A question I received: What should be the connection between the Jewish religion and the state of Israel?

My Answer: There shouldn’t be any connection between religion and state. Every person should be able to lead the lifestyle of his choice without coercion. Kabbalah states: “There’s no coercion in spirituality!”

People should only be influenced by the correct education. Sure, the upbringing in Israel should be conducted the spirit of the Jewish tradition, Jewish culture and all that we received from our forefathers. However, this should be done through a gentle, kind upbringing in the spirit of the nation’s traditions.

Through the dissemination of Kabbalah, today’s religion – a set of obligatory actions, will turn into true religion. This is what Baal HaSulam describes in the article, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose.” How will this happen?

The Upper Force that is being reveals to us today will change us, and people will then begin to feel and understand the Creator. His revelation will eliminate the need for the religious services of today and the need for intermediaries between man and the Creator, such as religion and its leaders. It is written, “And people will stop teaching about Creator, for all will know Me, from small to great.”

The revelation of the Creator will show everyone the principle of the entire Torah: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which is currently absent even among the religious people. Baal HaSulam writes in “The Future Generation”:

The religious (ethical) form, determining the life of all nations, must first and foremost obligate its representatives to engage in bestowal to the fellow man, according to the principle, “love your neighbor as yourself.” And this will be the social consciousness of all nations… However, with this exception, each nation should be free to follow its own religion and traditions, and no nation should interfere with the affairs of another.

The science of Kabbalah explains that the main principle of the Torah, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” indicates that the observance of the Mitzvot (precepts) and Torah means the correction of one’s egoism, where one reaches the level of love for the fellow man. So it is the correction of one’s egoistic desires that is called the observance of the precepts.

If a person engages in self-correction in order to develop an attitude of bestowal to the fellow man, this means that he is performing all the rules of Torah. This is what the great sage Rabbi Akiva said. When he was asked to explain all of the Torah while “standing on one leg” (metaphorically speaking), he cited the general rule of the entire Torah: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Another sage, named Hillel, who lived in the times of the Talmud (the beginning of the Common Era) states this principle as: “Don’t do to another what you don’t want others to do to you.”

Therefore, the entire institute of religion will definitely go through a big change, as it doesn’t stand by these principles.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Learning to Live In the Spiritual World
Laitman.com Post: Why Are Most Israelis Opposed to Their Nation’s Traditional Customs?
Laitman.com Post: The True Meaning of “Observing Torah and Mitzvot”
Talk: “There is No Coercion in Spirituality”
Baal HaSulam Article: “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”

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Questions I received about desires, virtual study and Christian beliefs:

Question: I am only twenty six years old. I am studying at a university in Berlin and I am under a lot of pressure. Recently I started noticing that my desires are starting to disappear. Sometimes I am not interested in anything at all. How do you explain these feelings?

My Answer: Many people develop this attitude to life. I have a simple piece of advice for you: split yourself in two parts – one part studies at the university, and the other studies Kabbalah in your free time. Don’t be influences by your moods and your desires, but only by rational thinking. And if you cannot manage it, then stop studying Kabbalah. You’ll be able to resume at a later time.

Question: I’ve been reading your blog for about a year. I live far away and I can only study virtually, and I cannot afford the trips to the Congresses. Is it enough to study Kabbalah through the computer?

My Answer: Yes!

Question: My brothers, who was brought up in a Christian environment, believes in the Christian Messiah, and he is trying to get me to go back to Christianity as well. I understand his motives since I was brought up in Christianity myself and used to think this way too. I don’t want to argue with him, since these arguments lead to nowhere, but I feel like I have to say something in response.

My Answer: Kabbalah is not against faith – you can believe in whatever you wish. Kabbalah is a science about the part of the world that is presently concealed from us. It becomes revealed as a person comes out of his egoistic thoughts about himself and develops altruistic thoughts about others. That’s all there is to it. Is that contrary to Christianity or any other religion?

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Advice for Beginners
Laitman.com Post: Who Can I Talk to About Kabbalah?
Laitman.com Post: Religion Is a Cultural Tradition, Kabbalah Is the Method of Correction
Article: “The Need for Learning Kabbalah”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two”

Filed under: Q&A - 1 Comment →

Two questions I received about the Full Correction:

Question: In one of the morning lessons you said that at the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun), the religions will remain only as traditions. Will man exist in the material form at the end of correction in order to continue to observe the traditions? Or will man become a spirit, whereupon all the physical traditions matter will disappear?

My Answer: There are several states of complete correction: particular individual, collective individual, unified collective in Tzimtzum Bet, unified collective in Tzimtzum Aleph, and absolute adhesion to the Creator. As long as there’s even one uncorrected soul, our world will continue to exist in our perception. And only when the general correction is complete, our world and all the worlds will integrate in our perception into the World of Infinity.

