A question I received: Four years ago I had a tremendous thirst for science and knowledge. I saw so much meaning in these things that I devoted my life to them and became a Doctorate student majoring in environmental law. But since I found out about Kabbalah in 2006, my values gradually changed from material to spiritual. The 2008 Congress in Israel played a major part in this. I see great spiritual meaning in Kabbalah and it has become my true goal. But what should I do with my corporeal science? I’m no longer interested in it because now I know that I can bring harmony to the surrounding world only by changing myself.

I have a problem now: I am unable to complete my dissertation on the environment the way I’d like to – by integrating Kabbalistic elements, because legal scholars consider that environmental problems can only be solved by developing legal regulations and programs, such as reducing carbon emissions, and so on. But I can already see that these means will be ineffective and pointless. I feel that instead of working on my science I want to work on translating Kabbalah texts and do something real like write for the mass media and disseminate in other ways.

So my question is: Should I continue writing my dissertation “the proper way” just to get a PhD, or should I drop out of the doctorate program?

My Answer: I also wrote my dissertation on the topic “Kabbalah as a Method of Irrational Attainment,” even though I personally find Kabbalah to be the most rational science of all. I had to write something that I personally disagreed with because otherwise I would never have defended my dissertation. But after I received my PhD, I gained an ability to speak on a different level – as a Doctor of Philosophy. When I appear at international forums and interviews, the fact that I have a PhD changes something in people’s consciousness. This is why I think that you have to complete your dissertation.

You cannot write “against science” while you aren’t a scientist yet. First you must become a scientist (get a PhD), and then you will be able to legitimately speak “against science” and offer your view of the problem and its solution. Do this step by step. Good luck to you, and I would be happy to work with you on your topic!

Related Material:
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A question I received: Baal HaSulam writes in his article “The Last Generation” that altruistic deeds will lead to a better society only if they are made “for the sake of the Creator.” Please give an example of an altruistic deed and explain how one must aim his thoughts, or what image one must have in mind, in order for his deeds and intentions to be for the sake of the Creator. Your explanation will be important for work I am doing with a group of children.

My Answer: In order to really attain the intention of bestowal, of “not for oneself,” to come out of ourselves and have goals that serve others, we need a field in which to work, a place and model that we can use for correcting ourselves. We have to become similar to the Creator even though He is concealed from us. That is to say, the Creator cannot be that model because He is concealed from us. However, He broke the only creation He made, the soul, into many pieces – particular souls. Within each of these parts, He created a perception of self, its “I,” and of others opposite to it. This is our egoism.

When we unite, and when each of us fights his own egoism within, we will then be able to see whether we are attaining spirituality – the quality of mutual bestowal and love. Then we will discover that we cannot attain it and will turn to the Creator. We will discover Him and His readiness to correct our desires, provided that we are mutually responsible for one another and support each other in this regard – and if we turn to him precisely through this force of “Mutual Guarantee.”

Baal HaSulam writes that in our times, this is the necessary condition for entering the Upper World or the quality of bestowal. Hence, all altruistic deeds can only take place inside the group or virtual society, among friends who desire to attain mutual aspiration and support – the mutual guarantee.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Do You Turn a Bat Into a Rooster?
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”
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Kabbalah Today Article: From Racial Rifts to Spiritual Harmony
Kabbalah Today Article: Rabbi Hya’s Vision

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Questions I received on family, relationships and Kabbalah:

Question: Can your wife who studies Kabbalah be your friend? Can you attain the Creator with her? If not, then what does “Man, Woman and Divinity between them” mean?

My Answer: She can! The real meaning of the phrase “Man, Woman and Divinity between them” is that the soul’s desires (the woman), together with the screen and the Reflected Light (the man), form a Kli (vessel). This is the condition for uniting with the Upper Light. The Light, the Creator, becomes revealed in their connection, called Zivug.

However, the same thing can be true in our world: when the husband studies, he automatically provides spiritual support to his corporeal wife, even if she doesn’t study on her own. And if she desires it, then he is obligated to study with her. Then they will advance together. Rabash used to speak about this to his students, advising them to read his articles to their wives.

Question: Can man a learn to be truly faithful to his wife through self correction and attainment of spirituality?

My Answer: This is not Kabbalah’s objective. Nevertheless, a person changes as he gradually goes through the corrections.

Question: I’ve been single for three years. When I try to date someone, the relationship ends because I am excessively focused on the world of Kabbalah. What is the Creator trying to tell me?

