The Puzzle With 7 Billion Pieces

Why is it that many people are ignoring the crisis? What is the spiritual root behind this denial?

My Answer: Clearly, those who have an interest in concealing what is happening are doing everything possible to mask the obvious. This is happening because they are afraid of the consequences, since no government is able to offer any realistic solutions, and there is a possibility of civil disturbances due to their inability to act.

This is why, at the end of the day, everything depends on the dissemination of Kabbalah, which is the method for the correction of man. Our success lies in awakening people to the realization that the crisis is not coincidental, that its purpose is to correct the connection between us, and that only by bringing the purpose to its fruition will the crisis end.

Today, for the first time in history, the general system of souls is being revealed in our world. Indeed, the current state of the world is not simply a crisis; it is a revelation of the connection between us. All human suffering is caused by the fact that this absolute and permanent connection among us is hampered by our egoism. Therefore, we have no other means of getting rid of our suffering other than by correcting this connection and gluing the pieces of the broken vessel back together.

But people must understand that no force exists in this world that is capable of bringing us closer and correcting our egoism. We reside within our egoism and we cannot come out of it by pulling ourselves up by our own hair. We are obliged to find the external force, which can convert our egoism to its opposite - the qualities of love and bestowal.

This correcting force and the Higher force that created egoism are one and the same. It is the same force that must correct egoism. Only the science of Kabbalah makes it possible for us to attract this Higher correcting force towards ourselves.

Alienation And Separation Are Nothing But Illusions!

A man who knows that the entire world is a single system can begin to correct himself. But what about people who know nothing about it and continue to act incorrectly within the system, harming all the rest?

My Answer: We have to continue our efforts to explain it to them, and the more they understand what is needed for the correct actions, the better off all of us will be.

You have to see the world as part of yourself that’s not yet corrected and therefore seems external to you. However, if you correct it, you will attach yourself to it and feel it as your own part. That’s how it is revealed.
If you truly feel how deeply you are dependent on others, then at that same instant, you will discover that all of them are parts of you, but still out of your control. They’re like your own children, whom you feel as an inseparable part of you, although they disobey you and don’t want to be together with you.

Thus you reveal that all of the souls, all of humanity are parts of your own soul. But you are being purposefully misled by feeling that they are apart from you, that they are strangers. Otherwise, correction would be impossible. If I had felt the entire world as part of me to begin with, I would not have been able to correct anything. My sensation of them being strangers, that there’s distance that separates us, is precisely the reason why it’s easy for me to correct them. If I felt these parts within me, it would be terrible and a very hard thing to do; I wouldn’t be able to touch them.

That’s why the Creator “pulled” them outside of me and gave me an opportunity to relate to them as to strangers. If I wish to bring them closer to me and to receive good influence back from them - that means I’m correcting them. Such an illusion of separation between myself and strangers serves the purpose of my correction, but in reality, they are my own inseparable parts.

Use Your Knowledge To Gently Guide People To The Source of All Religions

I am a member of a Chile group; I work as a teacher at the University of Protestant Theology, and have a PhD in Practical Theology. The inner conflict that I have been going through relates to my analysis of everything that I have studied for the last 7 years. I understand that Kabbalah should not interfere with my work as a teacher, but it can’t last indefinitely.

I do teach Christian theology, philosophy, Islam and Orthodox Judaism. My path brings me to a conflict with my friends at work, who consider themselves to be wise. I have decided to openly declare my commitment and endorsement of Kabbalah, as only the divine wisdom, capable of correcting the heart. Today, I handed our newspaper across the department and explained to them my view. A lot is at stake, so here’s my question: “What do your think about my actions?”

My Answer: I am concerned with your future at the university, and more precisely, with your source of income. I understand, that you can’t remain professionally what you were, before you came to Kabbalah.

I recommend that you start writing comparative research articles, portraying Kabbalah as the source of all religions, while underscoring the similarities and not the differences. It would add purpose to religion (bestowal and love of fellow man) and help guide people to the means of correction. I wouldn’t criticize religions and would even stay away from them!

You’re Responsible For Seven Billion Children

How will people as a whole develop the desire to unite? Other than suffering, what will rouse this desire in them?

My Answer: We are in an absolute and inseparable connection with each other, in a complete mutual guarantee. This state is designed by nature without our consent, and we have no choice.

Imagine that you have bought an apartment in a building with 50 neighbors, and when you signed the contract, you were unaware that you agreed to be in a mutual guarantee with all the neighbors. Now you are responsible for everything that happens in these 50 families.

This means that if one of them commits an offense, you will be held responsible and taken to jail instead of him. You will be held responsible for everyone. This is the reality of a mutual guarantee.

Humanity must realize that this agreement for an absolute and complete mutual guarantee is currently pressuring us and that every person is responsible for the whole planet. What can we do against this extremely difficult and irrevocable agreement? After all, being responsible for everyone is unbearable! People will feel that there is no choice other than through their own will to connect to others in the correct, good way. However, the whole problem is that we will not be allowed to do this.

Even when we develop the understanding of the need and the desire to unite, and all the governments consent to this at some meeting (like the G20), even then every person individually, as well as entire nations, will discover their inability to unite. Although everyone will seem to realize the hopelessness of the present state, at the same time there will be no opportunities to unite. This is the revelation of a foreign force over us.

It is as though someone from above is purposely building obstacles, tripping us, and not allowing us to achieve what we desire, in spite of all of our efforts and against all logic. And then “they will cry out from this work.” When this occurs, the third force will be revealed: one who wishes to come out of this state must use the Light from the Source in order to replace the hatred in him with love and to begin to love that which he hated previously.

We don’t even realize how much we hate the Creator currently, how distant we are from Him and opposite in our qualities. It is hard to believe that love for Him is even possible. After all, it is He who created everything bad in this world and placed us in the lowest state.

We hate Him specifically and no one else, since “There is None Else Beside Him.” And from precisely this point that every person needs to reach in his personal development, we need to completely turn everything in the opposite direction, and begin to love.

Attaining The REAL Reality

AR Second Life”- “Massive Multiplayer Online Worlds (MMO) are persistent virtual environments where people play, experiment and socially interact. In this research project, we demonstrate that MMOs also provide a powerful platform for Augmented Reality (AR) applications. We introduce the notion of AR Stages, persistent, evolving spaces which encapsulate AR experiences in online three dimensional virtual worlds. Based on the 3D virtual world Second Life, our custom client software blends together locations in physical space with corresponding places in the Second Life virtual space and leverages the power of the MMO to create a powerful AR authoring environment targeted at a wide audience. We examine the technology necessary to integrate AR in MMOs as well as work flows and user interactions to keep such a system accessible and easy to use.”

My Comment: The only thing is that man will outgrow these possibilities, and they will not satisfy him. Then, he will come to see the necessity of experiencing real revelation through attainment of the Upper World!

The Search For An Intelligent Plan In The Universe

Math Professor Looking to Mathematical Theories for Clues on Origins and Future of Life in the Universe” - Louis Crane, Kansas State University professor of mathematics, is studying new theories about why the universe is the way it is. He has a grant from the Foundational Questions Institute to study new approaches to the quantum theory of gravity, his primary research area as both a mathematician and a physicist. Crane hopes to uncover implications of these theories for the origin and the future of life.

My Comment: Essentially, scientific development should lead to discovery of necessity of the common, upper, single force which includes in itself all matter, energy, information, space, time and processes. It doesn’t matter how it is called – the Creator or Nature. According to Kabbalah, the Creator and Nature are the same.

