Below are excerpts from the “Declaration of the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy.” My comments appear in italics:

From item 1. …cooperation… to restore global growth and achieve needed reforms in the world’s financial systems.
Cooperation is possible only when it is absolute, like in one family.

From item 2. …reform to help to ensure that a global crisis, such as this one, does not happen again.
It’s unclear what kind of reform they are thinking of, because they still haven’t pinpointed the real cause of the crisis – egoism.

From item 2. …market principles… and effectively regulated financial markets…
Forced regulation will only push the system deeper into crisis (as it happened under the Soviet regime). This measure is incomplete.

From item 5. …actions… to stimulate our economies, provide liquidity, strengthen the… financial institutions … unfreeze credit markets
This does not correct the mistakes – it doesn’t even attempt to correct the mistakes, since this kind of stimulation only further develops the causes that led to the crisis.

From items 6 and 7. …Economic momentum is slowing substantially in major economies… Many emerging market economies … are still experiencing good growth … a broader policy response is needed … to restore growth … and support emerging market economies and developing countries.
Sounds great, but who thinks of others!?

From item 7, bullet point 1. …stabilize the financial system…
Or in other words – keep pumping it with money, which will lead to inflation.

From item 7, bullet point 3. …Use fiscal measures to stimulate domestic demand…
But whatever benefits the people, hurts the state.

From items 7 and 8. Ensure that the IMF, World Bank and other MDBs have sufficient resources to continue playing their role in overcoming the crisis …strengthen financial markets and regulatory regimes… Regulation is first and foremost the responsibility of national regulators…
It’s a refusal to create a common financial regulator! They aren’t discussing the creation of a single financial institution, common financial instruments, market transparency, and a change in the management of IMF.

From items 8 and 12. …support market discipline … commitment to free market principles…
Stated simply – they’ve gone bankrupt!

From item 13. …within the next 12 months, we will refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade…
In other words, they won’t limit the outflow of capital. (in the month of October, $50 billion were taken out of Russia alone!)

From item 11. …we will meet again by April 30, 2009…

Additional Comment: Obviously, I’m not a banker, and these are my impressions. Regrettably, the declaration that was agreed on, lacks understanding of the true cause of the crisis, and hence it lacks the correct solution to it. Nevertheless, it reveals an underlying feeling of not understanding what is going on, of being interdependent, and of needing to search for the answers together. This feeling will continue to grow as the problems will keep increasing. The world really lacks knowledge of how global and integral it is, and of the law of absolute interaction!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Another Unfortunate Meeting of the G-20
Laitman.com Post: What Can We Expect from the G-20 Summit in Washington?
Laitman.com Post: The Financial Crisis Is Helping Us to Understand Our Reality

Filed under: Crisis - 1 Comment →

A question I received: Listening to your latest lessons, I have come to the following conclusion:

According to Russia’s character and mentality, this country is a sensitive system, whereas the United States is the opposite – a logical system. Israel, according to its root, must regulate the balance between them. Then, with Israel as a connecting link, this system will bring harmony and prosperity to the world.

However, today we have the opposite situation: every country seeks to declare its exclusive superiority, pushing the world to the brink of war. If the two superpowers – with Israel’s participation – were to replace their mutual antagonism with mutual cooperation, they would bring the entire world to a new ascent.

Is this summary correct? If yes, then how can we aid this process? Is it realistic for politicians to unite on a higher level and avoid massive bloodshed?

Leonid Elizarov, PhD

My Answer: I agree with you. This is exactly the direction we are working in.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The World Is Round
Laitman.com Post: Russia May Lead the Way to Global Unity
Laitman.com Post: Israel Are Those Who Aspire Straight to the Creator
Kabbalah Today Article: Havoc in Modern-Day Babylon
Baal HaSulam Article: “Peace in the World”

Filed under: Politics - No Comments →

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.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Third Temple – In Stone or In the Heart?
Laitman.com Post: The Third Temple and the Coming of the Messiah
Laitman.com Post: Being “Chosen” Means Having the Responsibility to Spiritually Serve the World
The Kabbalah Experience: Chapter 10 – “The Messiah and the End of Days”
Interview with the Future: “A Spiritual Task”

Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

Two questions I received about Kabbalah study:

Question: Should I think about a question and about whether I should really ask it, before asking it for everyone to hear? My question can influence different people differently, both positively and negatively. Of course, the definitive point to any question is your answer, but still, can you explain this?

My Answer: You should try to answer your own questions. Even if your understanding is incorrect or you can’t find the answer, nonetheless your studies and the group will lead you forward. The attainment of the Upper Level does not depend on how much you know, but on how much you are influenced by the Upper Light.

Question: Is it possible for someone who’s been studying Kabbalah for five years not to have a point in the heart? Or does everyone studying Kabbalah have it?

My Answer: If a person studies because he desires to find the answer to the question about the meaning and purpose of life, then this question comes from the desire to attain the Creator – “the point in the heart.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: It Takes Time, Effort and Experience to Reveal the Upper World
Laitman.com Post: If You’re Drowning, Let the Group Save You
Laitman.com Post: What’s the Point of Asking Questions?

Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

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!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Internet Is a Reflection of the Society
Laitman.com Post: Virtual Lesson on Google’s Project 10^100
Laitman.com Post: The Creator Will Become Revealed Inside the Unity of Our Virtual Meeting Space
Shamati #72: “Confidence Is the Clothing for the Light”
Shamati #131: “Who Comes to Be Purified”
Kabbalah Blog Post: Make a Difference, Cause a Social Change!
Kabbalah Blog Post: Better the World Campaigns Strike a Chord
Kabbalah Blog Post: Will Project 10^100 Change the World?
Kabbalah Blog Post: Project 10 to the 100th by Google

Filed under: Internet - No Comments →

A question I received: In considering the first commandment of fear of the Creator, do you know why the Kabbalists wrote the Niggun (melody) “Gesher Tzar Meod” (A Very Narrow Bridge) which suggests that the main thing is “not to fear”?

My Answer: The lyrics of this song are as follows: “Our entire world is like a narrow bridge, and the most important thing is not to be scared of anything!” It means that all the disturbances on one’s path come from the Creator, and one attains Him only by overcoming them.

As for fear, there are different kinds of fear:

1. Fear of this world, when one desires everything for himself, and the more the better, and so he won’t have to pay or be punished for it.”
2. Fear of the world to come, when one thinks, “I don’t want to go to hell, but to heaven, and to the best possible heaven.”
3. Fear of “Will I will be able to reach similarity to the Creator?” – for my own benefit.
4. Fear of “Will I will be able to attain bestowal to the Creator, without any thought of myself?” This is the real fear of the Creator. Everything else is fear for yourself.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How Can We Overcome Fear?
Laitman.com Post: The Four Kinds of Fear
Shamati #38 “The Fear of God is His Treasure”, Lesson 1
Shamati #38 “The Fear of God is His Treasure”, Lesson 2
Shamati #138 “About Fear that Sometimes Comes Upon A Person”

Filed under: Music - No Comments →

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.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Women Need to Work On Correction Just Like Men
Laitman.com Post: Women’s Spirituality is Finally Being Revealed
Laitman.com Post: Men, Women and Spritual Roots
“A Talk About the Spiritual Advancement of Women”

Filed under: Women - No Comments →

News Report (from Private Sector Development Blog): Martin Wolf, a columnist for the Financial Times and former chief economist of the World Bank stated: “Among the most important tasks ahead is to create a system of global finance that allows a more balanced world economy, with excess savings being turned into either high-return investment or consumption by the world’s poor.”

News Report (from UK in the USA): Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, believes that the world financial crisis can become the accelerator for the creation of a new kind of society, unique in its aspirations, and he encourages the leaders of the world to lay the foundation for the new global order, internationalism, and the rejection of protectionism.

My Comment: This way, we will gradually reach the awareness of our global system, and from there – the understanding of the quality of the Creator: love and bestowal. Life (Nature or the Creator) will force us to make this decision and implement it.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: What Can We Expect from the G-20 Summit in Washington?
Laitman.com Post: Specific, Practical Measures to Combat the Crisis

Filed under: Crisis - 2 Comments →

Three questions I received on working with egoistic and altruistic desires:

Question: What are the “egoistic desires” and what does it mean “to be above them?”

My Answer: Egoistic desires are all the desires that are not to bestow to others, to love others, and to bestow and love the Creator. They are called egoistic because you desire to receive fulfillment inside them.

“To be above them” means to use them in order to be independent of them, and moreover, to use them for fulfilling others.

Question: You have explained that the “screen” is a rejection of the egoistic desires, an aspiration to be above them. When I want something and strive for it, but I don’t attain it, I tell myself that I don’t want to want it and that it doesn’t depend on me. Is this a rejection of the egoistic desires?

My Answer: No, because in doing so you egoistically don’t want to suffer. This is why you reject your desires: in order to stop feeling emptiness and pain in them.

Question: When one works with absolute bestowal in the corporeal world, despite the feeling of emptiness, the suffering caused by external factors causes a lot of heartache. What can be done about it?

My Answer: Read a lot of material about the global correction. The texts should evoke enough force of the Upper Light in order for you to start feeling the common desire and the Light within it.

Related Material:
From Chaos to Harmony: The Solution to the Global Crisis According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

Filed under: Egoism - No Comments →

News Report: Over the last year the world’s bee population has declined by one third. At this rate, bees may become extinct in ten years. A dissection of the bees showed the presence of unfamiliar fungus and bacteria. In addition, cell phone radiation disrupts the bees’ orientation so they cannot find their way back to the hive and die.

Without bees, plants would cease to be fertilized. And without plants, man will also become extinct.

My Comment: Nature will force us to think about our balance with It! Balance can be attained only when man will become an integral element of Nature through the proper reception and bestowal, in nature and in society.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Global Warming – It Will Affect Tropical Insects but What Is Causing It?

Filed under: Science - No Comments →