My Answer: Finding a partner means finding someone similar to you – someone who is also focused on spiritual life and the spiritual goal. Please contact our dating department.

Question: You say that a man must be married to study Kabbalah effectively. What about someone who can’t create a family due to being born with a disability?

My Answer: If your disability prevents you from running a normal household with a woman, then this condition doesn’t apply to you. However, I find it practically impossible to imagine a case where it’s impossible to create a family.

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A question I received: I have been studying Kabbalah for two months. At first I felt filled to the brim by something good. But then the month of Ramadan started. I wouldn’t call myself religious, but for the past six years the one Islamic ritual I did observe is the Ramadan, where you fast for a full month.

This year I also started to fast on the first day of Ramadan, but horrible things started happening to me – my egoism started resisting it. My hatred of everyone, rage, and pain became so unbearable that I only lasted for five days, even though in prior years I had no problem observing the Ramadan fast from beginning to end. This time I didn’t just stop observing the fast on the fifth day, but also started feeling attracted to all kinds of “improper behavior” like alcohol, sex, and etc. I’m still studying Kabbalah, but I no longer feel inspired like before. What is happening to me?

My Answer: Kabbalah isn’t against religion as the cultural tradition of a nation. Baal HaSulam writes that even after all the corrections are completed, every person can keep his religion, meaning his traditions. I also observe the traditions of my nation, but only as traditions.

A religious person, on the other hand, observes religious rituals because he believes that he will be rewarded for it. But when one studies Kabbalah, he begins to understand that he is rewarded only to the degree that he corrects his desires, and the reward comes as the Light of fulfillment – the revelation of the Creator to man. Hence, spirituality or the Creator bears no relation to any physical actions in our world.

The religions were invented by people who are inside their egoism, and hence they do not have any of the truth of the Upper World. Nevertheless, if you take on the responsibility of observing the customs of your nation, viewing them as traditions that you want to respect, then it won’t be difficult for you to observe the Ramadan as a custom. As we say in Israel:Tzom Kal – have an easy fast!

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Questions I received on Kabbalah books and how to study them:

Question: Why do Kabbalists advise us to read The Book of Zohar even if we don’t understand or attain what is written there?

My Answer: You can find the answer to this in item 155 of the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”

Question: Five years ago you started studying The Book of Zohar with us. When do you plan to resume teaching The Book of Zohar?

My Answer: We study it for about an hour every week – see the media archive.

Question: The books that help to correct us are the books of the Ari, Baal HaSulam, and Rabash. But I cannot read them yet, and I’m not sure if I will be able to in the future. Can’t I advance by reading your books?

My Answer: Of course, my books also contain the force of spiritual advancement, but the books of our Teachers – Baal HaSulam and Rabash, are more universal and their Light is more powerful. Nevertheless, I agree with you that my explanations are closer to you and easier to understand. My advice is to read the texts of our Teachers, and then study my explanations.

Baal HaSulam did the same thing – he based his teaching on the texts of The Book of Zohar by Rashbi and the texts of the Ari. He took these books as a basis and wrote his commentaries to them. This is also how I teach: first we read the original texts, and then I give my commentary on them.

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Kabbalah Today Article: Rabbi Simon Bar-Yochai
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A question I received: By disseminating Kabbalah you ascended spiritually and enabled Rabash to ascend even higher. This is why during his life Rabash did everything to make sure that you would continue to disseminate Kabbalah once he is gone – this was the purpose of his life. Before his death Rabash instructed you to continue disseminating Kabbalah. Does your dissemination of Kabbalah today play any role in Rabash’s afterlife?

My Answer: All the souls are absolutely interconnected. Even in our world studies already reveal that every one of us knows everyone else through a sixth acquaintance. Baal HaSulam explains that all the souls in our world go through correction over the course of 6,000 years, in the form of one Partzuf:

• At first, during the first 2,000 years, the world, common soul, Kelim Chabad are corrected with the Light of Nefesh;
• Next, over the second 2,000 years, the world, the common soul, Kelim Hagat are corrected with the Light of Ruach;
• Finally, over the last 2,000 years (and we are living at the end of this period), the world, the common soul, Kelim NHY are corrected with the Light of Neshama.

By correcting ourselves we receive the smallest Light – Nefesh, but due to our correction in the first souls (the forefathers, the great Kabbalists of the past), our corrections reveal the greatest Light – Neshama. The Kabbalists of the past prepared all the conditions for our correction, but it is we who correct the broken (devoid of a screen, of the intention “for the sake of bestowal”) and the mixed (Bina and Malchut) Kelim (desires). Hence, we and our actions are the most important in the process of creation’s development. We raise the entire universe up to the Creator!