Altering The Future Generation Through Kabbalah

For years, genes have been considered the one and only way biological traits could be passed down through generations of organisms. Increasingly, biologists are finding that non-genetic variation acquired during the life of an organism can sometimes be passed on to offspring—a phenomenon known as epigenetic inheritance…The main question now is: How often does it happen? “The analysis of these data shows that epigenetic inheritance is ubiquitous …,” write Eva Jablonka and Gal Raz, both of Tel-Aviv University in Israel.

My Comment: This is precisely what Kabbalah states: our environment influences our thoughts and desires, which in turn influence our behavior, and our behavior alters the genes of the following generations. See Baal HaSulam’s “The Freedom.”

It turns out that our thoughts and desires shape our offspring, and over the course of many centuries a human being becomes a consequence not only of the original genes, but also of the way of life (the thoughts and the desires) that his ancestors chose for themselves.

Biology illustrates to us the fact that Kabbalah is not a theoretical science, like philosophy. It is a way to selectively change ourselves and the world

Revelation Of The Creator Is Perception Of Eternal Life

Having a Higher Purpose in Life Reduces Risk of Death among Older Adults” - Possessing a greater purpose in life is associated with lower mortality rates among older adults according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. After adjusting for age, sex, education and race, a higher purpose of life was associated with a substantially reduced risk of mortality. Thus, a person with high purpose in life was about half as likely to die over the follow-up period compared to a person with low purpose.

My Comment: And those who possess the spiritual goal to attain revelation of the Creator in this life, reach not only longevity but also possession and perception of eternal life.

We Really Can Do Something About The Weather!

North Atlantic is world’s ‘climate superpower‘” Today’s climate is changing most dramatically in the far North Atlantic, with record warming and ice loss in recent years. If the climate’s “tipping point” resides in these waters, then nature’s synchronized chaos could unleash unexpectedly sudden and severe consequences.

My Comments: Weather is controllable. It is a negative reaction that reflects our non conformance with the Common Nature - the Creator and His law of balance. The law of balance means that we are to be equivalent to Him on all levels of our existence, expressed by such behaviors as consumption of only the necessities and in aspiring to benevolent connection between us as well as the surrounding Nature. Finally, we will wise up after having experienced the myriad of troubles coming our way, reaching an understanding that this is the Creator’s intelligent treatment of us – and we will then unwillingly correct ourselves.

Banks Continuing Egoism Will Deepen The Crisis

Germany Blasts ‘Powers of the Fed’“ German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a rare public rebuke of central banks, suggested the European Central Bank and its counterparts in the U.S. and Britain have gone too far in fighting the financial crisis and may be laying the groundwork for another financial blowup.

My Comment: Whether they like it or not, if the financial systems remain completely egoistic as they are, it cannot lead to anything other than the deepening of the crisis. This descent will continue, possibly with some fluctuations, until we come to the complete realization of the need to change our relations among each other to being good and trustworthy.

Will The Crisis Bring Us Closer To Marxism?

Wouldn’t you agree that Kabbalah is very similar to Marxism? Are you really endorsing Marxism, when it had failed so miserably in Russia?

My Comment: Marxism failed because the method of transitioning to an altruistic regime is comprised of two conflicting processes that were not handled correctly. According to Kabbalah, you must first restrict a desire, and then acquire a screen (the intention to bestow) over it.

The first part of the transition is to end the old egoistic social regime. The only way to move away from it is by either hating it or the people in authority. To this end, it is necessary to suppress altruism in the masses, whose nature is to suffer and compromise.

The second part of the transition is to altruistically develop the masses in order to move closer to creating an altruistic society. Marx knew that the tactic must shift midway from an egoistic destruction of the past to an altruistic creation of the future. After all, an altruistic society is only possible if it is built on an altruistic foundation, and in order to do this, it is necessary to prepare (educate) the masses.

What happened in Russia was that Marxism only completed the first part – the dethronement. But it could not educate the masses so as to replace the egoism that was instilled in the initial dethronement, and to transform it to altruism – the foundation for a collective regime.

The only way to change people’s behavior diametrically, from egoism to altruism, is by educating the masses and nurturing the realization that this change is necessary. Only after that can the new society be implemented.

Do you remember how the entire world held their breath, waiting to see a successful establishment of the Soviet regime – the second part of the correction? If they would have succeeded in this, then the entire world would have adopted the collective regime by now. However, the egoistic direction of the first part of the transition became destructive for the collective regime of the second part.

Conclusion: In our times, the revelation of Nature’s laws is making the need for a collective regime more and more apparent. By failing to observe Nature’s laws, we only draw greater suffering upon ourselves. Therefore, we must give practical and scientific examples to people and an explanation of the fact that egoism is destructive. This must continue until the masses begin to understand. We should not oppose mankind, but its egoism. In the end, our message is unity, bestowal and love!

You Can’t Force Your Spouse To Be Interested In Kabbalah

How does a woman’s spiritual development depend on a man? I am a man, and the study of Kabbalah is my entire life. However, my wife watches sitcoms and thinks mostly about how to make more money. For the sake of saving our marriage she sometimes watches Channel 66 (“The Kabbalah Channel”) together with me, and even reads your blog. But nothing goes in. Can I “pull” her onto my level? I need her and we have two very young children, but on the other hand I want to devote myself completely to Kabbalah.

My Answer: Each person receives an aspiration to reveal the Upper World (a point in the heart) individually from above. You have no right to force your wife to be interested in Kabbalah.

If she allows you to study Kabbalah in your free time, then you must agree to all of her other conditions. In addition, you should show her how grateful you are to her for this. This will help you in your spiritual development and in working with your egoism.

How To Stop The Violence Among Our Youth

You are saying that the egoism of the young generation cannot be stopped: an 11-year old child can stab another child. Where is this going? What will happen in ten to fifteen years, when these 10-year-old children will be 20 years old?

My Answer: First of all, children don’t feel obligated to follow our laws because they cannot be punished. They cannot be brought to court because of their age. So what will happen? As a child grows older, the protective force grows in him, as well as fear, the need to live in the world as a grown-up. So, one thing that would help is if we treated them like grown-ups.

But in truth, our laws are not suitable for children. There should be legal regulations for every age group, and they should be separate for boys and for girls. We should know what to demand of them and how to punish them. They should see what the right form of behavior is according to the system of reward and punishment.

A child should know this - this is a true system of upbringing. It is a system that can work against the cruel animalistic nature of human beings and is able to form or create a real person. For each action, there should be a corresponding reaction. This is how a mother raises an infant: she gives him incentive for one thing and punishment for another.

This is how we have to mold the “clay.” And children will understand this, since they are “clay” that contains the desire to receive pleasure. We can influence this desire by telling it: if you take on this form, you will receive something sweet, and if you take on a different form, you will feel bitterness. This is how we can create a human being.

However, if we permit him to do anything he wants to and suggest negative forms of behavior, such as the ones children learn from cruel, disgusting games where people kill each other, and if this is what they see on the TV and the Internet and there is no punishment for this from the society, then what will be the result of this kind of upbringing? An adorable infant will grow to become a miserable child.

So, we must first educate the parents about the process of creating a system of upbringing for their children. Otherwise, the next generation will surely be even worse than the previous one.

Man Is To Blame For Abnormal Behaviors In Nature

Abnormal behavior of the Sun, observed in recent years, doesn’t fit any of the existing models and is fraught with unpredictable consequences. The anomaly seems endless. We see increasing evidence of fundamental misunderstanding by modern science of processes happening in stars in general and in the Sun, in particular.

My Comment: Man, as the highest being of Nature, influences the behavior of the still, vegetative and animate levels of Nature with his desires and thoughts. The behavior of the Sun and Nature as a whole are rooted in man’s behavior – therefore, we shouldn’t expect good results!

