News Report (translated from mchs.gov.ru): Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations forecasts that in 2009 the number of natural disasters in Russia will increase by more than a third. There will be up to 250 emergency situations related to natural disasters, including flooding in Siberia and the Far East, fires resulting from a snowless winter and abnormal temperatures (particularly in forests), strong winds, storms, gales, hurricanes, very heavy precipitation, hail, thunderstorms and so forth. There is an increased likelihood of earthquakes and tsunamis in the coastal areas. Also set to increase are gas explosions and breakdowns of vital communications systems, and collapse of buildings and other structures. There is a high likelihood that epidemics and infections will break out.

My Comment: All of this can be avoided if we immediately take control of the entertainment and commercial sectors of the mass media, in order to purposefully educate the population on proper conduct in the new global world. However, this should be done without restricting the informational and communications sectors of the mass media. People should be taught what it means to be integrally connected and absolutely dependent on everyone. This should be the Ministry’s primary tactic and strategy!

In response to this act, society will immediately feel a reduction in Nature’s pressure, both the inner pressure on every individual and society as a whole, as well as the external pressure. Balance with Nature will bring about positive phenomena on all levels of our lives. We will then witness a simple, calm Moral Revolution that is so necessary!

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Filed under: Suffering - 1 Comment →

News Report (from Times Online): The Milgram experiment was one of the most infamous experiments in history, offering compelling evidence that almost everybody is capable of great evil. Almost 50 years on, it has finally been repeated by scientists – showing that people today are still willing to hurt others when prompted by an authority figure.

The new research [by Dr. Jerry Burger of Santa Clara University in California], published in the journal American Psychologist, suggests that little has changed since Professor Stanley Milgram’s work. … Dr. Burger found that 70 per cent of participants were willing to continue delivering electric shocks once the learner had cried out in pain at 150 volts.

My Comment: If the experiment was done under natural conditions, the researchers would find that the subjects are 100% willing to use others in any way they can, even for the tiniest gain, and even without any gain at all. It’s because we assess our situation relative others, “The worse off others are, the better off I am.”

The events taking place will force us to reveal our evil nature and to recognize its evil power over us so much that we will agree to change it to love and goodness. In principle, it doesn’t matter if we receive or bestow, because it’s all about fulfillment! If we were born with the quality “to bestow” instead of the quality “to receive,” we would similarly be completely unable to understand how it is possible to “receive” rather than to “bestow.” This transition is simply a psychological problem. After all, fulfillment is the most important thing! For the time being a person sees fulfillment only within himself and evaluates it according to the misery of his neighbor.

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Filed under: Egoism - 1 Comment →

News Report (from Universe Today): Billions of years in the future, when our sun bloats up into a red giant, it will expand to consume the Earth’s orbit. But wait, you say, the Earth travels the Earth’s orbit… what’s going to happen to our beloved planet? Will it be gobbled up like poor Mercury and Venus?

My Comment: When I was in school, we were taught that our Universe was eternal and infinite. Then they discovered the Big Bang and started teaching us something else: that the Universe was created from a micro-dose of matter 15 billion years ago. But will the Universe end someday? This is a question science still doesn’t have an answer to. However, everything that has a beginning also has an end.

Kabbalah says that everything exists only for man and inside man, or more exactly, inside his sensations. In order to come out of our perception of the world and enter a new perception, we have been given time to correct our qualities (sensations): 6000 years from the birth of Adam, the first man to discover a different, Upper World. We all have to “migrate” there in the remaining 230 years we have left until reaching the 6000 year mark. Kabbalah explains how to do this quickly, consciously, and easily. Even if we’re stubborn and refuse to budge, nature will still banish us from this world and force us to “migrate.”

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Economist Michael Khazin stated the following in an interview with Echo Radio: What is globalization? Globalization is a political, ideological, and cultural structure built over an absolutely material process – the global division of labor. Beginning with the 18th century, humanity started developing scientifically and technologically, and this was accompanied by a growth of markets where people sold their products. There were many “globalizations” in the 18th century; in fact, every large country led its own system of labor distribution.

My Comment: Many define globalization as the distribution of labor, production, and the market. However, Kabbalah defines globalization differently: it means that the world is global and integral, and all of its parts are completely interconnected like in a small village. In it, every part determines the fate of all the others, according to the Butterfly Effect.

The world has become like this due to progress. From this moment on, there cannot be any conflicts between different parts of the world because anyone who is against integration is also against progress, evolution, and the law of nature. We must recognize that the absolute connection of all the world’s parts is a fact. We must also recognize that our discrepancy with or failure to carry out nature’s law of Unity will elicit a negative reaction: the crisis will become more severe. And we will be the ones who created this reaction.

