Jpost: “The Secret To A Happy Year”

The Jerusalem Post published my new article “The Secret to a Happy Year”

Jonah’s story tells us that when we avoid our task, prefer separation to connection, and spread discord throughout the world, there always comes a storm.

The High Holy Days are a time of joy, as well as a time of reflection. This year, it seems as though there is more to reflect on than in past years. The worldwide resurgence of antisemitism is growing increasingly foreboding with each year, and the rise of neo-Nazism in the US and Germany is bad news for the Jews wherever they are. So in the reflective spirit of the High Holy Days, let us examine our situation and find the opportunity in the challenge.

The past year has uncovered and deepened a chasm that exists within Jewish communities the world over, and primarily between the State of Israel and the American Jewish community. Often, the rift has become so deep that even some pro-Israel American Jewish leaders are openly reconsidering their support of the Jewish state.

But as long as we can talk about our problems, we can also make matters right, and Yom Kippur is the best time to reflect on our actions in light of the adverse worldwide developments toward Jews.

Avoiding Our Mission

The most important part in the Yom Kippur service comes after reading the Torah portion. It is called, Haphtarah, and in it, we read selections from the Prophets. On Yom Kippur, the text of the Haphtarah is the book of Jonah. In many communities, the wealthy pay hefty sums of money for the right to read this Haphtarah, as it is known to be a Segula(endowing power) for gaining (even more) riches.

Jonah’s story is special. It speaks of a prophet who first tried to “dodge” his mission, but finally repented. Another notable point about Jonah is that his mission did not concern the people of Israel, but rather the gentile city of Nineveh. Today, in light of the rising antisemitism, it is more pertinent than ever to reflect on the message behind Jonah’s story.

God orders Prophet Jonah to warn the residents of the great city of Nineveh that they have corrupted their ways. Put differently, Jonah must warn them that they have become so mean that their society is unsustainable. The prophet’s task was to restore the relationships among the residents of Nineveh, or they would all be destroyed.

However, Jonah decides to evade his task and tries to flee by ship.

As Jews, our nation was established on the tenet, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and our justification for existence has been our task to be “a light unto nations,” to spread that unity throughout the world. Yet, just like Jonah, we have been avoiding our mission for the past 2,000 years. We cannot afford to keep evading it.

For centuries, our sages and leaders have stressed the indispensability of our unity for our safety, and even for the safety of the world. They also stressed that when we fall into unfounded hatred, calamities and troubles soon pursue us and the world suffers, too.

But over time, we have lost awareness; we have grown detached and alienated from each other. Worse yet, we have come to ridicule such terms as “a light unto nations” and “a chosen people.” We have no recollection of what we were chosen for. But it still awaits, and when we run from it, there comes a storm.

We Are Asleep

In the story, Jonah’s escape from his mission by ship caused the sea to roar. At the height of the storm, Jonah went to sleep while the sailors remained on deck and struggled to save the vessel. Gradually, they began to suspect that it was someone among them who was causing the sea to rage. They cast a lot, which put the blame on Jonah, the only Jew on board.

Today’s plight bears many similarities to Jonah’s ship. The world has become a global village and we’re all in one boat, so to speak. The sailors—the nations of the world—are blaming the Jew “on board” (the Jewish people) for their troubles.

Like Jonah, we are asleep. We are beginning to wake up to the existence of hatred, but we have not woken up to our vocation. If we do not wake up very soon, the sailors will throw us overboard, as they did with Jonah.

Carriers of a Method

In the story, the sailors make a desperate attempt to calm the sea, and by Jonah’s order, they throw him overboard. Once in the water, the storm calms, but a whale swallows Jonah. For three days and three nights, Jonah introspects in the fish’s abdomen. He begs for his life and resolves to carry out his mission.

Just like Jonah, each of us carries within something that is stirring up the world. We, the people of Israel, are carriers of a method of connection, a method for uniting above the hatred, as King Solomon put it (Proverbs 10:12), “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes.” This method of unity is the root from which our nation grew. It is what tied us into a single nation, and what today we must rekindle because wherever we go, this untapped mode of work destabilizes the world around us, which then blames us for its woes.

The unity between us will inspire is the light we must project to the rest of the nations, just as now the separation among us projects separation to the whole of humanity. This is the reason for all our troubles. When we unite, it will endow humanity with the energy required to achieve worldwide unity, where all people live “as one man with one heart.” Therefore, it is our choice to assume responsibility, or be thrown overboard, only to subsequently agree to carry out our task.

A Light unto Nations

Jonah’s role was to turn meanness and hatred into brotherhood among the people of the gentile city. This is also our role. Nothing has changed except the date and the names. Yet, instead of being “a light for the nations,” we are trying our best to be like the rest of the nations.