The Control Of Our Future Is Beyond Predictions

What does Kabbalah say about the year 2012 which many claim will bring about important phenomena?

My Answer: Kabbalah has nothing to say about this. Baal HaSulam used to say that beginning in 1995 Kabbalah would be revealed to the whole world and that people would begin to demand it, realizing that it is meant to correct life.

The placement of the stars and other signs in Nature point to the fact that various processes may occur. However, Kabbalah does not discuss them, not because it doesn’t believe in them, but because everything depends upon our actions, our correction. Everything that happens in the future, be it positive or negative, depends upon what we do at each given moment.

Therefore, at every given moment one must strive to bring the whole world to complete correction, thereby determining his future, including the year 2012.

All the prophets and oracles speak of the world’s advancement toward its goal via the path of Nature meaning through suffering and without man’s participation. However, a person has the capability to change everything. Consider that all the signs that we perceive with regard to the future pertain to the inanimate level of Nature. But we are three steps above that (inanimate - vegetative - animate - human), and it is within our power to be above the stars and their signs.

Kabbalah teaches us the ability to completely control our fate, abolishing any dangers from Nature on any of its levels! In fact, this is how we realize our freedom of will.

You often use the word “harmony.” What do you mean by it?

My Answer: The harmony of humanity refers to the correct interconnection between people and governments within society.

This interconnection will create normally functioning economical, political, military, educational, family, and other systems, which are currently in crisis.

It is necessary to bring humanity to a state of inner harmony, without which its survival is impossible, as we have revealed that the destruction of previous relationships has led to this multifaceted crisis.

Economics, politics, education, family, society, business, and trade are all formed by people and are based on human relationships. Suddenly we discover that we have built them on an egoistic basis, and the altruistic basis is now being revealed , to which we do not correspond. Nothing that was previously created now works.

We see this as a crisis of institutions. But in actuality, this is a crisis of our interrelationships. Today we need to amend the institutions that we have created. Nature has placed us in such a position of dependency on each other that we are obliged to change ourselves in accordance to Nature’s new demands: create a system of complete and harmonious interconnection.

US Schools Are Creating Worker Robots, Not Human Beings

Forty-six U.S. states have announced that they will design a unified child education program, spanning from kindergarten through high school. The goal is to work out a unified standard suitable for institutions of higher education the world over. The main indicator of success will be “competitiveness at the international level.”

My Comment: This program might, in the end, completely stifle a child’s ingenuity. Why are our schools so unsuccessful?

With the emergence of mass in-line production at the turn of the 19th century, wherein man and machine supplemented and replaced one another, its creator, American engineer Frederick Taylor, placed the organization of machine and human labor on the same footing.
The factory workers necessarily became replaceable machine parts.

After the invention of the conveyor belt by Henry Ford, there arose a need to train factory workers faster, as though on a human conveyor belt.
This need fueled the formation of the modern school system: separate stages called “grades,” where children are grouped strictly by age. The children are expected to climb from grade to grade in the allotted time. Every class has an overseer, a “teacher,” precise divisions in time, bells, breaks, and so on.

The result are schools that are isolated from life, created with the purpose of churning out factory workers akin to the interchangeable soldiers for the army of Friedrich the Great. The principle of education has remained the same to this day. School provides very little knowledge (graduates leave school retaining only about 5% of what they had been taught), but in no way does it make a child into a person.

This is the core of all of society’s problems: the upbringing we give our children determines the society we create.

Even The Wealthy And Elite Of The World Cannot Escape The Crisis

The Bilderberg Group (an unofficial, annual, invitation-only collection of persons of influence in the fields of politics, business, and banking) has held another one of its conferences in Greece. This time the atmosphere at the conference was gloomy: the world situation is deteriorating to such an extent that it is threatening to spin out of control.

Over the years, they have been carrying out a deliberate dismantling of the world economy. This current economic crisis may bring about hunger or pandemics that may lead to a reduction in the world population by as much as two-thirds. Suffice it to say, the consequences for even the wealthy and elite would be unpredictable.

My Comment: The anxiety and disarray of the world elite ought to bring it to the only realistic solution – the acceptance of the science of Kabbalah as the method for correcting the world. No matter how absurd it may sound, the moment we delve into this method we will discover that it was prescribed precisely for our time!

The science of Kabbalah was to be revealed to humanity only twice: in ancient Babylon and in our time, when the global interconnectedness of humankind is becoming apparent. Its revelation now is in order to give us the means of bringing ourselves into harmony with Nature. If we don’t use it, humanity is doomed!

Advancing Along The Path Of The Earth

The world has to reach equilibrium, and only then it will come to rest. Throughout our long history we have developed because of our growing egoism. Its growth has caused our dissatisfaction to the extent of suffering, and this has forced us develop.

But by entering the last stage of this development, we have come to realize that we are interconnected and interdependent. Our further existence depends on our mutually beneficial coexistence, otherwise, our lives will be similar to existing within a hateful family. And in spite of that, in the end we will still have to attain the state of good relations with each other.

Kabbalah is intended specifically to show to us how to change our mutual relations from egoistic to altruistic, not by force through blows and suffering, but voluntarily, willingly, quickly, and easily.

Thus, there is the path of suffering (egoistic) and the good path (altruistic). However, it is most likely that in our lives, we will advance along both paths, which is the middle path called the “path of the earth.”

School Daze: How to Help Form A Human

Today’s school children are also taught to share and to contribute, but once they go out into the world, they come under the influence of a different set of values. What should we add to the existing educational system, in order to form a person, and not a professional?

My Answer: An ordinary modern school cannot raise a person, nor instill in him or her the correct attitude towards others. The only way to do this is with the help of the right environment (society), which we first need to create around students.

None of the schools that currently exist in the world set such a goal for themselves. Children all around the world are taught to succeed in passing formal tests, winning in competitive struggles, and stepping over others. Their compass is set to make them succeed, to acquire a profession for the greatest profit.

This used to work in the times of a competitive society. However, we now find ourselves in an integral society that functions according to the law: “the strongest does not prevail (above others); rather, the one who is united with the rest wins (together with all).” Therefore, there is a need to form a different kind of man: not everyone’s adversary, but everyone’s friend.

Forming such a person is against our egoistic nature. Therefore, what is needed is a special method (the Science of Kabbalah) and the means (the Correcting Force). Otherwise, people will once again pervert the idea of unity and start calling for the “Proletarians of all countries, unite!”; they will once again start building socialism or kibbutzim. Our egoism cannot come up with anything better than that.

Therefore, the proper upbringing is society’s number one problem. If it is not resolved, society will not be able to reform itself as Nature demands. Such reform can only be achieved by applying Kabbalistic principles.

We Are Hardwired Into The Eternal Circuit Of Nature

I don’t understand what’s so bad with globalization? I had a cake brought to me in America from Italy - the whole world is a small village, and isn’t that good? What’s wrong in this example with the cake?

My Answer: It’s an example of how humanity makes a calculation based on the small private profit of an individual, unmindful of the rest of Nature. Obviously, such a calculation will be incorrect, for it cannot be the case that half of humanity will gorge themselves on cake brought to them across the ocean, while the other half of humanity will starve, lacking even moldy bread. If we are talking about universal balance, equality and unity, then each person must receive only what he needs to live.

First, however, we need to reveal Nature on the global level and the Upper, universal force that conducts Nature. We must discover how we are a part of it, permeated by it, and how mutually connected we are to it in our thoughts and desires. Each one of us is like a transistor in a giant electronic circuit. We are hardwired into it! If each of us feels that we are inside Nature, inside the Creator- then we will be able to make the right calculation.

In other words, each person must first feel the desire to learn how to unite with the Creator and with the entire universe in order to make the proper calculations. First there’s adhesion, after that – calculation, and only then – action. Therefore, first and foremost we need to listen and to learn. We have already done enough damage by acting without the proper calculation.