Here are some more definitions of globalization:

Globalization – a process of global economic, political, and cultural integration and unification. The main consequences of this are a global distribution of labor; migration of capital and human and industrial resources on a global scale; standardization of legislation and of economic and technological processes; and greater contact between different cultures. This is an objective, natural, historic process that is systematic. In other words, it encompasses all areas of social life.

Globalization – the process of a continuously growing influence of various international factors (such as close economic and political connections, exchange of cultures and information) on the social reality of separate countries.

Globalization in politics – an approach to the world’s formation, organization, functioning, and development that views the world as an integral economic, socio-cultural, and political super-system.

The concept of globalization – a theory stating that the evolution of financial markets and institutions leads to a state where geographic borders cannot limit contracts and other transactions. Usually the term “globalization” pertains to a growing international activity of banks and other institutions.

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News Report (from Leadership Nigeria): Pope Benedict XVI yesterday warned that the world was swimming toward ruin if self-interest prevails over solidarity during tough economic times… Benedict said, “If people look only to their own interests, our world will certainly fall apart.”

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Filed under: Crisis - No Comments →

News Report (from Safe Haven): Has the bear market run its course? Is a new bull market on the horizon? … just as none of the previous “bottoms” since January were THE bottom, I see no evidence at this time to say that the November bottom has marked THE bottom …we are now dealing with K-wave winter and I want to again remind you of the signs that occur in this season.

• “Bankruptcies Accelerate and High Debt Eliminated by Bankruptcy” – This has obviously begun and is no doubt related to the housing and credit bubbles.
• “Social Upheaval and Society Becomes Negative” – We are only just beginning to see this.
• “Banking System Shaken and New One Introduced” – The banking system is now only beginning to be shaken. There should be much more to come.
• “Free Market System Blamed and Socialist Solutions Offered” – This has not yet happened, but just wait.
• “National Fascist Political Tendencies” – More to come.
• “Debt Level Very Low After Defaults and Bankruptcy” – This has not happened.
• “Trade Conflicts Worsen” – This basically has not happened.
• “View of the Future at a Low Ebb” – This has not happened as everyone seems to be looking for the bottom.
• “New Work Ethics Develop Since Jobs are Scarce” – If I can assure you of one thing, it is that this has not happened.
• “Greed is Purged from the System” – I can absolutely assure you that this has not happened yet.
• “Real Estate Prices Find Bottom” – This has not happened.
• “Investors are Very Conservative and Risk Averse” – Again, this has absolutely not occurred.
• “Interest Rates and Prices Bottom” – Not happened.
• “A New Economy Begins to Emerge” – Has not happened.
• “Stock Markets Reach Bottom and Begin New Bull Markets” – We aren’t there yet and I view any relief rallies from these oversold levels merely as intermission.

My Comment: These are the conclusions of an economist, but a Kabbalist’s conclusions are even more critical: in order for the crisis to end, man must correct it. The crisis is a disease called egoism. In order to overcome it, we have to cure or correct egoism, transforming it to bestowal and love (absolute altruism). We should at least begin correcting it, at least begin to realize the necessity of doing so, or at least be willing to hear about this possibility.  Even if we do just this much, the world will already start shifting from the crisis toward prosperity.

Over the course of the crisis we may encounter periods when it will seem as though the crisis is over, and we will begin to seek new egoistic ascents in various areas of our life. After all, the crisis is multifaceted and envelops all areas of our lives. The media has long been speaking of crises in science, education, family, and so on.

Our situation is similar to the Egyptian plagues, which were followed by periods when it seemed that all the bad things were over, whereas in reality those periods were only a preparation for the next blow. Eventually, Nature will force us to become an integral part of it and to function by the law of optimal consumption and absolute unity, according to the rule, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” However, this won’t be done forcefully, like in the Soviet experiment, but consciously. It is precisely by realizing this that we will reach the bottom of the crisis.

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A question I received: You used to say that Kabbalah is only for those who want to listen and study, for those who aspire to reveal the Creator. But now you say that everyone has to hear about it, even if they don’t aspire to the same thing. Why this change of opinion? Do you think that because of the global financial crisis, we now have to involve even those who couldn’t care less about Kabbalah, or about anything at all but their earthly, egoistic desires?

My Answer: I don’t think anything myself. This is what Baal HaSulam wrote, and I am just following his instructions as much as possible. I am certain that only this knowledge can benefit the world. And if someone disagrees, I don’t take their opinion into consideration! How can I consider the opinions of people who can’t see beyond their egoism, don’t understand the world’s governance, and don’t feel the Creator and His actions? If you have the remedy for a dying patient, how can you just stand by and not hand it to him?

