Questions I received on the role of Israel in the world and how Europe compares to the United States:

Question: You speak a lot of how Israel has to reveal the wisdom of Kabbalah to the ‘nations of the world’ but currently is not doing this. My question is: What happens if Israel does not do this sooner rather than later – does my spiritual development as a gentile become sacrificed? What happens if the point in the heart arises in others before it does in Jews?

My Answer: Then the nations of the world will use force and pressure to make the Jews reveal Kabbalah to them.

Question: How can it be that the economy of the nation of Israel is prospering unlike the rest of the world, considering that the people living there are responsible for the horrible crisis that the world is in?

My Answer: In our time the blows aren’t measured by hunger or money, but by inner problems and the sensation of emptiness – an unfulfilled Kli! The developed and wealthy countries top the charts when it comes to depression, drugs, and suicide.

Question: My question is about the European Union. Why hasn’t Europe succeeded in unifying as well as the United States? Is Europe more egoistic than the US?

My Answer: The problem of creating something new is that you first have to the destroy the old. We can abandon the old state and create a new one only when we recognize that the current state is so evil that it becomes impossible for us to remain in it. Europe hasn’t reached this realization yet. As for America, it was created out of nothing and by combined efforts, since people didn’t have any other choice.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Why Does Everyone Hate Israel?
Laitman.com Post: Israel Isn’t What You Think It Is
Laitman.com Post: America – Optimistic, and Why?
Article – “Why Kabbalah? Why Now?”

Filed under: World - No Comments →

A question I received: You said that Kabbalah is a science without axioms. Yet in Shamati Baal HaSulam says that there is only Atzmuto (the Unattainable), Ein Sof and the Souls. Aren’t these the axioms upon which Kabbalah is based? Everything else can be derived from these notions.

My Answer: No, these aren’t axioms, but revelations made by Kabbalists. You simply don’t understand how one can say that Atzmuto exists if it is unattainable. But the fact is – one clearly attains its unattainability! The rest you’ll have to reveal for yourself.

There is a rule in Kabbalah: We only talk about what we attain. So when a Kabbalist says that something is “unattainable,” this denotes a particular attainment. The same applies to all Kabbalistic notions – they all come from clear attainment and scientific research. They were perceived in feelings that one can control, and are based on a Kabbalist’s comprehension of the connections by way of analysis and mental synthesis. However, this wasn’t done with the regular mind. Kabbalists develop an “unearthly” mind or brain, because one’s mind develops alongside one’s desires, in order to ensure their actualization.

If one’s desires are at the level of this world, then one’s mind can never step out of its boundaries, because it is produced by one’s desires. Hence, you must first correct yourself, and then, as a result of the change in your properties, you will become smarter and acquire a mind that isn’t corporeal, but is different, higher – a mind that can understand opposites as one whole, can comprehend that time doesn’t exist, and that motion means changing one’s properties in similarity to the Creator.

One then reveals an entirely different worldview (see the material on the perception of spiritual reality). One reveals the souls and the governing forces, as well as the cause and purpose of this world. In addition, one sees all of this together, as a single picture that is stationary yet moving toward revealing this state of rest.

Related Material:
Article: Wisdom of Kabbalah and Philosophy
Talk : How to Relate to Suffering in Life
Shamati #3: The Matter of Spiritual Attainment

Filed under: Science - 1 Comment →

A question I received: Dear Rav Laitman, Kabbalah says that the Creator’s plan is for creation to come close to the Creator through its intention, by gradually developing while being in its animate body. When the souls (parts of the single eternal soul) attain their utmost development, they no longer have to live in our world. What will happen once all the souls go through all 125 degrees and reunite? Will they no longer need the bodies to serve as a starting point? Will the animate bodies disappear as a species? If not – if the bodies will continue being born, then what for?

My Answer: It is written that when all the souls attain the full correction, then our world will rise to the World of Infinity. This means that the perception of the World of Infinity through the five “bodily” senses will disappear, because these five “bodily” senses will also become corrected and incorporated into the true perception of the universe – the World of Infinity.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: HaVaYaH – Phases of the Development of Desire (Advanced)
Kabbalah Today Article: Rabbi Hya’s Vision
Article: The Alternative of Our Life

Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

A question I received: In reference to your blog post: Video Conference with Canadian Television: How much longer will people have to get hurt by others in order to finally understand that we are responsible for our actions before the Creator? And as long as each person doesn’t strive to unite with the properties of the Creator, it is impossible to create a group of single-minded people who will support and reinforce each other?

