A question I received: What happens to a person who converts to Judaism? Does a Jewish soul really incarnate into a gentile if his intentions are sincere and he is fully aware of what he is doing?

My Answer:
1. You must differentiate between our earthly traditions and the spiritual actions. A person can do the physical actions on his own, but not the spiritual actions. No physical actions can correct the soul, or even any earthly, physical qualities of a person. The only thing that can correct a person is the Light that descends during the study of Kabbalah, when one learns about the corrected states and how to come closer to them. It is called “the Light of the Torah,” about which the Creator said: “I created egoism and the Torah for its correction, because the Light in the Torah returns egoism to the corrected state.”

2. The soul is a “part of the Creator in man” (Helek Eloka Mi Maal), or in other words, it is the quality of bestowal (love for one’s neighbor) that a person acquires, because this is the only quality that the Creator has (“Good and Does Good”). When one acquires this quality, one become Isra-El, which translates as “Directed toward the Creator.” Everyone else are gentiles (nations), meaning egoists, regardless of their physical origins and whether they were born Jewish or not.

We all came from Ancient Babylon and we must all attain correction. In the past this was achieved by a small part of the Babylonians, the group headed by Abraham, and they were called Isra-El – those who are directed toward the Creator. Today, everyone must do this.

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Two questions I received on the role of this world in the soul’s correction:

Question: I read that when a person dies who hasn’t developed the sixth sense (a soul), which enables him to perceive the Upper World, he returns for another incarnation. Then why do we mourn someone who dies? From the moment I began thinking this way, I don’t see any point in life. Things happen all around me but I feel that they’re not important to me.

My Answer: This is wonderful, because it means that you nearing the recognition that the entire meaning of life lies only in attaining the Upper Goal – the Creator, and that there is no other meaning to life on the earthy level! The higher meaning to the earthy life is to attain the Creator while living in this world!

Question: Is it possible to correct the soul in between two reincarnations, when the soul is not in the body?

My Answer: No. Correction can only occur while you are in this world.

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Preface to the Science of Kabbalah (“Pticha”). Items 6 – 9, summary:

6. The five phases of the desire’s development from the Creator to its completed form comprise all of creation. Subsequently the desire is divided into different parts, but each part also consists of all these parts (according to the principle of a holographic image).

The Worlds of Adam Kadmon and Atzilut are still not separated from the Creator through their qualities. Hence, when the soul ascends to these worlds from our world, it merges with the Creator.

7. In the World of Beria, just as in phase 2, the desire to bestow is manifested. Therefore, when the soul is there, it feels independent from the Creator. Nevertheless, this does not make it separate it from the Creator, because it desires to bestow just as He does.

8. In the World of Yetzira, just as in phase 3, the desire to receive is manifested. However, this desire is still insufficient to separate the soul from the Creator.

9. In the World of Assiya phase 4 is manifested – the fully developed desire, called “the body.” It is completely separated from the Creator and feels absolutely independent. The Light inside it is called Nefesh – still, because the desire has no movement of its own.

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A question I received: “A cell in the eye is more important than billions of cells in a finger. That is how much more important one organ is than another. The difference between the souls is the same: from the moment they came out of the general soul, the souls are completely unequal to each other. And we exist in this world the same way – there is no equality between us. However, in the process of self-correction, each one of us completes himself to attain the height of the Creator” (This is a quote from the Academic Course in Russian – Kabbalistic Anthropology, Lesson 3 – “The Spiritual Construction of Adam HaRishon“).

Does this mean that if my soul’s root is that of a simple worker, then I’ll always remain second-class? If the Creator made me this way, then is this forever, or for a long time?

My Answer: Every person who completes himself to reach the level of Creator, becomes absolutely equal to Him! You should go over the topic: “The opposite connection of the desire and the fulfillment” (Erech Hafuch Orot VeKelim). When one who originated from the lowest place acquires a screen and Reflected Light, he is elevated to Keter – the Creator, just like one who originated from a higher place. The difference lies in the work, and the reward depends on the effort. So it’s useless to just sit there and suffer – you have to work!

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Questions I received on women’s spirituality:

Question: Does the word “man” used in Kabbalistic books also apply to women? For example, “if a man feels a Reshimo, then he’s worthy of attaining spirituality, of feeling the Upper World, and comprehending the reality” (this is a quote from the book Kabbalah for the Student, Introduction to Pticha).

My Answer: Without a doubt, all people – both men and women – must attain adhesion with the Creator. The only difference is that men must perform more corrections than women, according to the structure of their souls.

Question: I heard that you don’t approve of women studying at night. Is this true?

My Answer: Anyone can study whenever it’s convenient for him or her. However, since it’s necessary for the men to unite, the best and most effective time for them to study is together with us.

Question: A man’s egoism and difficulties are revealed in relation to the group. How, and in relation to whom, does a woman’s egoism become revealed?