How To Move From Darkness Into Light

How can one reveal the whole system of reality and make the right calculation? After all, even physicists with the most up-to-date computers at their disposal cannot determine the exact location of an electron at the next given millisecond. And what does it mean to completely reveal the universe?

My Answer: Of course, physicists acting within matter cannot know what will happen in the next moment. This is especially true if they delve so deeply into their studies that the borderline between matter, waves, and other forms of existence fades; and they start to be confused with the concepts of time, motion, and space. At this borderline our senses stop perceiving phenomena.

True reality is revealed in the form of forces that control Nature. These positive and negative forces unite at their source, which is called the Upper Force. Knowledge of it provides the basis for us to make the correct calculation.

Our world is a consequence of the forces that descend into it from above. Therefore, if we do not rise to a higher degree, we will forever remain here in the dark. We will never know why anything happens as it does, and we will always make mistakes! And with these mistakes, we will not even understand in what direction we are erring.

However, if we wish to exist correctly in this world, as compelled by nature, then we are able to do this only by rising to the next degree. This means revealing the general force that acts in nature and discovering the mechanism of its influence on all parts of the universe. This will allow us to make our every action in balance with the all-encompassing force of nature and live more positively.

This general force (called the Upper Force, Nature or the Creator) shows us through its blows that we have made an incorrect calculation and have gotten off track. In this manner, it forces us to rise to its own degree. But if we fail to rise to the level of the Upper Force, we will have horrible suffering ahead.

The Need For One Global Educational Program

Global Warming Forecast to Leave Half the World Hungry by 2100” Climate change will desiccate crop yields in the tropics and subtropics by the end of this century, leaving half the world’s population facing a food crisis. The area at risk stretches from the southern United States to northern Argentina and southern Brazil, from northern India and southern China to southern Australia and all of Africa.

My Comment: These people will be forced to leave their lands and move north. But will the developed countries withstand such an influx? And if yes, how? Perhaps by using nuclear weapons, as Baal HaSulam writes in the article “The Last Generation”?

The source of all our problems is that we disconnect ourselves from nature, thinking that all existence is split into “man” and “the environment.” This view of nature makes us think of everything around us as a supplement to man.

Even when we do care for the environment, it is only for our own narrow gain, with no regard for the holistic system of nature. Violating this closed system of nature evokes its negative reaction to us. And since we are a product of nature, we end up suffering on all levels of our existence.

Therefore, we must replace all of our educational programs, such as “Saving the environment,” with educational programs such as, “Man is an integral part of nature.” After all, the solution lies not in cleaning water from pollution or restoring the ecosystem, but in creating a single system, where everything is “One Nature,” instead of “man and nature.” Hence, there must be only one educational program, just as Nature is one. We must imitate living organisms and use them as models for how to organize our lives as a single whole.

The Realization Of Love Your Neighbor Will Save Us From Destruction

Why do we need all these blows if it is entirely not obvious that they have to do with the connection between people and love for one’s neighbor?

My Answer: This is not obvious only for those who have not yet discovered the connection between everyone and between all the parts of the world in general. Only 0.1% of the people on the planet are saying that the current economic crisis is meant to reveal the connection between people. Everyone else is still unaware of the fact that people’s relationships in particular influence the economy, the outbreaks of epidemics, and of the tsunamis, earthquakes, and other calamities of Nature.

However, if the connection between our relationships and our suffering becomes evident, people will have no choice but to reject their egoistic relationships.

Question: So then why doesn’t the Creator deal the finishing blows of suffering on us, so that we could realize His plan?

My Answer: There is no doubt that if the cause of tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, and the collapse of financial institutions was revealed to us as being clearly dependent on our behavior, we would change out of necessity. Even so, this change would not come willingly, but rather under duress. We would make the necessary changes merely to save ourselves from destruction and not for the purpose of coming to the realization of the greatness of bestowal and love for our neighbor.

It would be an animalistic escape from death, rather than a free choice that is made to rise above one’s nature to become similar to the Creator, even though the Creator could have created us this way right from the start.

In order to fulfill the Creator’s plan for us, we must undergo the gradual development that will bring us to the realization of the greatness of bestowal and love for our neighbor.

Recognizing The Good In What Appears To Be Bad

He expects that only good things are going to happen to him, and never the bad. Today all of humanity looks at life this way. The world is suffering through one crisis after another, more and more problems befall us, but no one stops to consider that perhaps there is a purpose to it all. Everyone thinks that all of these events are accidental.

In other words, we are not learning from our experience. We are not cognizant that we are the reason for these events.

In our current state this problem is revealed more and more acutely: from this point forward, the only way we can progress is by uniting together as one.

And this is possible only by drawing the Upper Force—the Creator. That is why it is so important to disseminate the knowledge of how to utilize this upper force of Nature. Only then will every person be able to learn about good in what first appears to be bad.

“The Crisis Will Cleanse Us,” Says Russia’s Chief Auditor

Crisis To Cleanse Russian Society, Says Country’s Chief Auditor” The Current economic and financial crisis will cleanse Russian society and will help create “an economy of happiness,” Sergei Stepashin, the chairman of the Audit Chamber says in an interview published by the Moscow-based Nezavissimaya Gazeta daily Wednesday. “I’m sure we’ll create an economy of the future, an economy of happiness for our people after we go through the cleansing with the aid of this crisis,” Stepashin says. He sees “a loss of connection” between business and morality as a major root-cause of the crisis. “We’ll get out of the crisis when we tie up economic activity to morals and business, to morality,” Stepashin says.

My Comment: Overall, he is right. But what do we have to do in order to attain the bright future about which he speaks? Kabbalah says that the only thing we have to do is to change man’s nature, which is something that can only be done by means of the force that created man.

The force that reforms human nature can only be attracted using a special method - Kabbalah. This is why the science of Kabbalah is known as “The work of God” - because it gives us the opportunity to draw the force of the Creator (Nature’s Upper Force) that will correct us. This is the only way we can succeed!

Today, Hyperactivity Is The Norm

“History of hyperactivity off-base, says researcher” Matthew Smith [a Canadian researcher] says many today assert that hyperactivity is a universal phenomenon, and say evidence of hyperactivity can be seen in historical figures such as Mozart or Einstein. Smith argues that hyperactivity, as we understand it is rooted in social, cultural, political and economic changes of the last half century.

My Comment: Kabbalah explains that the increased activity of children is caused by humanity’s growing egoism, and this is now the norm. What we must change are the educational norms and systems, so they will be in line with egoistic growth.

Kabbalah gives us knowledge about human nature, which is egoistic, and thus allows us to develop the correct approach to the problems of growth and maturation, in children and adults alike.

Financial Crisis Sets Back Competitiveness Of The US And Other Nations Worldwide

“Denmark finishes first in stress test on competitiveness, Unites States comes in 28th” The stress test is an analysis of which countries are better equipped to fare through the crisis and improve their competitiveness in the near future … Despite finishing first in the overall World Competitiveness Yearbook rankings, the United States finishes 28th, underlining the concern of the market with the depth of the crisis and the time that it will take to solve it.

Between the 18th and 30th positions comes the group of larger exporting nations led by China (18th), and which includes Taiwan (21st), Brazil (22nd), Germany (24th), Japan (26th) and Korea (29th). Ireland (25th) could have been higher in terms of resilience but the suddenness and the magnitude of the real estate and the financial crisis have probably taken the country aback.

The UK (34th) is in a disquieting position; just as is France (44th), Italy (47th) and Spain (50th), stressing how much the recovery in these countries may be hampered by structural rigidities.

