Questions I received on spirituality during the crisis:

Question: I’ve been studying Kabbalah for several years. It was very easy for me to say that everything that happens, no matter how bad, is only meant to shows us where we strayed off the path – until something bad happened to me. With the possibility of being fired looming over me, my thoughts immediately strayed from the study and I’m having difficulty perceiving the lessons correctly. How do I keep moving in the right direction when all my thoughts are about how to pay rent and feed my children? And on a larger scale, can’t the crisis push many people away from Kabbalah? I mean, who cares about spirituality when your belly is empty?

My Answer: Evidently we have to continue building our path toward the Creator precisely out of these states and doubts. You will feel the rest for yourself from your states, and you’ll feel it even stronger than before.

Question: The Torah states that the Egyptian plagues passed over the houses of the Jews. Does this mean that now, in the time of imminent blows, people who study Kabbalah will feel these blows (plagues) in their corporeal life to a lesser degree?

My Answer: There’s no doubt that every person in the world who studies Kabbalah and aspires to draw nearer to the Creator, evokes the positive influences of Nature (the Creator). He is then drawn closer by these positive influences, instead of the negative corrective forces that push others from behind.

Question: You speak of the ten Egyptian plagues. What are the rest of the plagues that Kabbalah predicts will happen next?

My Answer: I hope to see a world that will “fly over” these plagues with the help of Kabbalah, by aspiring to acquire the quality of love and bestowal to others.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Passing Through the Crisis to the Promised Land
Laitman.com Post: The Current Crisis Is “The First Plague of Egypt”

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Excerpts from the morning lesson: A person has to ascend from the lowest level called “our world,” where everything is concealed, to the highest level called “the World of Infinity,” where everything is revealed. The levels of ascent are called “the worlds” and they reflect the degree of our desires’ correction.

There is no fulfillment without a preliminary feeling of emptiness. When each of us corrects his individual desire (emptiness), we give shape to the Upper Force, revealing it to the degree of our correction. This is why we ask this Force for correction rather than revelation.

The fulfillment of the desire does not happen through reception, but through bestowal. Otherwise it’s impossible to be fulfilled. To be exact, it’s possible, but the fulfillment will be limited to our world and our lifetime. Any more than that is impossible. This is so in order to enable us to arrive at another method of fulfillment – bestowal.

Then, a person is fulfilled by his love for his neighbor, by bestowal, rather than by something coming from outside. Suffering is a feeling of uncorrected desires. We perceive them as suffering because they differ from the Creator.

In Kabbalah we study our future states, and this enables us to develop. The development of one’s soul is analogous to the development of a child: by desiring to be grown ups, we draw the force of correction upon us.

One must perceive problems and suffering as a chance to advance by overcoming them. Everything happens only for one’s advancement. However, if one prepares correctly, then instead of perceiving the pain of the suffering, one will perceive its direction and move along it. In this case, instead of perceiving the suffering, one perceives the path.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Special Power of Kabbalah
Laitman.com Post: The Book of Zohar. Chapter “Raising a Prayer” – 1
Chapter from Book Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “Revelation and Concealment”
Shamati #4″ What Is the Reason for the Heaviness One Feels when Annulling before the Creator in the Work”
Baal HaSulam Igrot (Letters) P. 25

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Two questions I received on Zionism and “the Mixed Multitude”:

Question: What is Zionism? What does this have to do with Kabbalah and Bnei Baruch?

My Answer: “Kabbalah is the method of revealing the Creator to man in this world” (Baal HaSulam, article “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”). Zionism is a social movement in favor of returning to Zion (Israel). The Kabbalistic definition is as follows: the Land of Israel is also called “Zion,” from the word Yetzia – “exit” in Hebrew. Any person who exits the limits of our egoistic world and enters the Upper, Altruistic World, enters “Zion.” Mi Tzion Tize Tora (the Torah will come from Zion), means that when a person exits his egoistic state, he comes to the Light.

Question: During the last two lessons, you mentioned “the Mixed Multitude.” Who is this?

My Answer: “The Mixed Multitude” (Erev Rav) are the opponents of Kabbalah who prevent people from coming out of spiritual exile and revealing the Creator. And even after a person aspires toward bestowal and love, Erev Rav prevents him from advancing by any means possible. They came in Moses’s way when he was trying to lead the people out of Egypt (the spiritual exile) toward the revelation of the Creator. They also placed all kinds of obstacles in his way during the 40-year passage through the desert.

Today they also spread all kinds of rumors. They can no longer speak against Kabbalah, because this is no longer possible, but against the people who disseminate it, including our organization. It is written that they are Irei Hashem Ovdei Paroh – those who fear the Creator, but desire to remain inside their egoism.