My Answer: Her ego is revealed in relation to a man, or the men’s part of the group, in the sense that the men are the source of a woman’s spiritual advancement. By making efforts to advance spiritually, a woman realizes that she can only do so through the men’s part of the common group.

Question: You say that spirituality has no connection to our bodies. Then why is it important for us to dress modestly when we come to the Kabbalah center? Shouldn’t the men overcome their ego and stop looking at women as sexual objects, but as their equals in correcting the world?

My Answer: You have to help the men disseminate Kabbalah to the world, instead of showcasing yourself to them. This is why you’re permitted to come to the center! Do you want to be a person who’s of benefit to the world, or a “woman”? When you have to do work together with the men, it’s important that there be no difference among the participants.

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News Report (from BBC News): “Sex-matched transplants ‘better.'” The chance of long-term survival after a heart transplant rises if the person getting the new heart is the same sex as the donor, researchers say. The precise reason is unclear – although the difference in size could be a factor.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA looked back at heart transplants which happened between 1998 and 2007, comparing survival rates in matched against non-matched transplants. The worst scenario appeared to be a woman receiving a “male” heart, while the most successful operations were those involving male recipients and male donors.

My Comment: According to the science of Kabbalah, the difference between the male and female bodies determines the difference between their particular components – including every organ and even every cell of their organisms. There is nothing similar in men and women, and that’s because they come from opposite spiritual roots. Doctors should take this into account when operating with the human body.

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News Report (from gizmag): Lubrication enables all of the world’s machinery to function, but even then, at least a quarter of all the energy is lost to friction. Despite some ingenious lubrication methods, at least 15% of the power made in a car engine is lost to friction. In most machinery, frictional losses are much higher than 15% and the heat resultant from friction generates trillions of dollars of repair and maintenance every year. Now a breakthrough in lubricant design employing liquid crystals promises a vast reduction in friction and some quite remarkable lubricants are about five years from market – oils that could reduce friction to almost zero.

My Comment: If only they would invent this kind of oil for people! Actually, it already exists: the quality of bestowal creates exactly this kind of interaction between everyone. It not only erases the friction, but also creates additional energy for the engine – the general soul – to function. This energy comes from each person’s intention to bestow to everyone. Then a common intention of bestowal emerges, called the Creator, which creates infinite energy and the sensation of eternal fulfillment.

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Two questions I received on spiritual perceptions:

Question: On one hand you say that there is no connection between the soul and the corporeal body, that these are two parallel worlds. On the other hand you says that there’s no such thing as this world and that world, that everything is united, and our current reality is the lowest part of the spiritual world which is revealed in our sensations for the time being. Does this mean that the corporeal body is also the soul or spirit?

My Answer: Of course, this world is what we perceive in our smallest desire. The rest of our desires are concealed from us, and become revealed to the degree that we progress toward spirituality. What becomes revealed in them is called “the Upper World.”

At the same time, all of one’s desires remain. This is why a Kabbalist retains the sensation of our world, but this sensation is also complemented by the sensation of another world – the Upper World. And at the end of all the corrections, all the worlds “fold up” into one – the World of Infinity.

Question: While listening to your lessons I have this thought that the Upper World is concerned only with our reaction to everything that happens to us, and what it (the Upper World) sends us. Is this correct?

My Answer: That’s absolutely correct, and how to correctly react to the Creator’s influence is exactly what we study. It is a process of attaining Him and achieving equivalence with Him.

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A question I received: I’ve noticed an obvious growth in the number of women studying Kabbalah, and I’ll be honest: this makes me very happy! Is this happening because their desires are increasing?

My Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah was concealed from humanity for millennia in order to allow humanity to develop their egoism and finally reveal the global egoism – the “small village” where all people are completely interconnected. As long as Kabbalah was concealed, it was passed down only through men, because in our world a man represents the quality of bestowal, and a woman – the quality of reception.

However, as soon as we reached the level of global egoism – which is how our souls are connected inside the system of the single soul of Adam – the wisdom of Kabbalah started being revealed to everyone, because it is the method to correct our common egoism, which is represented by the woman in our world.

This is why more women than men are attracted to the study and application of Kabbalah. However, this cannot be done without the male part because it is precisely the male part that evokes the Light’s influence, but it does so by using the female desire and hence draws the Light onto both of them. This is similar to how a woman takes care of the home and children while a man acquires the means to realize the woman’s desires.

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Two questions I received about physical and spiritual birth:

Question: I am very curious about whether there are any secrets during birth, marriage, and death according to the wisdom of Kabbalah.

My Answer: The birth of one’s animate body does not involve any secrets, and it never will because the body is simply an animal! However, when the soul (the screen, the quality of bestowal) is born in a person, he reveals the Upper World – the secret of all secrets!

Question: In the future, will people be born with a developed sixth sense within, that will give them absolute control over their lives?

My Answer: Man will always have to make an effort against egoism in order to be corrected and fulfilled by the Upper Light.

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