A question I received: Please explain the meaning of the expression “Faith, hope and love” and their order in one’s spiritual work.

My Answer: First, a person must attain faith – the perception of the Creator. This perception gives him hope and confidence about his present and future, since the revelation of the Creator makes a person merge with Him like an embryo in a mother. Then, after experiencing all of the Creator’s actions and learning of their absolute goodness, a person starts to feel love for the Creator.

As you can see, everything comes from attainment, or learning things yourself. Kabbalah is the most practical science of all: it is studied inside and through oneself.

Related Material:
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Questions I received on how to work with the material and the group:

Question: When does a person who studies the science of Kabbalah go from simply “absorbing” the information (reading, listening and seeing) to actually perceiving the Upper World?

My Answer: When he becomes equivalent – in the minimal degree – to the quality of bestowal described by the text.

Question: When studying the materials by the aforementioned methods, does it make sense to try and unite with the Kabbalist’s way of thinking, rather than finding a connection with the material itself?

My Answer: That’s exactly what you should do – try to unite with the author and his intention.

Question: Can the point of the breaking be revealed only in the group? Or also with other people close to me, such as my husband for instance?

My Answer: It can only be done by trying to unite the aspirations for the Creator by drawing our joint aspirations for Him closer together.

Question: Sometimes I meet people who seem very close to me spiritually, and it’s easier for me to connect to their desires. Is this egoistic equivalence of form? Or the pattern of the reincarnation of souls?

My Answer: These are the same.

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Two questions I received on a woman’s ability to love others as herself:

Question: You wrote in a previous blog post that women cannot love one another because of their nature. I would like to know what is a woman’s nature? If it is the quality of deficiency, then please explain what kind of a deficiency this is, and what is the spiritual meaning of this concept? How is it expressed? And do women also advance through the 125 levels of correction?

My Answer: Every woman represents a desire, and every man represents the fulfillment of this desire. Hence, it’s impossible for women to be friends with anyone, and they can only love what belongs to them. Yet precisely this quality makes them the carriers of the desire that the men have to correct and fulfill.

Besides this, every man and every woman have their own inner “man” and “woman,” not only according to the chromosomes but also according to spiritual properties. Women provide men with the aspiration toward the Creator, pushing them to attain the goal of creation – and together they attain it.

Question: Can I apply the concept of “love thy neighbor” in relation to my wife?

My Answer: You should treat your wife according to the rules of society, and you should work together with your friends – the people with whom you must reach the mutual guarantee (Arvut) – to realize the law of the single soul, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

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Two questions I received on the arts:

Question: I know that the arts are a manifestation of the ego. But being a person who dabbles in poetry and music, I can’t help but ask: What is the spiritual root of poetry? Can I (a person who hasn’t developed a spiritual Kli nor crossed the Machsom) write poetry and songs about Kabbalah and the Creator? After all, I don’t receive the Light into my soul yet. Should I try it anyway?

My Answer: Actually, the root of the arts is power and ambition. It doesn’t matter over whom – it may even be yourself. Follow the example of the great Kabbalist King David: the Psalms he wrote are still recited today by the entire world. Do as he did!

Question: Kabbalah fights egoism. But at the same time you reject philosophy, history, and the arts. Why?

My Answer: I do not reject anything. I only want to arrange everything according to its level of importance. Since Kabbalah speaks about man’s correction, connection and union with the Creator, eternal existence, and how to replace suffering with pleasure, hence it is incomparably more important than anything else in our lives. After all, what else can compare to Kabbalah when its purpose – and its capability – is to deliver man to a happy existence in this world, and to add an eternal and perfect existence on top of that?

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Two questions I received on resolving the financial crisis:

Question: What do you think of the US Market which seems to be on the rebound? Is it over? People who I meet are not very pessimistic and very hopeful that we have passed the bottom and all will return to normal soon.

My Answer: Things will improve if the government, the banks, and the people will act to create a greater connection with one another, as Baal HaSulam writes in the articles “The Peace,” “Peace in the World,” and “The Future Generation.”

Question: We think that it is necessary to exchange opinions about the systematic crisis on the international level among all social groups: government, enterprises, churches, science, culture, and social organizations. The initiative must come from the Kabbalists and go to organizations similar to them in their spirit, and the UN must assume the responsibility to organize this kind of forum.

Obviously, this will not produce immediate results, but what’s important is that the elite of the world will hear the ideas of Kabbalah. Fresh ideas and a growing need will do their job. Do you think it is possible to implement this?

My Answer: This is what we are striving to. I am waiting for your suggestions.

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Questions I received on the development of spirituality in a person:

Question: How do I receive the point in the heart?

Answer: When the first spiritual Reshimo surfaces in you.

Questions: Who taught Kabbalah to the first man (Adam), since he didn’t have books?

Answer: He revealed it on his own just like Abraham. He is called “the first man” because a person who attains similarity to the Creator is called “man” – Adam, which comes from the word “similar.” He was the first man at that time; everyone else were animals.

Question: Can a newborn baby be a Kabbalist?

Answer: No. One needs to earn a Masach.

Question: Can a newborn be on any spiritual level?

Answer: Yes, if the society as a whole is.

Question: Can a baby be born above the Machsom, with full understanding of everything?

Answer: No, but he can achieve this very fast during childhood with the help of upbringing, as before the destruction of the Temple.