In reality there’s only one state – the World of Infinity, and all the worlds are just filters for the Upper Light in our flawed perception of It. In other words, the worlds are degrees of concealment of the only existing state, the World of Infinity.

Question: What does it mean that we are approaching the state of the Full Correction?

My Answer: It is the state when all the souls merge into one and the Upper Force fulfills and manifests within them. Every person will then perceive everyone else as himself, and will therefore perceive himself as eternal and perfect, like the Creator.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Writings of the Last Generation
Talk: “The Structure of the Soul”
The Path of Kabbalah: “The Body at the End of Correction”
“Introduction to the Book of Zohar”: “Items 13-18”
Lesson on Shamati #69: “First Will Be the Correction of the World”

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In the News (from New Scientist): “Born believers: How your brain creates God” An experiment published in Science supports the idea that religion is a natural consequence of how our brains work. …Humans can anticipate future events, including their own death. “You’ve got to figure out a solution, otherwise you’re overwhelmed,” says anthropologist Scott Atran of the University of Michigan. When natural brain processes give us a get-out-of-jail card [religious faith], we take it.

My Comment: All the belief systems in the world (over 3800 of them) were invented by people. However, the three main religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – originated from Kabbalah, when the people of Israel fell from the spiritual level (the sensation of the Creator through the quality of bestowal and love) to the level of our world (where the Creator is concealed because of people’s unfounded hatred to each other). Because people lost their perception of the Creator, the Temple became destroyed and the Jews were exiled from their land, which happened 2000 years ago.

When the Creator became concealed, so did Kabbalah, and people’s perception and understanding of the Creator was replaced by faith in Him. That is when Kabbalah was replaced by religion – Judaism. And later on, two more religions or branches originated from Judaism: Christianity and Islam.

In our times, people will once again begin to feel the Creator by attaining the quality of bestowal and love. Therefore, all the belief systems and religions will disappear, as it is written, “For they will all know Me, from the smallest of them to the greatest” (Yirmiyahu 31:33). The beliefs and religions will remain only as traditions.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: In the Modern Era, the Psychological Support of Religion Is No Longer Enough
Laitman.com Post: The Spiritual Roots of the Three Religions
Laitman.com Post: Building the Third Temple
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose”

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A question I received: I want to know why the Kabbalists wear “Jewish hats.” People around me believe that Kabbalists are “ordinary Jews” and follow the Judaism that says to serve God their whole life until they die and go to heaven, because they wear those hats and speak of the Torah. I try to tell them that I’m sure that’s not “the kind of Jews” that Kabbalists are.

What is the difference between “ordinary religious Jews” and “Kabbalist Jews,” and why do you call yourselves Jews if you know that that is going to confuse the whole world into believing that you are religious, though you are not?

My Answer: You’re right: Kabbalah has no relation to religion or to Judaism, and this is obvious from the way the religious Jews react to it. However, if there’s a Kabbalist who doesn’t come from Judaism, no one will take him seriously because Kabbalah was kept inside Judaism for millennia, despite the fact that ordinary believers did not know about it and did not study it. It was passed down through the generations from teacher to student, known to a few individuals in every generation.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Religion Is a Cultural Tradition, Kabbalah Is the Method of Correction
Laitman.com Post: The Difference Between Spiritual Correction and Ritual Observance
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Teaching of the Kabbalah and Its Essence”

Filed under: Religion - 1 Comment →

A question I received: You often say that there’s a multi-faceted crisis going on, including a crisis of science and religion. But what’s the right way to define the crisis: A crisis of what?

My Answer: The crisis we feel and observe demonstrates our lack of similarity to Nature. Everything in Nature is interconnected, and since we are a part of Nature, we have to behave as an integral part of It, interacting harmoniously with all parts of Nature, as one organism.

Therefore, I view this crisis as the birth of a new world, as the breaking of an eggshell and the emergence of a baby chick into the world, or as the labor pains felt by a woman, the contractions that precede the birth of humanity’s new state.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Global Crisis Is the Labor Pains of Birthing a New World
Laitman.com Post: Reflections on the Crisis
Laitman.com Post: Spiritual Labor Pains and the Future of Kabbalah (Advanced)

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In the News (from BBC News): “An atheist advertising campaign has been launched on buses across Britain” The campaign backers were exasperated at the excessive religious advertisement. The promotion carries the slogan “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

My Comment: There was a time when religion lulled the people, giving them psychological fulfillment, security, and hope. But for many centuries now, religion has exploited people instead of protecting them. The bureaucratic apparatus that it has created exceeds even that of the state.

The desire to rule over the minds of the congregation defines today’s religion, which is a political force. It does not matter whether there’s a God or not. Being free from the pressure of the psychological religious brainwashing is already a path to inner peace.