In your opinion, who should people listen to if not the Kabbalists? The global nature of the crisis indicates that everyone must know about the reason for their suffering. This is exactly why Kabbalah is now being revealed. See the articles “Time to Act,” “Messiah’s Horn,” and others.

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Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

Excerpt from Rabash’s article “About Love of Friends – 1” (Essay 3, 1984):

We are all parts of one whole, but our egoism divides it into separate, disconnected fragments. By desiring to restore this mosaic, I connect with all those who also seek unity, and with our efforts we draw onto ourselves the force that operates in the whole. This force corrects us and bonds us together. In doing this we become similar to Nature.

When we are inside a group of people who aspire to unite, we have to express a warm attitude toward our friends, even if we don’t actually feel it. We are playing against each other, and together we are playing against our egoism. We have to do everything possible to confuse our egoism and conquer it. A game is not a deceit, but a serious affair that enables us to develop.

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Filed under: Unity - No Comments →

Three questions I received on disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah:

Question: You have advocated the importance of disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah by promulgating it through Congresses and other available means. It seems as if you have intensified efforts toward this goal. Does the reason for this elevated urgency and efforts stem from a personal knowledge of impending and imminent blows and disaster that you want to avert and that you do not want to yet reveal to us?

My Answer: I don’t make anything up myself. I’m only passing on what was written by my great teachers, Baal HaSulam and his oldest son and successor, Rabash. Everything I say only repeats the thoughts expressed in their writings, which we study every day.

So even if we weren’t witnessing a crisis and people weren’t aspiring to Kabbalah, I would nonetheless be obligated to disseminate Kabbalah, according to the instructions of my teachers. Everything we’re seeing is only meant to help us disseminate – to show us the best, most efficient way of doing it.

Question: I live in America. For the last half a year I’ve been trying to dedicate every day to the science of Kabbalah. I work in the financial sector. Americans are waking up and are looking for answers. How can I give them an explanation of what’s happening without mentioning the Creator or Kabbalah, since this pushes them away? Instead can I use general notions like the laws of nature and so on?

My Answer: That is exactly what we’re trying to do. You should contact our English Department to find out more about participating in the dissemination of Kabbalah in America. After the February 2009 Congress, we are planning to visit New York to begin a series of meetings with American mass media.

Question: Is every means acceptable for disseminating Kabbalah? For instance, could one use mass mailings such as spam, which is not really legal in some countries?

My Answer: I don’t know anything about how effective this method is. However, if you have a person who’s in critical condition, then there’s no choice but to use any means possible to save him. After all, we’re not a commercial enterprise! If something is beneficial, then it should be done.

However, all of these questions must be decided at our center. So please contact our Marketing Department Manager.

Of course, personally I’m in favor of using legal methods, because the law symbolizes whatever the Creator desires at a given time.

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Filed under: Education - No Comments →

A question I received: In the article, “Building the Future Society,” in item 18 of section 3, “Principles of the Future Society,” Baal HaSulam lists three fundamental principles of disseminating Kabbalah in the world:

1. Satisfaction of Desires; 2. Proof; 3. Circulation.

From your lessons I’ve understood that in our time of an escalating crisis, the method of “Proof” is the most suitable. But what is your opinion about the method of “circulation” (agitation and propaganda)? Is it necessary in order to accelerate the dissemination of Kabbalah?

My Answer: When we’re dealing with a patient who has a deadly illness, we use any means possible to save him. Similarly, if we are in a situation that threatens the world’s existence, we must use any means possible to prevent the suffering, ruin and death. However, in our case, circulation (agitation and propaganda, as you put it) must be a non-coercive explanation of the fact that we won’t survive without using the method of Kabbalah. The dissemination of Kabbalah must be general, directed at everyone rather than at specific individuals. We cannot try to scare people into it, because in order for a person to correct himself, he must gain an awareness of the reality.

The correction of one’s egoism (one’s nature) is the only truly conscious act a person can make in this world, because he does it through understanding and comparing this world with the spiritual world! All other actions are made only from one’s understanding of the egoistic world and false gain, where one is entirely controlled by one’s egoism, like a puppet.

Hence, it is written about people who haven’t yet begun analyzing their nature and comparing it with the Upper Nature: “They are all like beasts.” It’s because “Man” (Adam) means “To be similar to the Creator.” It is also written, “Let us make man in our image and likeness” – from the beginning. After this man’s ruin (the downfall of sin) occurred, and this is what we must correct.

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