Russia, in 51st position may not have had enough years of economic growth to consolidate the structure of its economy and to create the necessary buffer to cope with a crisis of this magnitude.

My Comment: Nature is swiftly pushing us to look for a solution, and the regular means won’t do the job. This is obvious to all the leaders, political and economic alike.

The solution lies on the social plane: we have to change the social relations. For the first time in history, this is possible, because, as the proverb says, “hunger drives the wolf out of the woods.” Any country that will accept the method of egoism’s correction from egoism to altruism (which must be done through education, not coercion) will set an example for the whole world.

“Altruism” Is Genetic, And Therefore Egoistic

Oxytocin and the genetics of altruism” In the study, “The Oxytocin Receptor (OXTR) Contributes to Prosocial Fund Allocations in the Dictator Game and the Social Value Orientations Task,” by Salomon Israel and colleagues, the researchers measured altruism in 200 students, based on how each chose to divide a pool of money with another unknown individual. Their hypothesis, based on various past studies, was that the hormone oxytocin is important for social interactions in general and for human altruism in particular.

My Comment: It is impossible for a person to do anything that is not for personal gain. This is what our instinct dictates, similar to how it makes us care for our children and fellow countrymen. Everything is controlled by a program - one that is egoistic. What the researchers are seeing are the external expressions of this program, which is encoded inside us. They are observing the program when it is realized in matter - in the biological and genetic material.

Kabbalah, on the other hand, teaches us how to correct the program itself. And the method to doing this is also pre-programmed by nature. Doing anything else will only bring about a resistance from nature, which will be externally expressed as disasters, crises and suffering.

What Is The Soul?

You claim that our souls determine the state of the world, which presumes that we have great wisdom and experience. On the other hand, you say that we are like animals and that there’s nothing left of us after our bodies die. What does that say about our wise soul which determines its future incarnations?

My Answer: The soul is the property of bestowal. If you have acquired this quality through the study of Kabbalah in this life, then you have a soul, and you feel your eternal existence through it. But if you haven’t acquired it, you will have to return to this world to do it.

A Story About Joe Smith And Global Interdependence

Joe Smith began his day by waking up to the sound of the alarm clock (made in Japan). While the coffee was brewing in the coffeemaker (made in China), he shaved using a razor (made in Hong Kong). He then put on his boxers (made in Sri Lanka), jeans (made in Singapore) and running shoes (made in Korea).

After making breakfast using an electric grill (made in India), he took out his calculator (made in Mexico) to see what his budget for the day was. After verifying the time on his watch (made in Taiwan) against the time on the radio (made in India), he got into his car (made in Germany), filled it up with gas (made in Saudi Arabia) and took off to search for a well-paying American job.

Back home after another unsuccessful day, Joe sat down at his computer (made in Malaysia) to relax a little. He put on his slippers (made in Brazil), poured himself a glass of wine (made in France) and then turned on the TV (made in Indonesia) wondering why it is that he can’t find himself a well-paying job in America. However, he hopes that the American president – made in Kenya – can help him!

My Comment: And if Joe were to examine the constituent parts of all the above products, he would realize that their production involved all the countries of the world!

Humanity Is A Closed System

We are all connected together in the system of souls as one. But how can we have a positive influence on the collective consciousness, which is full of hatred?

My Answer: To do this, we have to feel that we don’t have a choice, that we are getting close to self-annihilation, to a life that is worse than death, and that we can’t avoid this. This feeling will make people want to connect to others. People’s nature, the egoistic desire to receive pleasure, will drive them to it. People will desire this because it will be the only way to feel good.

Even now, we are capable of “giving for the sake of reception,” for example, when we pay for something we need at a shop. Even this simple transaction is a small sacrifice. There is no such thing in the animal kingdom or with little children. In other words, this does not come from our instincts.

However, every person has to understand that he has a responsibility to connect with others correctly. And people should make every effort they can to learn about the right connection. Humanity is a closed system, and like in every closed system, everything must be aimed at supporting and preserving unity, balance and harmony. If these are broken, then every member of the system will suffer. One part of the system cannot feel good at the expense of another.

This is the wisdom we have to teach people. Everyone in the world has to learn the new rules of conduct in the world we are living in today.

In Kabbalah, Seeing Is Believing

How can you prove that your method is the only one that can realize the goal of creation?

My Answer:
1. I do not want to prove anything to anyone. Kabbalah conceals itself instead of attracting people to join its ranks. Only a person who truly desires it will reveal and study this wisdom. There is no coercion for anyone to come or leave, just as there are no limitations or prerequisites for the study of Kabbalah.

2. You are demanding for the future to be revealed, in order to have clear evidence that the study of Kabbalah is authentic. Yet, this would only be possible if the study happened at the level of this world. whereas the study of Kabbalah elevates a person higher. In Kabbalah, “to see” something means to actually feel it with your senses. If you are able to see and feel the final outcome, your future, without changing your perception, then the method you used did not change you. Therefore, this method does not make a person similar to the Creator.

3. “A person should always study where his heart desires,” “There is no coercion in spirituality,” “Teach a student according to his way,” and other similar proverbs of the Kabbalistic sages tell us that it is forbidden to persuade, convince, or prove anything to anyone. You can only show a person how to develop, so he will start to see the spiritual world on his own according to his level of development.

This is Kabbalah’s approach to a person’s development: there is no coercion, just examples. Any other method is considered coercive and does only harm to a person and to the world.

The Recipe For Happiness

Am I correct to understand that those who study Kabbalah will end up happy because they will understand reality and will feel well. But those who don’t study it will be unhappy and will remain in the state of suffering and need. Is this true?

My Answer: It is true, but on the other hand, everyone is connected to everyone within the general system of the souls. Therefore, it is impossible for anyone to feel goodness as long as someone else feels evil.

A person encounters many obstacles in the process of correcting his egoistic nature. These obstacles include those caused by his connection to all people. On the other hand, the world must still experience more suffering in order to desire correction. There is no other way for humanity to advance.

Question: The change we have to make is to create new relationships with people, that will be based on love for one’s neighbor. Will this also solve the problems in the world that are caused by improper relationships between people?

My Answer: This is precisely what will revoke all the misfortunes in the world! There is no problem in the world other than the improper connection between people. When there is a lack of the right connection, the Creator is concealed, and when we reveal the right connection between us, we reveal Him.

The return of the right connection between people is called “the return of the Creator into the creation.” The connection between people is called the Creator, from the word Bore: Bo - come, and Re - see. We see Him inside the connection between us.

This is why the commandment to “Love your neighbor as yourself” is the most important commandment, encompassing all of man’s corrected actions.

Unity Among People Is Unique In Nature

Why can’t our human society reach the state of mutual guarantee naturally, while staying on the animate level like cells in a body?

My Answer: A human being is far too complicated a creature to connect with others this way. Here’s why.

Egoism becomes qualitatively bigger on each level of nature, going from the still level, to the vegetative, to the animate, and the human. The bigger an object’s egoism, the more individualistic it is, and the more incapable it is of uniting with others. Therefore, as one develops, one feels more separate from others.

Nowadays, it’s not only the psychologists and sociologists, but also the economists and the politicians who are discovering that the world has become interconnected and therefore we - humanity - must unite. However, they believe that they are able to do this using a corporeal method, and that everything will settle down if only we create a world bank, a world government, a world upbringing, and a world-wide connection.

However, after having a few more meetings like the recent G20 summit, they will begin to understand that they lack the method to unite. Unfortunately, before they realize this, people may have to go through great suffering, including a lack of safety, a feeling of disorientation, total powerlessness, and universal grief. People cannot bear to be in a state of uncertainty, since constant alarm is worse than death. Our minds cannot function under such circumstances. Yet all of this may happen in order for us to realize that the only way to achieve unification among us is to rise above our egoistic nature.

