Without Effort There Is No Result

Question: Does Kabbalah as a science make precise predictions? For example, Baal HaSulam knew that there would be a world war, so he tried to move the Jews from Poland to Israel, and after that he traveled to Poland to arouse the striking workers to unite. Did he know that his mission was doomed to failure?

Answer: Here there is a slightly different, even slightly unscientific approach from the worldly point of view. This is because a Kabbalist takes into account the effort that he invests.

In principle, in order to achieve something in our world, you must invest a particular amount of effort.

For example, to discover something new in nature, humanity has knocked its head against a wall for centuries by investing a certain amount of effort. We cannot complain, “What did they do this for?! They could have achieved something immediately,” because, after all, we realize that all of these efforts gradually created a certain foundation by which someone made a discovery.

In this manner, the sum of all human effort brings the world to a new breakthrough, a new ascent. The same thing is also true in spiritual work.

Therefore, I cannot say whether Baal HaSulam knew that his efforts would not lead to success. I saw how my teacher Rabash invested effort in spite of everything, which from my point of view were completely illogical. But he still made them because a person doesn’t need to rely on his mind only. He has to go, as it were, to the next level.

Question: Does this mean that he saw what is waiting for us around the corner?

Answer: No, he didn’t see it! But even if he had seen it, this would not have cancelled his efforts, and even though, from our point of view with our usual approach and logic, it seems that there is no need for this, he knew that in any case it was necessary.
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From KabTV’s “The Wisdom of Kabbalah and Science” 10/7/15