On November 25, at the Foreign Press Association Media Award in London, Prince Charles stated:

Humanity has a natural tendency to consume and if there are no limits on that tendency we can become obsessed simply with satisfying our desires. The desire grows ever more potent as we consume ever more, even though we achieve very little of the actual satisfaction we desire…

We hear so many people admitting to feeling deeply dissatisfied. This reminds me of that wise observation about Gross National Product made by Robert Kennedy forty years ago, that it “measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile.”

…many do not even realize that we have lost something very precious – what I might best describe as that intuitive sense of our interconnectedness with Nature… I consider our problems today not to be an environmental crisis per se… nor a financial crisis. They all stem from this fundamental crisis in our perception.

…the denial of our real relationship with the universal truths through a deep connection with Nature and her laws has engendered a dangerous alienation. In denying or forgetting the invisible “grammar of harmony” we create cacophony and dissonance.

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In the article, “The Future Generation,” Baal HaSulam describes the ways of a society that’s in harmony with Nature (the Creator):

The economic and ethical forms are the guarantees of the altruistic society and must be one for all the nations. With regard to other ethical matters, which do not deal with the economy, each nation can keep its own form.

First, a small organization of altruists should be established, who will work diligently according to their strength and receive according to their needs. This organization will have all the forms of a state government. Even if the framework of this institution will incorporate the entire world, and the brute-force government will be revoked, nothing will need to be changed, neither in government nor in work.

This institution will be a global focal point with nations and states surrounding it to the farthest corners of the world. All who enter this framework of the altruistic society shall have the same agenda and the same leadership as the center. They will be like one nation in profit, in loss and in expenses.

The framework of altruistic communism should ultimately encircle the entire world with an equal standard of living for everybody. However, the actual process is a gradual one. Each nation whose majority has already been brought up to bestow upon their fellow person, will enter the framework of the international communism.

All the nations that have already entered the framework of international communism will have equal standards of living. The surplus of a wealthy or diligent nation will improve the living standards of the failing or poor nation in raw materials and productive means.

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The President-elect of the United States, Barack Obama writes in his book, Audacity Of Hope – Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream:

“In response, I would usually smile and nod and say that I understood the skepticism, but that there was – and always had been – another tradition to politics, a tradition that stretched from the days of the country’s founding to the glory of the civil rights movement, a tradition based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another, and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and that if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done.”

My Comment: Throughout all human history, from the ancient times to today, there were many people who realized and wrote about the cause of all the suffering and crises that take place in society and in nature as a whole. That cause is man’s egoistic nature.

However, in our world there is no means to correct man’s egoism. The only thing capable of correcting it is the Upper Light, which created it. And there is only one method in our world that can draw the Light’s influence upon our egoism – the Science of Kabbalah. Its intended purpose is to reveal the Creator – the quality of love and bestowal – to man in this world (see the beginning of the article, “The Essence of the Wisdom of Kabbalah”).

So if the new American President plans to make the world better, he has to familiarize himself with Kabbalah. Otherwise, things will turn out as they always have.

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Baal HaSulam. Article “Freedom of Will:”
“When mankind attains its goal, meaning ascends to the degree of complete love for the fellow man, when all the people in the world will unite in a single heart – only then will all the happiness intended for humanity be revealed in all its glory.”

Baal HaSulam. Article “Peace in the World:”
“First and foremost, each person must thoroughly understand, and explain to those around him, that peace in society, peace in the nation, and peace on the planet are absolutely interconnected.”

Baal HaSulam. Article “The Future Generation:”
“The ethical form, determining the life of every nation, primarily must obligate people to bestow to others according to the principle of “love thy neighbor as thyself.” This will be the social consciousness of all the nations. But except for this, every nation can follow its own religion and tradition, and no nation should interfere with another.”

Baal HaSulam. Article “The Peace:”
“Egoistic resistance between people and nations can only disappear from the world with the help of the Upper Force of the Creator (Nature), if we will wish to unite with Him. This was initially planned in the thought of creation. And if we will strive toward this goal of adhesion with the Creator, then envy, pride, and hatred will disappear, and we will all gather in one heart, filled with the knowledge of the Creator.”

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UK’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown:
…the world financial crisis can become the accelerator for the creation of a new kind of society, unique in its aspirations.

…together we can seize this moment of profound change to create, for the first time, the age of the truly global society — one where people find that what unites them is far greater that what ever divided them.

These last weeks and months will be studied by generations to come. Historians will look back and say this was no ordinary time but a defining moment: an unprecedented period of global change, a time when one chapter ended and another began – for nations; for continents; for the whole world.

USA’s President-elect Barack Obama:
…our global economic crisis requires a coordinated global response.

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Globalization is the revelation of the law of connection among people. However, instead of being beneficial, it is causing problems in our society because every person desires to use the global system of people’s connection into one organism, for his personal gain, instead of the way the system is designed to be used: for everyone to use it together for the well-being of us all.

Today we are interconnected with each other like organs in one body, and the life of the collective depends on everyone. Under these conditions it is useless to be egoistically honest – to create a global government, a world bank, or a common regulator. This will not help us stop being opposite to Nature and its law of universal interconnection. Instead, we must change our relationships from commercial to integral, to be based on the consideration of others as yourself. Even the most honest relationships of “what’s mine is mine and what’s your is yours” and the politics of non-violence will continue evoking crises until we realize what we have to do.