This is not so on the still, vegetative, and animate levels, where all of nature and its parts are instinctively, naturally interconnected. They supplement each other and interact with each other harmoniously, without any freedom of choice or any decision-making.

Unification between people, however, can only be achieved when each person does it consciously. Unlike the other levels of nature, the Creator did not just make us unite by giving us instincts for this. Our unification is possible only if we acquire the quality of bestowal and love, where everyone participates and joins with everyone. To do this, we have to rise above ourselves and our egoism, and achieve the Biblical commandment of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

This is how the quality of the Creator will be revealed among us, and we will become similar to Him. We will then understand why He acted this way in regard to us.

Friends Are The Key To A Long, Healthy Life

”What Are Friends For? A Longer Life” Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.

My Comment: This is because the energy of life lies in the unification of individuals. To the extent people unite as one whole, in spite of the egoism that pushes them away from each other, they become similar to the Unified Upper Force, the Creator, who is the Source of Life.

Let Us Open The Faucet Of Love For Each Other

You say that if a person has a natural inclination to help the needy, this is not the same as loving others. Can you please explain what “loving others” means then?

My Answer: “Love of others” is a special quality that comes to a person during the correct study of Kabbalah. This quality enables a person to sense the interdependence between everyone and the need to fulfill others through himself. It is similar to a lover who wants to fill the object of his desire.

“Love of others” begins from its opposite – the revelation of hatred, rejection and separation from others. This is how one first feels when he reveals his complete dependence on others. It is as though the faucet that dispenses the air you breathe is under someone else’s control. One reveals that he is completely and utterly dependent on the whole world, and everyone is dependent on his kind behavior toward them. He reveals that he is the only one who determines his state by having good or bad relationships with the world.

Every day, this sensation of dependence grows and one becomes more reliant on others in order to receive basic necessities such as water, bread, work and security. This is how the global, integral system is revealed to us, and we start seeing the Butterfly Effect in action. At the same time, we also reveal our hatred toward each other and that our egoism produces this hatred in all people of this world!

The image of utter interdependence among all people that is being revealed to a person makes him desire to “open the faucet” for everyone. And this is what “love of others” is.

Conditions for Women's Spiritual Advancement

Women need fewer conditions to advance spiritually than men do.

Kabbalah states that if a man wants to advance spiritually, he is obliged to marry and have a family. It is his responsibility to fulfill these obligations. Otherwise, he cannot advance spiritually.

A woman, on the other hand, can advance spiritually even if she is not a mother or a wife. Moreover, if she has the means for existence, she may also choose not to work. That is, in comparison to a man, a woman is relatively self-sufficient and can grow spiritually without many external conditions that apply to men. Thus, from the spiritual point of view, she is a considerably more perfect creature than a man.

A man has to overcome himself, to constantly convince himself that it's worth staying on the spiritual path. He is less susceptible to spiritual advancement than a woman, who naturally aspires toward everything spiritual. She is ready to accept, feel and understand all of the spiritual transformations that are happening in her. She yearns for this.

The need for the spiritual ascent is manifested much more in a woman. She feels unsatisfied with our world, disappointed in family and work. A man looks for foolish passions, such as football, beer, friends and so on, and then gets lost in them. He lives pursuing false goals. A woman is unable do this. She perceives emptiness more internally and acutely. She cannot appease herself with such petty goals and temporary painkillers. More often she embarks on a spiritual search and comes to study Kabbalah.

We see this happening all over the world. More than half of the 1.3 million students studying within the framework of the Kabbalah Institute are women.

Eve - Just a Tool in the Creator's Hands

Adam and Eve are two forces of nature that were tricked by the Creator to perform the sin.

In the book of Genesis, Eve is depicted as treacherous, seducing and cunning, as breaking the laws. And Adam is a kind of martyr who is being led and tempted by a woman. Can we learn something from this about a man and a woman in our world?

As tempting as it is to say 'yes,' Adam and Eve do not describe a man and a woman of our world. They refer to spiritual forces which bestow (man) and receive (woman), meaning two forces of nature. This is, in fact, the Creator and the created being. The Bible talks about the connection between them, how the created being derives pleasure from the Creator, is filled by it and then becomes an egoist. This is the sin, the fall of the souls into this world and so on.

In other words, the story of Adam and Eve is about our highest spiritual roots and it isn't about a man and a woman. We are descendents of Adam and Eve, but they are the spiritual forces that gradually materialized and reached this world after thousands of steps.

In Eden, the female part called Eve wanted to become even more sanctified and to rise even more. Therefore, it wished to copulate with the male part and to ascend to the level of the Creator. This is what is written and that is what these forces - these souls - understood. In this manner, they become close to the Creator, to bestowal.

Eve didn't do anything wrong. She brought everything into development. Adam himself wasn't able to perform this sin, but with her help it was done. They were tricked into it by the Creator so that they would sin, because the whole chain of events has to come down into this material world. And from it, we have to reach the highest spiritual level once again.

Kabbalah Chronicles

The Rambam (Maimonides) wrote that when the whole of humanity was deep in idol worship, one man could not go with the flow. His name was Abraham. He pondered and searched until he found the truth: that the world has only one leader. When he discovered this, he realized he had discovered life’s eternal truth and ran to tell the world. Since then, the world has had a method that reveals this truth. Today this method has a different name—“Kabbalah”—but it is essentially the same. If we open our hearts to it, it will teach us why things happen, and how to make them happen better.

Past
In Chapter One of The Mighty Hand, The Rambam (Maimonides) describes how there was a time when people knew that there was only one force governing the world. He explained that once they all forgot it, no one knew this truth, and people believed that there were many forces in the world, each with their own responsibilities—for food, reproduction, wealth, health, etc. But one man just couldn’t grasp how all these forces followed the same cycle and obeyed the same rules of appearance and disappearance, life and death. Through his research of nature, this man, whom we now know as Abraham, discovered that there was really only one force, and all other things are partial manifestations of it.

Once he discovered this, he began to spread the word. Challenged by having to explain a concept that contradicted everything his contemporaries believed, Abraham was forced to develop a teaching method that would help him reveal it to them. This was the prototype of the teaching method we now call “Kabbalah” (from the Hebrew word Lekabel, to receive). Today, Kabbalah teaches us how to discover the single guiding force, and by doing so, receive infinite joy and pleasure.

But Abraham's discovery was no coincidence; it was perfectly timed to counter an outbreak of egoism and selfishness that threatened to destroy the state of love and unity that humanity had been living in up to that point. This is what the Bible means by the words, “And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech” (Genesis 11:1).

Unity, or altruism, is a powerful force—it can make its users invincible. Up to the time of the Tower of Babel, this was the natural way of life. Everyone knew about the one force and were united with it. People experienced it as part of their lives, and didn’t need to work on their unity because they had no egoism separating them. This is what the Bible means by “one language” and “one speech.”

But as soon as they began to develop egoism, they wanted to use their most powerful tool—unity—for their own benefit. This prompted the Creator’s concern: “The Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. …and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them’” (Genesis 11:6).

To save humanity from its own egoism, the Creator, the single force discovered by Abraham, could do one of two things: disperse humanity and thus prevent a catastrophic clash of self-interest, or teach people how to overcome their egoism.

The latter option had an important benefit: by learning how to unite despite their growing egoism, people would gain deeper awareness of both themselves and their Creator. They would have to study the Creator because their present level of unity had collapsed under their new egoism. Therefore, they would have to obtain a greater “portion” of bonding straight from the source—the united force of nature, or the Creator. And to do that, they would have to enhance their knowledge of Him.