As more and more people and nations subconsciously sense that the Jews are not like the rest of the nations, that they are responsible for their misfortunes, they are beginning to treat us according to their feelings. People are reacting instinctively to what is happening to them, and subconsciously turn their anger and frustration against us. The Day of Atonement is our opportunity to make a decision to unite, and become “a light unto nations.” Only then will the global whirlpool around us subside, humanity will be at peace, and a canopy (Sukkah) of peace will spread over all of us.

In that Sukkah, we will all sit as one, without struggle or strife, and we will make unity our prime value. Now, as we recognize our role, we must begin to raise the tenet, “love your neighbor as yourself,” above all other values until it becomes a thatch that protects us from any trouble and affliction.

If we want to end our troubles, rid the world of antisemitism, and lead a safe and happy life, we must unite, and thus set an example of unity to the nations. This is will bring peace and quiet to the world.

Words from Our Sages about Unity, Love, and Israel’s Role in the World

Unity and Love

Our nation’s success depends only on brotherly love, on connecting as one family.

Rabbi Shmuel David Luzzatto

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is the great rule of Torah, to include in unity and peace, which is the essence of vitality, persistence, and correction of the whole of creation—by people of differing opinions merging together with love, unity, and peace.

Rabbi Nathan Sternhertz, Likutey Halachot [Assorted Rules], “Blessings for Seeing and Personal Blessings,” Rule no. 4

Since we were ruined by unfounded hatred, and the world was ruined with us, we will be rebuilt by unfounded love, and the world will be rebuilt with us.

The Raiah [Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook], Orot Kodesh (Sacred Lights), Vol. 3

Any turmoil in the world comes only for Israel. Now we are called upon to carry out a great task willingly and mindfully: to build ourselves and the entire ruined world along with us.

The Raiah [Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook], Igrot (Letters), Letter no. 726

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything that you would like others to do for you, do them for your brothers.

Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Shoftim, “Rules of Mourning,” Chapter 14

When is the Creator fond of creation? When all of Israel are bundled together without envy, hatred, or competition among them, and each thinks of one’s friend’s well-being and favor. At that time the Creator is delighted with His creation.

The book, Remember for Miriam, Chapter 11

When all human beings agree to abolish and eradicate their will to receive for themselves, and have no other desire but to bestow upon their friends, all worries and jeopardy in the world would cease to exist. And we would all be assured of a whole and wholesome life.

Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” item 19

The Role of Israel

The people of Israel must be the first nation to assume the international altruism, and be a role model of the good and beauty contained in this form of governance.

Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), The Writings of the Last Generation

The people of Israel, who are more capable of approaching the Creator than all the other nations, will then bestow the bounty upon the rest of the nations.

Rav Baruch Ashlag (the Rabash), The Writings of Rabash, Vol. 2, Letter no. 18

The Israeli nation had been constructed as a sort of gateway by which the sparks of light would shine upon the whole of the human race the world over.

Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

It is written that each of the nations will hold a Jewish man and lead him to the Holy Land. And it was not enough that they could leave by themselves. You must understand from where the nations of the world would come by such a will and idea. Know that this is through the dissemination of the true wisdom, so they will evidently see the true God and the true law.

And the dissemination of the wisdom in the masses is called “a Shofar (a horn used on festivities).” Like the Shofar, whose voice travels a great distance, the echo of the wisdom will spread the world over, so even the nations will hear and acknowledge that there is Godly wisdom in Israel.

Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “Messiah’s Shofar”

It is upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and all the people of the world through Torah and Mitzvot (commandments), to develop until they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of others, which is the ladder to the purpose of Creation, being adhesion with the Creator.

Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

The construction of the world, which is currently crumpled by the dreadful storms of a blood-filled sword, requires the construction of the Israeli nation. The construction of the nation and the revealing of its spirit are one and the same, and it is one with the construction of the world, which is crumpling and awaits a force full of unity and sublimity, and all that is in the soul of the Assembly of Israel.

The Raiah [Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook], Orot (Lights), Chapter 9, p 16

[214247]

The Day Of Remembrance Of Rabash

Baruch Shalom Levi Ashlag was the closest link to us of the chain of great Kabbalists through which the upper force is revealed to the world, and the Torah is passed down to us. He is the highest level and the only spiritual Partzuf that we depend on, and therefore, our study is mostly based on his articles. Rabash did everything to prepare the foundation for the next generation to come.

Although it was not easy, he found the strength to completely annul himself before his great father and teacher, Baal HaSulam, having absolutely no regard for himself. And because of that, he ascended through all the levels of spiritual attainment. We are yet to see from his writings just how high he reached. His essays are written in a very warm way, with great care for the reader, the student.

He had a huge burning heart full of love. However, if we are capable of grasping the depth of his writings, we would see that he was in the states of GAR of Atzilut or even higher, which is impossible to imagine.