The Gaon of Vilna (Agra) wrote in The Light of the Zohar, 3: 28 “Adam Ve Ishto”: “In the future Moses will reveal everything to us, unlike the way it is now hidden in the Torah in the form of stories intended for Erev Rav, who do not study the inner meaning.”

Related Material:
Kabbalists Write about the Wisdom of Kabbalah
Chapter from Book The Kabbalah Experience: “Spiritual Work”
Shamati #33: “The Lots on Yom Kippurim and with Haman”
Shamati #54: “The Purpose of the Work”
Baal HaSulam Article:” A Speech in Celebration of the Conclusion of The Zohar”

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Our virtual lesson series continued this last Sunday from 4:00pm to 5:15pm with the third lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

Join us for these lessons live, or you can watch or listen to them using the links below.

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A question I received: Is it correct to say that the Path of Light does not take away the problems in a person’s life, and it’s just that someone following the Path of Light perceives them differently? Since that person is on a higher level, he doesn’t have the same problems as in the past because his attitude to them has changed, or rather, his attitude to the source of the problems. However, when a person following the Path of Suffering receives the same problem, he feels bad.

My Answer: That’s absolutely correct! We exist in a field of Upper Light (the quality of bestowal and love). This field consists of concentric spheres, and the closer a sphere is to the center, the more intense its quality of bestowal and love is. Everything is static; only we move through this field and change our perception by changing our qualities.

A desire, or the single soul, was created in the center of all the spheres. It then moved away from the center, losing its quality of bestowal and love, and then broke into pieces (the particular souls). Thus it acquired the opposite quality – reception (egoism). Because of this, it now exists in the most remote sphere of the field of Light.

The souls have “positions” relative the Light just like a charge has a position in an electric or magnetic field. A soul’s connection with the Light (a charge’s connection with the field) happens through balance (similarity) of their qualities. If the qualities of the Light (field) and the soul (charge) are the same, then the soul (desire) feels that it is at equilibrium. In other words, there’s a balance of the soul’s forces or qualities with the Light’s. They’re in a state of homeostasis.

When the souls move away from the center to the periphery (when they descend through their qualities), they retain a Reshimo (record) about every state they go through. When the souls reach the maximum distance from the the center (from the Creator, because their qualities are opposite to Him), a recording of the whole chain of separation (descent) remains embedded in them. The souls (egoistic desires) perceive the most remote state as a person (soul) in this world (field).

From this moment on, the souls begin their way back. At first they advance toward the goal of creation unconsciously, under pressure that emerges due to the nonconformity of their qualities to the qualities of the spheres of Light that they pass. The souls feel suffering, which is a feeling that comes from the opposition of their egoistic qualities and the qualities of the Light. The greater are the Reshimot that become expressed in a soul, the more the soul is pushed to the inner spheres in the field of Light. Or stated differently, the greater the nonconformity between the uncorrected Reshimo and the corrected Light, the worse a person feels (and the same can be said for the society as a whole).

Starting from a certain sphere in the field of Light, the Light’s influence on the Reshimo elicits a recognition of the cause of the suffering. This is expressed as the question about the meaning of the suffering, about its reason and purpose. It is a question about the meaning of life. A person is then brought to the group (the environment) where he can start correcting himself to become similar to the Light (bestowal).

“It always seems that we are loved because we are good. But what we don’t realize is that we are loved because those who love us are good.”
Leo Tolstoy

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Everything Is Done By the Light
Laitman.com Post: A Reshimo is One’s Complete Future State
Laitman.com Post: Why Do We Feel Suffering?
Interview With the Future – Part 6: “The Creation of the Reshimot”
Introductory Course to Kabbalah – Lesson 3: The System of Reshimot (Records) – the Development Software

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Two questions I received on choosing the correct environment:

Question: After reading the article “The Freedom” and other articles about the environment, I came to the conclusion that the environment is pivotal to one’s development and attainment. What should I do if I’m not sure that I’ve chosen the right environment and the right group?

My Answer: Keep studying and discerning this! Don’t rely on your own opinion nor the opinion of those around you. The answers should come on their own, from within you (from the Creator), without any external influence and without you eating yourself. Read Baal HaSulam and wait for the answer!

Question (from a woman): I would really like to understand what it means to “build your environment.” Should I look for the correct environment within the Kabbalistic group, meaning an environment within an environment, based on the principle that those who don’t give me joy and inspiration are not advancing along the right path and it’s best to avoid them?