My Answer: The spiritual world operates according to the impulse mode – a digital mode rather than an analog mode. That is to say, there is always a process of accumulation taking place where efforts, knowledge, and perceptions accumulate until they reach a moment when they add up to attain the following spiritual level and turn into a qualitatively new degree.

Today we are at a level where our spiritual state is concealed and we do not see how close we are to reaching the following degree – the first spiritual degree of revelation. Starting with that degree, we will have a better understanding of where we are and how we are advancing.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A Conversation About Love
Laitman.com Post: Correction Lies In Unity
Laitman.com Post: Playing Hide ‘n’ Seek with the Creator
Kabbalah Today Article: Making Room for the Creator
Kabbalah Today Article: A “Properly Working” Nature

Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

A question I received: How does one pray in Kabbalah? I pray every night, yet I find myself asking whether this is the correct way to pray. It seems so egoistic to pray only for my own desires and requests. Does Kabbalah have “instructions” on how to pray, or a general, single prayer that a person can say? Perhaps every person should pray individually, according to how he feels, or is it better to just stop praying altogether?

My Answer: A prayer is a desire that comes from the bottom of one’s heart – the desire to become similar to the Creator, to bestow and selflessly love. This is the only desire that the Creator perceives as a prayer – the desire to be similar to Him, or to attain adhesion with Him. Hence, He doesn’t feel all the egoistic prayers people say, and the entire history of mankind shows this.

This is how the system of Atzilut (the system of the Creator’s connection with the creation or soul) is built: AVI (Aba ve Ima) feel a MAN coming from Malchut (the soul), and react to it by giving Malchut the Light of correction or the Light of fulfillment, depending on what Malchut asks for.

One cannot reach such a request, or the true prayer, alone. This can only be done through a group, by trying to unite with it into one whole, as requested by AVI, and as it was before the breaking of the soul. In addition, it can only be done through studying authentic Kabbalistic books – the original books of Baal HaSulam, because then one is influenced by a special Upper Force called the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif). (See item 155 in the “Introduction to Talmud Eser Sefirot.”)

Precisely this Light creates the true prayer in a person, which immediately receives an answer from the Creator in that He reveals Himself to the person. This revelation of the Creator is called the evidence (Edut) of the fact that a person will never sin again, that is, that he will never act egoistically under the influence of this revelation. This is why the Upper World becomes revealed to him.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: To Pray Means to Judge Yourself
Laitman.com Post: You Have to Know How to Ask
Kabbalah Today Article: A Prayer

Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

Questions I received on death, reincarnation, the body and the soul:

Question: How can you do spiritual work with a friend who has passed away?

My Answer: In exactly the same way as you do with the souls of your other friends. Integrate that soul’s aspiration toward the Creator together with your aspiration as well as the group’s.

Question: In one of your lessons, you said: “A person’s soul is eternal because it is part of the Creator. This is why one imagines that he will live with his soul forever. However, the Creator changes one’s soul, and this is the meaning of the reincarnation of souls – it’s when the previous state dies and ‘a new person is born.’” My question is: When the souls reincarnate, does one keep the same physical body (does it happen in one physical incarnation), or does the body also change?

My Answer: Every time we change our spiritual state, we change our soul or our degree of similarity to the Creator. When a person rises to the level of being similar to the Creator, then his reincarnations happen during the life of the same body. However, if he hasn’t completed correcting his soul yet, then his body is changed for another one.

Question: When a person’s soul is replaced and he is given a new soul, where does the previous soul go? Does it incarnate in another body?

My Answer: A soul is the state that appears in the desire due to the realization of the Reshimo. The soul is a part of the entire desire – it’s the part that is similar to the Creator.

Question: When one’s soul changes, then it would seem to me that its properties shouldn’t be very different from the properties of the previous soul. Is this correct?

My Answer: The soul is stronger and larger every time.

