News Report: As the crisis develops, scientists are trying to predict whether a third World War will take place at the end of the “Second Great Depression,” as it happened after the First Great Depression. In the International Security Report 2008, researchers from the Oxford Research Group (ORG) assert that war is inevitable unless immediate economic changes are made. The social unrest will erupt in a violent, armed struggle for survival. Experts say it is necessary to institute social justice and fair commerce, to write off debts and reduce toxic emissions into the atmosphere.

My Comment: Everyone agrees with the scientists that this is better than a nuclear war, but who’s going to establish this new order? For that to happen we would have to have a different nature, and such a nature can only appear in man under the influence of the Upper Light. All heads of governments without exception are afraid of unleashing a war. They understand that it’s possible to “accidentally” trigger a process through a terrorist attack or provocation by a third party, which will sweep all countries involuntarily and uncontrollably toward World War III.

Kabbalah states that there is only one alternative to war: to use all the mass media channels to provide a universal explanation of the new global interdependence and the need to create new global relationships of kindness. Then the social opinion will influence every individual, because man was created such that he is fully controlled by the social opinion. And if any regime will disagree with this global agreement, it will have to be isolated from the entire world.

By undertaking this, mankind will become similar to Nature (the Creator) and will immediately discover Nature’s good influence on all levels of our existence, from ecology to finance. For more on this, see item 155 of the “Introduction to Talmud Esser Sefirot.”

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Two questions I received on how to be sure that one is following the right path:

Question: I want to find out the Truth with a capital T, but everything I see looks like lies. How can I prove to myself and to others that Kabbalah is true? It’s not enough to say that everything is evil, and only “our Torah” is the truth.

My Answer: Progress and growth always come with the sensation of a mistake and its correction, just like in any tracking system that’s aimed at a particular goal. The feeling of uncertainty, the sensation that things are lies and are false, are all necessary, and you should be glad you feel them.

Only animals don’t make mistakes because they’re governed by nature, whereas man must develop of his own accord. Moreover, we mustn’t suppress these qualities in others; on the contrary, we should encourage them, even if these people end up leaving us. Let them verify and find their own path. Otherwise they won’t become human, but will remain “animals,” as it is written: “All are like animals” – all except those who draw the Light of growth and correction.

Question: There are many groups and schools that study Kabbalah. In your opinion, is every group that studies the authentic sources suitable to study Kabbalah with?

My Answer: Only you can tell which group and manner of study are best for you. Some people still need to go through various mysticisms, religions, and Kabbalah as knowledge (Baal HaSulam describes this when he writes about the “Kabbalists of Jerusalem”). After trying all of these (perhaps even in the next life cycle), they will come to the authentic study of Kabbalah, which is a reception of Light for the correction of one’s egoism. Indeed, this is the only reason for Kabbalah’s existence in this world, the only reason that the Torah (Kabbalah) was given. The Creator said: “I have created egoism and I have created the Torah for its correction,” or in other words: in order for people to attain the quality of “Love for one’s neighbor” – the principal law of the entire Torah and of the entire world.

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Baal HaSulam. “Peace in the World“:
The nature of each and every individual is to exploit the lives of all other people in the world for his own benefit. And all that he gives to another is only out of necessity, in order to use the other even more cunningly, so that his friend will not feel it and will give in to him.

Baal HaSulam. “A Speech in Celebration of the Conclusion of The Zohar“:
How can man achieve complete equivalence of form with the Creator, so all his actions will be to give to others, if man’s very essence is only to receive for oneself? By nature, we are unable to do even the smallest thing to benefit others. When we give to others, we are compelled to expect that in the end, we will receive a worthwhile reward for it. And if one feels satisfied with his present state, he is unable to make even the smallest movement. Thus, how can one’s every action be only to bestow upon others and not at all for oneself?

Baal HaSulam. “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” item 20:
Our essence is as the essence of all the parts of creation, which is no more and no less than the will to receive.

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A question I received: Regardless of everything you’ve said about the need for a Teacher in order to attain Kabbalah, I still have a very precise feeling that it isn’t right to settle for intervention from another person, an intermediary between myself and nature. I don’t want to attain it through someone else.