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A question I received: Do you really think that the time has already come to implement Baal HaSulam’s dream about the State of Kabbalah in a virtual space?

My Answer: I see that everything is already technologically ready in the Internet and people’s consciousness has developed so they feel the need to exist in a spiritual society. According to research (published by Reuters in the news article, “Porn passed over as Web users become social”) people today are already more drawn to virtual communication (social networking sites) than to sex (pornographic sites). This clearly indicates that the modern society, the youth, has a demand for communication. It’s because the desire for sex is the fundamental desire of the animate level, the foundation of the egoistic desire. And if it is being voluntarily replaced with the desire for communication, then the time for correcting egoism has come!

Baal HaSulam’s words about the future society (see the article “The Future Generation” and the newspaper “The Nation“) must already be implemented in the virtual space. Of course, this is just the beginning, but I’m sure that as soon as we’ll be able to offer people a good platform for spiritual communication, then the masses will aspire to it. I look forward to receiving your ideas and technical proposals!

Related Material:
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A question I received: What is the Kabbalistic meaning of the Jewish holidays that are coming up?

My Answer: According to the program of creation, all of life is the process of correction of the created egoism so it will be used for love and bestowal to people, and from there – to the Creator. There is no other purpose, meaning or fulfillment in life. This process is comprised of regular actions of correction – the weekdays, and special actions – the Sabbath and holidays.

The Torah divides the holidays (the special actions of correction) into Hagim (Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkoth) and Moadim. Moadim means “holy gatherings”; they are holy because “bestowal” is called holiness. This is when special corrections are done through greater unity (gatherings) of souls, and this is how the souls attain a special degree of closeness with the Creator. The great Kabbalist the Ari describes these states in detail in the book Ta’amei Mitzvot. However, in our time there are no Moadim because there is no Temple and we are not on the level of the gathering of souls into a single soul.

In addition to this, there are holidays that follow the dates of the calendar, that is to say, that follow the direct implementation of the program of correction. These are the Sabbath, Rosh Hodesh (the new month), Rosh HaShana (the New Year), and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement of egoism). So altogether there are five holidays: Pesach (in April), Shavuot (in June), Rosh HaShana (in September), Yom Kippur (in October), and Sukkoth (in October). Each holiday corresponds to a specific level of ascent along the 125 steps of the ladder of ascent toward the correction of the soul, from the egoistic level of our world until the soul’s absolute similarity to the Creator – the World of Infinity.

All the special days are states of ascent due to a special connection between the souls, where the souls attain greater unity in order to become One, like the Creator. All the holidays have been passed down to us from the time when the people of Israel were on the spiritual level and performed acts of correction according to the Creator’s design. However, in our time, instead of correcting egoism and unifying our souls, these actions have been replaced with ritual prayer gatherings.

Related Material:
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Questions I received on memories of past lives and the resurrection of the dead:

Question: How much time does it take for a soul to reincarnate into a new body – days, months, or years?

My Answer: There is no time, and therefore it can happen at any moment.

Question: How do you explain it when a person has memories of a past life?

My Answer: These aren’t memories of a past life, but fantasies of this life.

Question: Why do we need cemeteries if everything stays in our memory, and especially since our soul reincarnates into a new body?

My Answer: When one of the soul’s 613 desires “dies,” it is “buried” – one stops using it. Then, as one continues the correction process, this desire is “resurrected from the dead” – in order to be corrected. This is how all the desires undergo death, burial, and resurrection, in order to reach the full correction.

Question: There are first and second restrictions, as well as the “resurrection of the dead.” When a person chooses the path of Kabbalah, starts studying the material and implementing it, then when does the “resurrection of the dead” take place?

My Answer: A person goes through these states one after the other: first the double concealment of spirituality, then single concealment, then single revelation, double revelation, resurrection of the dead, and the full correction.

Related Material:
Kabbalah Today Article: To Be Or Not to Be?

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Our friends in Columbia have created a new blog where they publish articles, news, photos, and videos about Kabbalah.

The most rigorous spiritual development is taking place in Latin American countries.

Good luck to you, and may you succeed! Only together!

Related Material:
Kabbalah website in Spanish
Rav Laitman’s Blog in Spanish
Kabbalah Learning Center – Lessons in Spanish
Kabbalah Bookstore: Books in Spanish

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