Question: What is it to annul oneself before others?

Answer: It’s when the desire of another person is more important to you than your own desire.

Question: Do I need to share my attention with the group rather than give all of it to my wife and kids?

Answer: Only inside of you.

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Two questions I received on the spiritual advancement of children:

Question: If there are still 232 years left until the full correction, then why do we call our children “the children of the last generation”?

My Answer: Because the “last generation” starts from our generation on – it’s the generation of egoism’s correction and ascension to the Creator.

Question: Do children and youth go through the same degrees on the spiritual path as adults? If a child expresses worry about evil, what’s the right way to deal with this?

My Answer: The soul is ageless, and this is why Kabbalah can be taught to anyone and at any age. One must go through all the states. This is determined by the emergence of the Reshimot (the chain of informational data about each state). It’s because the soul must go through the same states it went through during its descent from above downward, but now it must go through them in the reverse order, ascending from below upwards.

However, the rate of one’s advancement through every state depends on the environment (the group), and can be virtually instant. The best remedy for all the “problems” along the way is communication with friends and watching our materials.

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Three questions I received on the modern study method of Kabbalah:

Question: You wrote that the Mashiach Ben Yosef is the great Ari’s revelation of the modern method of correction, Kabbalah, in the 16th century. Can we make an analogy that the Mashiach Ben David is also a revelation – the one that was made by Baal HaSulam? Or will there be other revelations of the method that will be more complete and have a more powerful effect?

My Answer: In Article #102 of Shamati, Baal HaSulam writes the following about the Ari: “That is why the holy Ari, who was the Mashiach son of Yosef, was able to reveal so much wisdom, for he had the permission from ‘the revealed world.’”

As for the Mashiach Ben David, there are many mentions of him, but they all indicate something different and can only be understood through personal revelation, but I prefer to quote the primary source texts.

Question: What do you think about The Book of Bakhir?

My Answer: Baal HaSulam writes the following in the article “Disclosing a Portion, Covering Two”: Ever since the teachings of the Ari were revealed in the world, all Kabbalists abandoned all other books and study only The Book of Zohar and the books of the Ari.”

Question: You said that 1995 was the starting point of the current events. What happened in 1995 that you are referring to?

My Answer: I felt this because suddenly, the students that started coming to study with me were different: They were serious, diligent, and persistent in their pursuit of the goal. Today they still make up the core of the worldwide Bnei Baruch group. Of course, there were also inner changes that are concealed from the average onlooker – a clearer revelation of new spiritual forces in the world.

Related Material:
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A question I received: Peace to you. Michael, you are a living sage, though for now you only exist in the virtual world for me. But of course you exist in the real physical plane as well.

One of my goals is to affirm Faith in the physical world. How can we join efforts in doing this? I can tell you a little about myself. My Spiritual Birth happened at the age of 27, and there is a stamp on my right hand attesting to this. As I understand it, our plans and goals are the same. I’ve already passed all the main milestones of this path, but I am still driven by the desire to help fulfill the mission of the Upper Light and praise the Almighty.

The information that you obtain from various sources, through studying and disseminating the teaching of Kabbalah, has been revealed to me from above without any intermediaries, and I obtain my knowledge directly from the Holy Grail. Nonetheless, our knowledge coincides in many ways, and we have a lot to share for the benefit of humanity. Write to me if you’re interested in my offer and want to collaborate. You know that there are no coincidences.

My Answer: I receive many offers like this. The thing they all have in common is a lot of inner confusion. My advice to you is to bring your inner world in order. The best way to do this is by reading Baal HaSulam’s articles. This will put everything in its place and remove everything that’s unnecessary (Faith, Spiritual Birth, the Holy Grail, and so on). After that I invite you to collaborate!

Related Material:
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A question I received: I converted to Judaism five years ago after a lifetime of study and searching. In these past few years I have been awed by the Torah and its Pardes. Now, due to your lectures, I have fallen into a dangerous question. When Boreh Olam (the Creator) says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts,” and the wise men say that the Torah is the wisdom of Boreh Olam, i.e., his thoughts, does this mean that for the past few thousand years, the practicing Jew has got it all wrong, and in fact my search has brought me to the wrong place?

My Answer: Man was created egoistic from the very beginning. His thoughts are opposite to the Creator’s thoughts. The Kabbalistic group (Abraham’s students) was called “the people of Israel” because of their aspiration: Isra-El – straight to (similarity with) the Creator. This is how they lived until they fell from the spiritual level of “Love your neighbor as yourself” into egoism. This is called the destruction of the Temple.

Since then, this group has existed in exile from the spiritual level, in egoism and “unfounded hatred for each other.” Instead of attaining the Creator, He is concealed to them. Instead of direct communication with Him, there is religion. Instead of mutual deeds with the Creator (correction and adhesion), they perform mechanical “commandments” based on egoism (Mitzvot Anashim Melumeda – mechanical actions that are taught from childhood and are performed automatically).

No one is to blame for this condition of the nation – the downfall had to happen. But today (for nearly 100 years already), we are obliged to begin correcting ourselves and to thereby come out of exile. Those who oppose this are opponents of the nation, the world, and the Creator.

Besides this, you should just study Kabbalah. It doesn’t matter what religion you belong to. Kabbalah is for everyone!

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