Question: Does a person notice when his soul changes?

My Answer: A person changes his soul for a more perfect one with his own efforts.

Question: Recently I read a newspaper that talked a lot about Kabbalah, and there was an interview with you where you talked about the person’s “I.” You said that the body is only a shell for this “I,” and that a person won’t change if any of his physical organs were to be replaced – even his brain. I would like to know: What happens to this “I” after the body dies?

My Answer: If a person has expanded his “point in the heart” during the life of the body by uniting with others (by coming out of egoism and crossing the Machsom), then he has already revealed the Upper World. But if he hasn’t attained it yet, then he remains a point and reincarnates again in order to cross the Machsom.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: What Is the Soul?
Laitman.com Post: The Formula of the Soul
Laitman.com Post: What Will Happen to the World if I Die?
Laitman.com Post: What Is Death? How Can We Not Fear Death?
Kabbalah Today Article: Reincarnation

Filed under: Spirituality - 1 Comment →

Two questions I received on sin and forgiveness:

Question: Dear Rav, if all of our thoughts and desires come to us from the Creator, then how is it possible to “sin”? Or, in other words, would you please explain what “sin” is in spirituality (or as it is understood in Kabbalah). Baal HaSulam makes many references to sin in Shamati, and I’m trying to understand what appears to be a paradox.

My Answer: “A sin” is when one’s thoughts disconnect from the Creator.

Question: In Kabbalah, are one’s sins forgiven if one really repents from them?

My Answer: We all start out as absolute sinners, because we are absolute egoists. Then we begin correcting ourselves until reaching the level called “absolutely righteous” – the level of bestowal and love for one’s neighbor and the Creator.

It is written, “There is no righteous person in the world who didn’t sin beforehand.” This means that a person first reveals his egoism (this is considered a sin, even though the egoism is given to us from above), and then he corrects it. When one corrects his egoism to the quality of bestowal and love, through the force of the Creator – this is called forgiveness.

In the Torah (Kabbalah), these notions are completely different from the way we ordinarily define them. We think that we were the ones who created our sinful qualities, and that we can correct them on our own, without the Creator’s help. We don’t realize that we are sinners from the beginning; we think that we only sin when we do something bad. However, in fact, everything about us is sinful, egoistic. When a person reveals the egoism inside him, he then feels that he is a sinner. However, he is already on the way to becoming righteous, unlike those who still don’t realize that they are sinners.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: How to Read the Torah
Laitman.com Post: There Are No Fiery Ovens or Scorching Rods in Purgatory
Laitman.com Post: Cain and Abel are Within Us
Shamati Articles

Filed under: Spirituality - 1 Comment →

News Report (translated from mignews.com): “Recently a report was published by Dr. Richard Cravatts of Boston University, who analyzed the results of a survey on the world’s most hated countries. The survey, which was administered on college campuses around the globe, revealed that Israel is the most hated country in the world. No one was surprised by this, but Dr. Cravatts decided to take a closer look at the causes behind this phenomenon.

He reached the following conclusions: 60 years after the establishment of the Jewish State, its right to exist continues to be questioned. Jews are accused of stealing the Palestinian lands, and of brutal and unlawful occupation. Israel is considered the greatest threat to world peace.”

Why does the world view Israel this way? Why do the Palestinians have the right to personal identity, but Israel does not?

My Answer: This is happening because as long as Israel remains in its present non-spiritual form, it really does bring harm onto everyone, and the world subconsciously feels this. Baal HaSulam writes in item 71 of the “Introduction to the Book of Zohar” that if Israel does not fulfill its calling in our times, then it makes the nations of the world feel that it is unnecessary and harmful to the world. Israel must give the method of correction to the world, or else the world will enter the ultimate crisis.

We received an opportunity to establish the State of Israel in order to assemble the nation according to the Biblical rule – “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and in so doing to provide the world with an example of the new society. However, instead we are showing the world the opposite of what it subconsciously expects from us.