My Answer: You are like a child who decided to be in charge of his own education. If the Creator reveals Himself to you like He did to several special souls such as Adam, Abraham, and Moses, then perhaps you don’t need anything else – not even Kabbalistic books. However, if you’re one of the rest of the souls, then it’s useless to search on your own, because this is how the system itself is built.

“The teacher – student relationship” isn’t something we invented. It isn’t talking about people, but about a connection between the Upper Level and the lower level. We’re only using the quality and interconnection of the system of the souls. There is no other way to have a spiritual birth.

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A question I received: How do followers of Kabbalah explain the origin and usage of Kabbalsitic amulets and cameos with names of angels or demons, such as Lilith for protecting babies, Ashmodai for protecting a warrior, Velzevul and many others? (References: Hebrew Amulets p. 20, 51, 125; Jewish Tradition In Art p. 20). I always thought that it was harmful to have “relationships” with these creatures through their names, such as by placing their names (Lilith, for example) next to unprotected children. A name is an essence, and when a demon sees its name written he or she allegedly can’t harm the person who’s “protected.” But how correct is this assumption, and what is it based on? I think that it’s the opposite, that when a person uses these “methods,” he falls under their power.

My Answer: You have to air out your head completely. In the spiritual world there are only forces. They can be good – altruistic (the force of bestowal and love) or evil – egoistic. However, there are no images there! And there are none in our world either.

In general, there is no difference between our world and the spiritual world. Everything depends on a person and what kind of forces he discerns. Cameos, talismans, lucky charms, and other uses of names don’t have any power besides a person’s psychological belief in them. All of this was invented by ignorant people who took the names of the forces from Kabbalah. This is also how the religions originated.

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News Report (translated from utro.ru): Following the economists, who are predicting a total crash of the current global financial system, the ecologists are sending out another warning. The World Wildlife Fund warns that the number of plant and animal species has been reduced by up to 50%. The possibility of a financial recession pales in comparison to the looming ecological credit crunch.

My Comment: This is the next plague of Egypt, but first it will be preceded by unemployment and hunger! We have to go through all ten plagues! However, we can also go through them in another way, “smoothly,” by evoking the Upper Light upon ourselves.

News Report (from World Wildlife Fund): “Humanity’s demands exceed our planet’s capacity to sustain us” According to the Living Planet Report 2008, the world is on the brink of exhausting the earth’s natural resources. Humanity’s demands for resources exceed the planet’s capacity to sustain us by 30%. By the mid-2030s we will need the equivalent of 2 planets to maintain our lifestyles.

My Comment: Over the course of the next ten years, humanity will have to decide whether it wants to take the path of correcting its nature – and then Nature’s treatment of us will change instantly, or to start a war of annihilation. This won’t be a war of conquest, but of annihilation, because it will be necessary to annihilate up to 90% of the world’s population.

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News Report (translated from gazeta.ru): Economic and political calamities on the global scale have a way of making people talk about the fact that the current era is ending and the future will be radically different. The current financial crisis is no exception. However, this time around we won’t be able to think of any clear plan for “lasting universal happiness.” If anyone hopes to make such a plan, it will only demonstrate their arrogance.

Moreover, one of the most wonderful things in life is the impossibility of predicting the future, because it gives individuals and mankind the chance to develop.

The predictions people make about life after the crisis can be grouped into three categories:

1. Some people assume that we are dealing with a case of history repeating itself, that crises like this one have happened before, and therefore the global economy will be restored. At some point in time, mankind will resume life just like before the crisis and the world will be the same as before.

2. Others think that the crisis is not really a crisis of the economy, but a crisis of our value system, and that the human civilization has reached some kind of a threshold. We can’t keep living the old way and we urgently need to create a new plan for how to exist. We will never be able to go back to the “golden era” as before the crisis (whether or not it really was a “golden era” is a separate question).

3. Scientists warn us that if people won’t change their lifestyle, they will soon need another planet in order to survive.

…We must be honest to ourselves and admit that we don’t know how and when the current crisis will end. No one can take away our right to construct our personal and universal future. However, it’s important to realize that such constructions will always be founded on mistakes.

My Comment: Here are are my comments on points 1, 2, and 3 above:

1. With crises that happened in the past, it was fair to say that history was repeating itself because they all took place in the same egoistic, individual plane. However, the current crisis arose due to a transition from an individualized world to a globalized world. Hence, none of our attempts to return to the past, to the old laws and rules, will succeed. Moreover, we will not be able to envision a new world structure based on past experience, because the world will now be based on different laws – the laws of globalization. They are opposite to the laws of individualized behavior, regardless of whether it’s a person, an organization or a country.