Kabbalah proposes that we start seeing humanity as a single organism and learn about how to behave correctly in our new state. Even if we don’t change anything about our relationships in the beginning, by just studying the laws of communication and distribution in a single organism, we already stop being opposite to nature – and then we will immediately feel a reduction in the suffering.

The most practical solution to the crisis is to study its true cause. Or in other words, to learn to live in an integral society, where the benefit of every individual depends on every other individual. Moreover, we must teach this law of nature to our children.

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A question I received: I still don’t understand why the Jews concealed Kabbalah until now.

My Answer: I understand you: if Kabbalah is only meant for man’s correction, is a science, and doesn’t manipulate the world in any way, then why was it concealed for 5769 years, since the time it was first revealed by Adam? Is there a prohibition on correcting egoism?

The fact is that throughout all human history, there was only one time when Kabbalah was open to all. That was in Ancient Babylon, which was a “small village” where every person influenced everyone else. When society is in this state, being a single system, it necessitates people to follow the law of “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” This is what the Babylonian priest Abraham urged his countrymen to do.

However, only a few people listened to him, those in whom “the point in the heart” was revealed. They followed him and received a name according to their aspiration: Israel, which means Isra (straight) + El (Creator). The rest chose not to unite, not to correct their egoism, nor to acquire the quality of love and bestowal, but to separate from one another. Hence they removed the effect of a single system, of a “small village,” from the society, and scattered all over the world.

Meanwhile, Abraham’s group evolved and grew until the time when, 2000 years ago, an enormous egoism was suddenly expressed in it. That’s when they (Israel, the Jews) fell from the level of “Love thy neighbor as thyself” to the level of unfounded hatred for each other. As a result, they lost the perception of the single system, and therefore their perception of mutual love, the Creator, disappeared as well: the Creator “concealed Himself” from them.

Today, once again, the world has reached a state of a single system, “a small village,” just like in Ancient Babylon. In this state, where all the people are completely interconnected, in order to exist (for us to survive) we have to observe the condition: “every person is responsible for everyone.” And this can only be done under the condition of mutual love. How can we attain this quality and survive? This is what Kabbalah explains. And this is why Kabbalah is being revealed again today – because there is a need for it.

It is because we have revealed precisely the global, systematic egoism that has to be corrected, rather than the individual egoism. As long as this egoism wasn’t yet revealed, Kabbalah – the science about its correction – was also concealed. But today it is revealed to everyone, because everyone will have to correct their attitude to others! This is a law of nature. Because the global egoism has been revealed, there is no prohibition on its correction, and this is why there is no prohibition on Kabbalah. So go ahead and study about what we should be like in a new world.

(On the photograph above, I’m standing on the background of the Tower of Babel. You have to feel that all of it belongs to you!)

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Two questions I received on the present state of the world:

Question: Shlama Ilelochum, Rabu Michael. Do you believe in the revival of the Assyrian State? Are you FOR or AGAINST?

My Answer: I am for only one state in the world – the State of Kabbalah, whose law will be “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Then all the nations will be as one family. This is what we are obligated to do by the Creator or Nature. We must live in accordance with the global connection in which we exist. The emergence of separate states contradicts world unity. See Baal HaSulam’s articles “The Peace” and “Peace in the World.”

Question: Many people who post comments seem to think that economic prosperity acquired via free markets is egoistic and evil. The only thing that can be evil is the intention. As humans we need access to resources to survive – i.e., food, shelter and education. Surely the problem isn’t in acquiring prosperity and knowledge via the economic market, but in the distribution among those who need it. This distribution is best done in one’s own community. The meek will inherit the world only when those who amassed resources will find a way to distribute it to those in need. Please comment.

My Answer: I would advise you to look at the materials on the crisis and its solution, as well as Baal HaSulam’s articles on it – “The Peace,” “Peace in the World,” and “The Freedom.”

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Two questions I received about the future:

Question: I wish to pose a question in regard to technology and the construction of the Third Temple. Have you considered that the Third Temple could be considered the structure of the system in which the virtual connection could potentially provide a nullifying experience? Given the fractal technological benefits and endeavors such as the LHC provide, it is not difficult to recognize the wisdom of Kabbalah’s importance to our generation.

My Answer: Certainly, “The Temple” means the general union of all people’s aspirations for the Creator, for bestowal to the society and the Creator, and for love for one’s neighbor, rather than a physical building. In addition, it’s certain that one of the foundations for this will be a virtual connection of all the people in the world.

Question: Does every person have to study Kabbalah in order for a change to take place? And is it even possible that everyone will study Kabbalah?

My Answer: No, not everyone will have to study Kabbalah. Each person should study according to his desire.

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Two questions I received on what will happen to the Internet during the crisis:

Question: In this great international crisis, plus everything that is apparently still in store for us, it is reasonable to assume that many different infrastructures will be affected, including the Internet. How do you think this will affect the role of the virtual group and our dissemination in the entire world, which happens primarily through the Internet?

My Answer: If we use the Internet correctly in order to correct the world, then it will remain, or be replaced by something even more suitable for this goal.

Question: Are you still working on materials to submit to the Google 10^100 project? At first everyone was excited about it and there was a lot of talk about it, but now it seems like everyone forgot about it. Will Bnei Baruch participate in it or not?

My Answer: We did what we could, and the rest does not depend on us. In the midst of it, the crisis struck. It looks like Google has forgotten about it, or perhaps something is still happening there, but since no one is contacting us, we are keeping quiet as well.

To be frank, I don’t believe that such undertakings have good intentions or integrity from the start, but I’m obligated to participate if there is an opportunity. In addition, working together on these projects helps us unite!

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