If we do not change soon, then we will cease our existence as a “state” and a “nation.” I put them in quotes because neither actually exist right now. However, there is an opportunity to create them, provided that we let the wisdom of Kabbalah show us how to do it, as this was the conduct of our nation before it was destroyed.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The UN – a Stronghold of Anti-Semitism
Laitman.com Post: Building the Third Temple
Laitman.com Post: A Society of Life Surrounded by a Society of Death
Laitman.com Post: What Is the Spiritual Root of the Holocaust?
Baal HaSulam Article: “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Item 71
eBook: From Chaos to Harmony – The Solution to the Global Crisis According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah

Filed under: Israel - 1 Comment →

Questions I received on the limits of perception and the proper way to understand Baal HaSulam’s words:

Question: It is written that we can only perceive the Matter and the Form in the Matter, but not the Abstract Form and the Essence. It is also said that when we become one with the Creator, we achieve all His qualities, which means that we’ll be able to perceive as He perceives. In the book Kabbalah Revealed it is stated that we can never perceive the Abstract Form and the Essence.

I cannot agree to this, because as I wrote, when we become united with the Creator, we will have the same qualities as He has, and He is surely able to perceive the Abstract Form and the Essence! So, I can agree that we cannot perceive these states for now, but at some point or state (Gmar Tikkun) we will be able to do so! Please comment on my question.

My Answer: At the end of our correction we will definitely be able to fulfill all our questions and desires. If a question (desire) arises in us, then someday, at the end of its correction, it will receive an answer (fulfillment).

Question: Dear Rav Laitman, I am reading the “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah” and in item 6, at the end, it says: “Even the souls of other creatures passing through this world (Atzilut) merge with the Creator.”

Will you please explain who the other creatures are and what do you mean by passing? I suppose it is on the way up, but I am not sure what is meant by “the other creatures.” I hope you will answer this question.

My Answer: These are Baal HaSulam’s words. He is referring to the souls – the desires of the still, vegetative, and animate levels, or all the degrees besides the fourth degree – the “speaking” level. The speaking level passes independently, and it incorporates the other levels.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A Conversation About Love
Laitman.com Post: Does the Creator Have Feelings?
Laitman.com Post: The Creator is the Corrected You
Lesson: Finding the Creator Within
Baal HaSulam Article – “Matter and Form in the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

Filed under: Spirituality - No Comments →

Two questions I received on whether it would be best for the world’s spiritual leaders to unite:

Question: If we were to gather all the people of truth in one place and tune into the general system, would we be able to influence the afterworld with our Light or information, as well as the development of our planet?

My Answer: We have to disseminate Kabbalah to all the people in the world, accept the world as a whole, and provide every person with everything they need for correction no matter where they are located. All the people in the world are sick with the same illness – egoism, which separates them from the Light of life. Hence, everyone needs the medication – the Upper Light. This is what we believe, and this is why we disseminate Kabbalah to everyone. After that, it’s up to the person to take the medicine now, or later on – when he will feel his illness at a more advanced stage.

Instead of gathering in one place, people have to gather in one intention, in spite of the physical distance separating them. This is the purpose of our world. Nevertheless, when someone wants to move to Israel to join our group, we don’t turn them away, and about 5-10 people move here every year. However, I don’t consider this necessary for spiritual advancement. There have also been cases when people moved here and found it to be too intense for them, and had to return to their previous location.

Question: Do the world’s spiritual leaders, such as Rav Laitman and the Dalai Lama, as well as their students, have a spiritual connection and do they help each other (I don’t mean the World Wisdom Council)? I get the impression that spirituality is just a game, where each person (or group) is for himself. Sooner or later people get tired of these games, because you start feeling like you’re the soccer ball and you don’t want to play for any team. If the spiritual leaders have a connection with each other, then why isn’t it revealed to us, the masses, in a material form and with a true final goal (again, I don’t mean the World Wisdom Council)?

My Answer: I don’t associate myself with any organization, including the World Wisdom Council, and I have no connection with any spiritual leaders. I only participate wherever I see an opportunity to disseminate Kabbalah. Kabbalah is so vastly different from other methods at the root, that we cannot unite or work together with any earthly method or religion.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Disseminate Kabbalah on the Internet, But First Find Out How
Laitman.com Post: Religion and Kabbalah Are Opposite
Kabbalah Today Article: At Odds with Nature
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Peace”

Filed under: World - No Comments →