2. This thought is correct. However, the future is known. We can and must study it. Then we won’t have to go through so much suffering! Kabbalah is open to everyone!

3. Scientists are correct in their understanding that our planet’s resources will eventually be depleted. According to their calculations, this threatens us with complete extinction in the next few decades. However, if we begin to correct ourselves, to become more balanced with Nature (the Creator), we will elicit Nature’s positive influence upon us, thereby restoring harmony. In addition, it will happen very quickly and take on forms that we have never experienced in the past!

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Baal HaSulam, article “Peace in the World”:

Man feels that all the creatures in the world should be under his own government and were created for his own private use. And this is a law of Nature that cannot be breached. The only difference between people is their choices of how to use the creatures: One chooses to exploit people by attaining the lowest desires, one chooses to attain power, while the third – to attain respect. Furthermore, if it could be done without much effort, every person would agree to exploit the whole world for attaining all three together: wealth, power and respect. This law is called the “Law of Singularity,” and is felt in the heart of every person. And there is not a person who can escape it, although each and every one takes his own share in that law: the great person according to his greatness, and the small person according to his smallness.

And although the attribute of singularity contains a sublime, beautiful and gracious meaning, since this attribute extends to us directly from the Creator, who is single in the world and the root of all creations, still when the sensation of singularity sits within our narrow egoism, its action becomes ruin and destruction and the source of all the suffering that was and will be in the world. And indeed there is not a single person in the world who is free from this attribute, and all the differences between people are only in the way it is used: whether for satisfying the passions of the heart, or for power, or for honor. This is what makes people different from one another.

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The Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education and Research Institute is pleased to invite you to the International Kabbalah Congress taking place in Israel on February 2 – 4, 2009!

The 2009 International Kabbalah Congress will open its gates to more than 6000 Kabbalah students from over 52 countries across the world. The theme of the Congress is: “Connecting to Goodness.” Its goal is to connect our hearts, rise above the global crisis toward spirituality,obtain adhesion with nature (the Upper Force), and to reveal a new, spiritual world.

Why? Today the world needs a lifeline that will raise it above the crisis and suffering to a good existence and the revelation of the higher purpose of our lives. Our world doesn’t have such a lifeline. Only the Upper Light, which created us, can correct our nature. By uniting, we will realize the Kabbalistic method of correcting the world through the Upper Light.

The Congress will include my lessons, shared meals, workshops, friends’ gatherings, singing and cultural evenings

Everything is dedicated to the topic of unity and every person in attendance will have the opportunity to apply the principle of “Love thy friend as thyself.”

This year children and youth are also invited to the Congress and we have special activities planned for them.

We will be happy to see all those who understand that only by uniting can we set an example for the entire world.

Register for the Congress

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar”, item 19:
When all human beings agree to abolish and eradicate their egoistic will to receive for themselves, and have no other desire but to bestow upon others, all worries and evil in the world will cease to exist. And we will all be assured of a healthy, complete and secure life, since for each and every one of us there will be a whole world ready to satisfy his every need. However, when everyone has only the will to receive for himself, from here originate the pains, the wars and slaughter which we cannot escape. They weaken our bodies with all sorts of sores and maladies.

Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”:
Evil is nothing other than self love, called egoism, since it is opposite to the Creator, who hasn’t any will to receive for Himself, but only to bestow.

Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”:
The shared quality of all the people in the world is that each and every one of us stands ready to abuse and exploit all the other people for his own private benefit by every means possible, without taking into consideration that he is going to build himself through the ruin of his friend. And it doesn’t matter what excuses each of us invents for acting this way.

Baal HaSulam, “The Revelation of Godliness (Matan Torah)”:
It is a natural law for a person to regard anything outside his own body as unreal and non-existent. And any movement that a person makes to love his fellow man, cannot be considered “love of a fellow man” because it is judged by its goal: to benefit from this action. It is not in man’s nature to perform any action out of love for one’s neighbor, without expecting a reward, and hence such an action is completely impossible.

And only the revelation of the Creator (the Upper Light,Ohr Makif) is able to change us.

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