First you must become a scientist (get a PhD), and then you will be able to legitimately speak “against science” and offer your view of the problem and its solution. Do this step by step. Good luck to you, and I would be happy to work with you on your topic!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah and the Earthly Sciences
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