This is why the Creator revealed Himself to Abraham. This is also why Abraham was such an enthusiastic disseminator of his method. He knew that time was of the essence: either he taught his people how to unite, or they would be dispersed.

As we learn from both the Bible and the ancient Hebrew text, Midrash Raba, Parasha 38, the Babylonians spurned Abraham's offer. He then fled from Babylon and began to teach while roaming “from town to town and from kingdom to kingdom, until he arrived at the Land of Israel” (Maimonides, The Mighty Hand, Idolatry Rules, Chapter 1).

Despite many hardships and challenges, Abraham’s teachings gained some support, and those who supported him helped him share the knowledge with others, filling the ranks with “new recruits.” In time, one lone fighter for truth had grown into a nation whose name symbolizes the one thing they had in common: “the nation of Israel.” Israel, as the great Kabbalist Ramchal explains in his Commentary on the Writings, is a combination of two words: Yashar (straight) and El (God). The people of Israel are those who have one desire in their hearts: to be like the Creator, united by altruism, as opposed to their Babylonian contemporaries.

The collapse of the Tower of Babel was not, however, the end of the story, but only the beginning. Humanity’s egoism continued to grow because the Creator still wanted people to overcome it, and thus gain a deeper awareness of themselves and the Creator. For those who wanted to remain egoists, this would mean even greater alienation. New nations formed and new technologies created new weapons. These were intended to guard nations from each other or to subjugate them. But for those who wanted to overcome their egoism and unite despite it, an upgrade of their method was necessary.

This was Moses’ cue. As in the case of Babel, the solution to the intensifying egoism was to escape it. But Pharaoh wasn’t simply an evil king. He actually brought Israel (those who want the Creator) closer to the Creator. In Kabbalah, Pharaoh is the epitome of egoism, and the only way to escape him is to unite since, as we’ve seen before, unity makes you invincible because it makes you closer to the Creator. To defeat Pharaoh, Moses returned to Egypt after his escape, united the people around the same idea that Abraham promoted many years previously, and once again helped the people to escape.

But this time, Israel defeated a much more powerful egoism. Pharaoh was not like Nimrod, King of Babel; he could not be defeated by one determined man. Defeating Pharaoh would require a whole, united nation to overcome him. And because this would require a systematic teaching for a whole nation, Moses wrote five new books (The Pentateuch), which are basically an adaptation of Abraham’s teachings for an entire nation.

But this did not complete the Creator’s will. He wanted the whole world to know that there was only one force; this is why he taught it to Abraham, who then brought it to his fellow Babylonians. While Moses’ Torah was a big step forward, since it elevated a whole nation into contact with the Creator, it was not the end of the road. The end of the road will only come when the whole world is in touch with the Creator, experiencing the unity that the ancient Babylonians did, before the first outbreak of egoism. Put differently, the end of the road will arrive when all of humanity reclaims what it once had, and then lost. This reclamation is very important, since you can only reclaim something when you know what it is. This is indeed the goal of creation: to teach us who/what the Creator is, and to have us reclaim Him/It.

Present
The “present” started about two thousand years ago, when The Book of Zohar was written and then concealed, and Israel went into its last exile. Just like Abraham and Moses in the “past” stage, the “present” stage had two giants of its own: Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai (Rashbi) and The Holy Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria). Rashbi’s Book of Zohar is, as the book itself states, a commentary on the Torah. Just as Moses explained Abraham's words to the entire nation, The Book of Zohar is intended to explain Moses’ words to the entire world. This is why it is written in so many places that The Book of Zohar is destined to appear in the time of the Messiah, at the “end of days.” This is also why Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, the great twentieth-century Kabbalist, wrote that the rediscovery of The Book of Zohar is proof that the days of the Messiah are here.

As always, the only antidote to intensifying egoism is unity. And the greater the egoism, the more important it is for people to unite. While, at first, uniting Abraham's family was enough, when Moses fled from Egypt, he then had to unite a whole nation in order to succeed. Today, we need to unite the whole of humanity. Egoism has reached such an intensity that without uniting the whole of humankind, there will be no salvation for humanity.

The middle stage in the process of humanity’s recognition of the Creator was very different from the first. It was a time of subtle growth, when the tool to unite humanity—the wisdom of Kabbalah—was being refined and improved in dimly lit rooms and in small, inconspicuous groups. This is why the two most significant works of that period, Rashbi’s Zohar and the Ari’s Tree of Life, were hidden as soon as they had been completed. They resurfaced many years later, and in the case of The Zohar, even centuries later.

Future
The “future” started in the 1990s. In 1945, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, also known as Baal HaSulam (Owner of the Ladder) for his authoritative Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, predicted that the last stage in the spiritual evolution of humanity would begin in 1995. Similarly, the Vilna Gaon (GRA) wrote in his book, The Voice of the Turtledove, that this stage would begin in 1990. Many other Kabbalists made similar predictions, leading to the conclusion that the future is already here, and now is the time to finally defeat egoism and unite as one.

Humanity’s entire history consists of battles against egoism and attempts to unite despite it. Today, most scientists agree that man’s self-centeredness and misunderstanding of nature’s rules are the causes of all that is wrong with our world. Baal HaSulam wrote about it in the 1930s and 40s, but in those days, he was a voice in the wilderness. In recent years it has become evident that without changing ourselves, the world will not change for the better. In fact, we are ruining our planet and our society in so many ways that solving the problems separately will not be possible. To solve our problems, we need an inclusive solution, and such a solution can only be found when we transform human egoism into altruism.

In his article, “Peace in the World,” Baal HaSulam writes that if we unite, every single member of humankind will personally experience the Creator in the deepest sense of the word, for it is written that, “they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:33). The wisdom of Kabbalah has been prepared as a method that can do just that: unite, and experience the Creator. In his “Introduction to the Book of Zohar,” Baal HaSulam wrote that if we integrate Kabbalah in our day-to-day lives, we will complete the goal of our creation, and we will be “of one language and of one speech” and at one with the Creator, never to part again.

The Origin of Kabbalah

The science of Kabbalah is unique in the way it talks about you and me, about all of us. It doesn’t deal with anything abstract, only with the way we are created and how we function at higher levels of existence.

Many Kabbalistic books have been written about it, starting with Abraham the Patriarch four thousand years ago, who wrote a book called Sefer Yetzira (The Book of Creation). The next important work is The Book of Zohar, written in the second century CE. The Zohar is followed by the works of the Ari, a renowned 16th century Kabbalist. And the twentieth century saw the appearance of the works of Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag.

Ashlag’s texts are best suited for our generation. They, as well as other Kabbalistic sources, describe the structure of the upper worlds, how they descend and how our universe, with everything that’s in it, came into existence.

Yehuda Ashlag’s textbook Talmud Eser Sefirot (The Study of the Ten Sefirot) is designed as a study aid with questions, answers, materials for repetition and explanations. This is, if you will, the physics of the upper worlds, describing the laws and forces governing the universe on the spiritual realm.

This material gradually transforms the students, because when searching how to experience the spiritual world, one gradually adapts oneself to the spiritual laws described in the textbook.

The science of Kabbalah does not deal with life in this world. Instead, by studying this system we re-attain the level we possessed before we descended. During this ascent, the study of Kabbalah builds within the student a system equal to the spiritual system.

To ensure the spiritual benefit from the text, we at Bnei Baruch study only authentic sources, focusing on those that have been written for the purpose of assisting the spiritual progress of the student. These sources are

Why Spirituality?