Kabbalah says that there is no world to come (or a world “beyond the grave,” waiting for us after our bodies die). There is only what we reveal in this world. If you attained or revealed more than the five bodily senses, then you will keep this perception even after your body dies along with its five senses. This perception will remain with you forever because bestowal and love are above egoism, and they raise a person above time, space, and change (motion).

The stages of one’s attainment of the universe are:

• Olam HaZeh – “This world,” which is perceived inside egoism, also called the level of Malchut;

• Olam HaBah – “The world to come,” in Kabbalah known as the level of Abba ve Ima of the World of Atzilut.” A Kabbalist ascends to this level during his life. And if a person doesn’t attain this level, then he has to be born again.

• L’Atid Lavo – “Coming in the future,” the level of “Arich Anpin of the World of Atzilut.” It also has to be attained during this life.

• Gmar Tikkun – “The End of Correction” (of egoism). It is when a person attains “the World of Infinity,” where everything is infinitely corrected.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Is Atheism Compatible With Kabbalah?
Laitman.com Post: The Foundation of the Wisdom of Kabbalah
“Attaining the Unity of the Universe,” Lessons 07.07.04 – 07.13.04

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In the News: The Institute of Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya will be hosting the 9th annual Herzliya Conference, on “The Balance of Israel’s National Strength and Security” on February 2-4, 2009. The program includes:

– Coping with Hamas

– Dealing with Asymmetric Islamic Terrorism

– Iran on the Nuclear Threshold

– Israel’s Legitimacy under Attack

– Weathering the Storm: Israel and the World Economic Crisis

– Why Do Israeli Students Fail? Can the Digital Revolution Change the Educational Reality?

– National Sustainability and Israel’s Green Safety Net

– From R&D to Commercial and Economic Application as Part of National Policy

– Reconnecting Israel with its Expatriates

My Comment: For the time being, not one of the problems is nearing a solution, and the problems are only becoming worse. The Israeli people’s lack of understanding of their role in the world is bringing about further deterioration of the state and its people.

The nation of Israel can only exist by the principle of, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” It was created under this condition by Abraham, 4,500 years ago, and was comprised of his students. But as soon as they fell from that level into “unfounded hatred,” they ceased being a nation and were exiled from their territory.

They returned here in the 20th century, but – as explained in Kabbalah – they can stay here only under the condition that they will restore themselves through the rule, “Love your neighbor.” This is how we will become a nation once again. However, if we won’t carry out this condition, then we will once again be expelled from the land of Israel, since we will not be suitable for it.

This should be the topic of the Herzliya Conference. By the way, at the same time, on February 2-4, we will also be hosting our Congress, where we will actually unite into a single mini-humanity. This will create enormous changes in the world, because qualitatively speaking, this will be the most powerful and influential unity in the world.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Preparations for the 2009 International Kabbalah Congress

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A question I received: I am non Jewish, and I have been studying Kabbalah for several years. I am considering the path of conversion. However, I am trying to find information on the concept of Chasid Omot Olam. All I know is that this is a non Jewish person who lives his life according to the precepts and the cause of spreading Kabbalah. Is this correct? How can I find more information on this concept?

My Answer: There’s no need to convert. You have to correct yourself to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and today this is required of all people. Nationalities and religions will vanish, and our world will disappear from our perception. The only thing that will remain is the one common soul, united with the Creator in the state of the World of Infinity, just as it was at the beginning of creation. Read the section about the three states in Baal HaSulam’s article, “Introduction to the Book of Zohar.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah’s Model of a New World
Lecture: “Unconditional Love”
Talk: Perception of Reality
Lesson on Shamati #140: “How I Love Thy Law”

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A question I received: You are a scientist, Kabbalist, philosopher, and practice religious observances, but your explanations of evolution are unclear. Do you agree with Darwin’s theory?

My Answer: According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, one of nature’s principles is, “the fittest survives.” However, this theory worked only during the initial stage of life’s development, when the simplest organisms were developing and before they began to unite into complex bodies and distribute the functions between separate organs in a body.

Darwin’s theory can justify any method of enslavement, exploitation, and extermination, which are all done to provide maximal enrichment and safety for specific individuals. This principle justifies our actions when we wage a battle against everyone else, and when we wage a battle against Nature, taking away everything we possibly can from It, draining It of all the natural resources.

Today we find ourselves globally and integrally connected and interdependent, and we cannot continue to behave “according to Darwin,” in a battle for survival. Just like the biological forms of life, humanity has already gone through the stage of the egoistic battle for survival, and now – when it has revealed its interdependence, it must recognize the need for everyone to unite into one whole. And this no longer happens according to Darwin!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: There’s No Going Backwards In Evolution
Laitman.com Post: The Classical Wisdom of Kabbalah and the Evolution of the Urgently Needed Planetary Consciousness
The Open Book: View on Evolution from the Perspective of Kabbalah
Basic Concepts in Kabbalah: Chapter 4. Perfection and the World

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