My Answer: For a woman, there’s no such thing as a group; there’s only the environment. In it she interacts with the women she feels closest to. And she isn’t obliged to do anything more than that.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Advice for Beginners – Find the Answers Inside Yourself
Laitman.com Post: How Does “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself” Apply to Women?
Lesson on Shamati #42: “What is the Acronym ELUL in the Work”
Shamati #77: “One Learns from One’s Soul”

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Three questions I received on balancing spirituality with this world:

Question: I heard you say at the children’s lesson that we should envy people who contribute to the group and love others. Should I lie to myself, telling myself that I envy those who contribute even though in reality I envy someone who has a new car, for example? Please give me advice on what to do according to Kabbalah.

My Answer: Continue studying; the group and the lessons will give you the feeling that other values are more important. This is better than surrendering yourself to accumulating things and later finding yourself disillusioned. The Upper World that will start being revealed to you will make you feel vastly more fulfilled than a new car. The car is important to you because society values it. But if your society will value other things, your preferences will change as well.

Question: Sometimes I get angry at the Creator, but in truth I get angry at myself because I ask myself, “Why is the process of correction so lengthy!?” And then I answer myself: “Because I don’t make enough efforts!”

My Answer: You lack the pressure of the correct environment.

Question: I’m having an inner debate: on one hand, I have a new job that’s interesting to me and gives me free time to improving my professional level in order to have a good permanent occupation in the future. On the other hand, I don’t have much energy left after the morning lessons, so I’m thinking of cutting them down, yet this bothers me. What’s the right attitude to have to this situation?

My Answer: You have to finish your professional education so you’ll be able to support yourself and your family, while keeping the study of Kabbalah “on a low burner.” However, in all other respects, devote yourself to the study of Kabbalah. If you keep this balance of time and energy, you’ll succeed in both.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Influence of the Environment
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah and Choosing a Profession
Laitman.com Post: Family, Children, Work and Kabbalah
Chapter from Book Kabbalah for Beginners: “Changing Society to Change Myself”
Rabash Article: “Purpose of Society”

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On Sunday, November 30, between 4:00pm and 5:15pm, I continued with our virtual lesson series by giving the second lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.” You are invited to join us for these lessons, or you can watch and listen to the them using the links that are posted here each week.

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Three questions I received on finding contact with me:

Question: Do you have a personal page on the site odnoklasniki.ru (the Russian version of classmates.com)? I’m asking because there are currently two personal pages of yours on this site.

My Answer: I don’t have anything to do with these pages, as you probably suspected. Someone else is writing them using my name. My opinions are stated only on this blog and the official websites of the Bnei Baruch organization.

Question: If people ask you good questions that can’t be answered during the virtual morning lesson because of the time limit, can you answer them on this blog?

My Answer: If the questions are very peculiar, for example, on the construction of the worlds, then they can’t be answered on this blog because the blog is for everyone. However, if the question is general, then I always answer it here.

Question: Someone advised me to speak to a Kabbalist. Is there any time when you take visitors?

My Answer: I don’t accept visitors and I don’t give advice or blessings. According to Kabbalah, the only way to truly change your destiny is to change yourself, because you are opposite the unchanging Light – the Creator’s force of bestowal and love. Hence Kabbalah considers everything else no more than psychological reassurance, which in the long run only exacerbates a person’s illness: his imbalance with the Creator. In other words, it causes the illness (egoism) to be neglected.

Kabbalah gives you the method to change yourself, and the rest depends on you. We always focus on questions of self-correction. Good luck!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: An Invitation to Ascend – the Purpose of This Blog
Laitman.com Post: A Heartfelt Request To My Readers
Laitman.com Post: Where To Send Logistical Questions
Laitman.com Post: I Answer All Questions
Why Did I Open This Blog?

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Two questions I received on relating to one’s environment:

Question: In one of your lessons in the United States, you said that people who are ready for a new worldview should voluntarily limit their needs to the minimum bodily necessities for food, shelter, leisure and knowledge. What should we do about the rest of our surroundings such as children, spouses, and parents, who are not ready to limit themselves? Is it sufficient to limit myself while giving those around me what they desire, and show them that my path is correct just through personal example? By the way, I have acted this way all my life, and in return everyone around me tacitly hates me and puts me down.

My Answer: If one’s head is “in the clouds,” then he naturally takes no more than the necessities from this world. He does not have to limit himself because this just comes to him naturally. This is the attitude one has when he realizes that the whole world is one family.

If the people around you hate you and put you down, it’s probably because you’re forcing them or prohibiting them from something.

Question: Can one person make another person feel a lack or need (whether spiritual or corporeal)?

My Answer: The environment can evoke or suppress any earthly desire in anyone (see the article “The Freedom”). Moreover, if a person has a point in the heart, the society can accelerate its development.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Influence of the Environment
Kabbalah Today Article: The Freedom Blues
Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace in the World”
Society as a Condition for Attaining Spirituality

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