Kabbalists discovered that our desires for pleasure evolve by five stages:

The first, and most basic desire, is the desire for food, health, sex, and family. These are necessary desires for our survival.
The second stage is the aspiration for wealth. Here we think that money guarantees survival and a good quality of life.
The third is the craving for honor and power. Here we enjoy controlling others, as well as ourselves.
In the fourth stage appears the desire for knowledge. Here we think that having knowledge will make us happy.
But only when the fifth, and last stage of desire appears, we become attracted to an unknown "something" that is beyond us. Here we feel that connecting to this unknown "something" can bring us greater and lasting enjoyment, and we search for ways to make this connection. This desire for something higher is called "the desire for spirituality."

The Spiritual Root of Medicine

If we convince the whole world to play a game for one day where everyone will do nothing but bestow, then humanity would feel the flavor of bestowal. Would this action draw enough Light to correct us?

My Answer: Any doctor knows that there is almost no medicine that can cure a person immediately. This can only happen by virtue of a miracle, but not a man-made medicine.

A person could drink a drop of poison and die, or he can use it to create a medicine. It is no coincidence that the symbol of medicine is a snake. It is a known fact that every medicine is poison, but not every poison is medicine. When poison is used as medicine, it is taken in very small dosages and over the course of a long time, until a person is cured. This is the law of correcting the animate body, and the same law holds for correcting the soul.

Why is it that a person can die instantly from taking a drop of poison, but he has to take it for months in order to be cured? This is the consequence of a spiritual process: the breaking of the unified soul into parts. This breaking was carried out from above, and therefore it is instant, whereas the correction, the re-unification, and the cure occurs slowly, depending on us.

Why did the breaking of our souls and the need for correction occur even before we came to this world? It happened so that in the process of our correction we would elucidate the cause, the process and the goal of creation, thereby forming ourselves in similarity to the Creator, the Upper Force of Nature.

And since a person had to reach similarity to the Creator (who is called in Hebrew Bore = Bo - come, and Re - see), this process takes so much time, namely 6000 years, from the first attainment made by Adam, to the last one.

The World We See Is A Picture In Our Brain

You saying that everything we perceive is the picture that our brain depicts against the background of white Light, from Reshimot that constantly emerge from our memory into our consciousness like links in a chain. Therefore, what we take for external occurrences are actually pictures that are played in our mind.

I agree with this, but there is one thing that confuses me: what happens in case of an accident, when a car (a picture in my brain) can physically damage the brain itself, and even cause my whole body to die?

My Answer: Your problem is that you perceive part of the picture as taking place outside of you, and part of it – as happening inside. This is what causes the confusion.

"Higher" Education: How to Raise Happy Children

Practical suggestions on education and for solving conflicts between parents and children.

"Education does not create anything new, but rather reveals what is already hidden within a person." (Rav Kuk, Essays of the Raiah, p. 100)


One can find valuable tips in guidebooks on raising children. A good tip can very often save months or even years of indecision and frustration, and help families out of dead end situations. However, we frequently encounter questions or situations that "catch us unprepared," and leave us wondering if we are capable of responding appropriately. In such situations, our response typically amounts to a perplexed smile or an obscure hum, covering up our lack of knowledge and great indecision as to what actually is the proper thing to do.

Being aware of children's developing curiosity and of many parents' distress, we decided to collect a few practical suggestions in each issue based on the authentic wisdom of Kabbalah, which relate to issues of the soul, to education and to the huge questions of little people. Enjoy!

An Answer to Every Question

Being parents will never be an easy job. In addition to long sleepless hours and concern for children's support and welfare, we find the most difficult and truly challenging task of all - supplying answers to each question they raise. Surely many of you are familiar with the scenario in which the sweet child opens a pair of huge, curious eyes, innocently looks you straight in the eye, and mercilessly shoots questions relating to the meaning of life and its purpose. In such cases, it doesn't really matter if you're a Dr. Spock fan, or a fervent reader of Tracy Hogg (author of the popular best seller, "Baby Whisperer"), you will most probably be left without answers, as the answers to these questions are not found in books.

That is precisely why we have chosen to dedicate the first tip of this section to the question of how to answer those huge questions asked by the little people growing up in our homes. Should we tell them what we think, even if the answer is not so "easy to digest", or should we evade a confusing answer, and leave them to cope with the question at a future stage in their lives?

Always tell the truth, but be consistently gentle.

"Be direct with the child, direct to the end, otherwise you will not gain his trust, since a child is sensitive to any falseness, as benign as it may be." (Yanush Korchak).

Above all, realize that children are sensitive by nature. If they detect that anything is being concealed from them, it can disrupt the entire system of mutual trust and respect with their parents. Therefore, if you hold important information or deep insight regarding life, don't hide it from your children. They are thirsty for that knowledge.

It is always preferable not to hide the truth from children, however, there is no need to burden them with issues they are still emotionally unprepared to handle. Practically speaking, if the truth is not simple, try to simplify and adapt it to the child's world of imagery, in a gentle and non-threatening way, so as not to pressure them. Remember that every story you tell your children comes to life and becomes real. It is your obligation as parents to be sensitive to the emotional and mental development of your children. Only in accordance with their emotional maturity, will you be able to reveal an additional level of the wisdom of life that you have accumulated over the years.

Therefore, sometimes it is better to wait for the demand for additional knowledge to come from the child himself, so he feels he is not being "pushed" into something he did not even request. His expression of willingness signals you that he is ready to absorb a deeper response. Lend an attentive ear and follow his reaction to the things you tell him, that is how you will be able to ensure that you are not burdening him too much and confusing him.

If you do not know the true answer to questions, don't be afraid to admit it, but don't evade your responsibility towards them to search for the answer, together with the children. As Albert Einstein once said, "What is important is to not stop asking questions."

The Secret to Child Education

Children will always want to be like adults. So if we want them to behave differently, we should first learn to do it ourselves


From the very first days of a child's life, we try to teach them the art of communication. We want children to "play beautifully," so we organize holidays and birthdays for them. We are concerned how to maximize their free time, and we spend considerable resources on educational games and training manuals for them. We are pleased when other adults can appreciate our children's intelligence and good manners. But we often forget that almost every day while children are at school they have to take the exam "for survival" among their peers.

Adults are always ready to meet children halfway, forgive and pity them, whereas in their relationships they have to fight with "fire and sword" for their rights: demand and give in, attack and defend, get used to their peers hostility towards them. And in spite of how much effort we spend to create an oasis for the child's happiness and prosperity, his real life happens outside our house.

There, in the big world, a child immediately has to learn to play according to different rules. He can see that the success and prosperity are earned with a lie, intrigues and brute force. But we ourselves have written these rules. Without taking notice of it, we accustom children to a policy of double standards. Every parent has roughly the same thoughts: "I am ready to do everything for my children to do well. And not just do well, but better than others."

With this "better than others" thinking we are slowly but consistently sawing the bough we sit on. At first children will subconsciously and then consciously adopt the rules of the game. The world is divided into "us" and "them" and if "they" stand in the way of our interests, they immediately become an ‘outlaw'. Outside of "our" law. Needless to say, we can see disastrous results of such an outlook in everyday life.

Is there an alternative? Kabbalah argues that yes, it exists, and by this way the interests of all will be taken into account. This means that regardless of affiliation to a certain group of people on social, national, religious and other grounds, every person is guaranteed respect for his vital interests. This will become not only the letter of the law, written in the constitution, but also inner aspiration of most people.

This is possible provided that everyone without exception follows the rule "anything that you hate, do not do to your friend". Simply by adhering to this rule, life would literally change, for the better, right before our eyes.

And children? Children will always want to be like adults. If we, the adults, begin to behave in another way, children will immediately imitate us. In kindergartens, schools and in the street, new games will appear in which children will learn from each other to live in a world of good. Therefore, the best that we can do for our children is to start with educating ourselves.