Rabash paved the way for us by writing his articles and establishing customs that we try to adhere to. He gave us the framework in which a Kabbalistic group should exist, and we continue in this manner.

Baal HaSulam was like the ARI, creating the method of spiritual ascension, and Rabash brought it to a practical realization, and in that he resembled the Baal Shem Tov. In no other Kabbalistic writings have I ever seen such detailed descriptions of the spiritual work: how a person should organize himself in his immediate surrounding, in a wider environment, in the system of the worlds, and in his relationship with the Creator.

All these systems, that a person has to go through in order to achieve adhesion with the upper force, are not explained anywhere else in such systematic form as in Rabash’s articles. A person can take these articles and advance with them, for they will form the right attitude and the right concepts inside him.

There are no other books like these. In Rabash’s articles, not only do we get the commentary, but also detailed instructions of what to do, what reaction to expect, and how to move forward. He explains the whole process that we have to complete, the response that we get in return, and the internal states our soul goes through.

I have read these articles many times and will certainly continue reading them, and I can attest to them being concealed, and not revealed. After many years of studying, you will begin to uncover great depth in them.

You will suddenly see, that Rabash is writing about something you did not notice before, did not understand, and did not feel. These articles are not straightforward, but are quite multi-layered that become revealed in accordance with the reader’s level of comprehension. They offer such support and help to the beginners of the spiritual path, which cannot be found even in the writings of Baal HaSulam.

Baal HaSulam is a Kabbalist of the highest caliber, a scientist, a researcher, and Rabash is a spiritual coach: gentle and loving, who takes you by the hand and walks you through all the states. Only when we ascend in spirituality can we judge his true greatness.
[194537]

The Power Of Spiritual Society

Baal HaSulam, The Last Generation: One who wishes to leave the society in favor of another must not be detained in any way, even if it is harmful to society.

We must realize that in the future society, toward which we are gradually advancing, the most important thing is the correct participation of a person in it.

He may be a great specialist in something but if he does not accept the framework of society and does not want to be equal with everyone, then he cannot remain in society just as a specialist. After all, first of all, we accept a person not because he is a specialist but because he is a friend.

Question: I would like to understand, what harm he can do to society?

Answer: He can impose his thoughts on others. There is nothing worse than that. Clever people with sharp minds and sharp feelings but with uncorrected egoism can seriously harm society.

Attainment of the Creator comes through connection among people, when everyone becomes equal, each one annulling himself and adjusting to the others. That is, the “biggest” one is the one who makes himself the smallest. These are two completely opposite qualities.

Therefore, people with a huge egoistic desire who constantly strive, even unconsciously, to come forward do not belong in such a society. They are presented with the condition: if they are unable to change themselves and be like everyone else, they will have to leave the society.

A person can be unremarkable, with average abilities, but he is a friend and not someone who, all the time, jumps out and tries to shine with his egoistic qualities. Individualists are not needed.

Only a cohesive mass of people can produce a spiritual result. There is no other way! The power of a spiritual society is in its center, in the union of everybody, and in the common aspiration.

Question: Can a person with a big ego annul himself before society? How did you do this?

Answer: I was a great egoist, disagreeing with the group in many ways. I am surprised how they tolerated me. However, at the end, through very difficult circumstances, I managed to understand that I must bend myself.

Comment: But you had a teacher Rabash. You were annulling yourself before him.

Answer: This made it even harder. When you have a teacher next to you, who supports you, then you need to annul yourself much more. It is very difficult.

However, there is nowhere to escape to. If a person is persistent and accepts everything that society indicates to him, then he gets help from above in the end.

Question: So, does this mean that it is somehow possible to work with the character and the qualities that are given to you by nature?

Answer: Only if the Creator will do it. If the Creator does not build the Temple, meaning the soul, then all the attempts of a person are in vain.
[211201]
From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 6/19/17

The World At The Crossroads, Part 2

Beginning with the very first shattering—the so-called sin of Adam, “the first man,” which was planned in advance—humanity gradually began to realize that the reason for all its troubles was the separation caused by human egoism.

Although egoism was relatively small then, it still took a long time prior to Abraham’s arrival before they began to unite to overcome the crisis that had erupted in Ancient Babylon.

The broken ego that had divided the people showed them how destructive separation was and that there was no other solution besides uniting.

After Abraham had revealed that unification is the path of correction and had begun to explain it to the others, those who understood him formed a group, which was later called the people of Israel, which means directly to the Creator, or Yashar El. This group held on to unity as the only means of achieving salvation for the entire human race and, in general, for all of creation.

It took a lot of time—from the first man Adam all the way to Abraham—before humanity was ready to learn that unity is salvation. At first, the connection was natural and all the people lived together as one. But then suddenly separation began to develop and they felt how destructive it was.

They were able to compare how much better it had been living with the natural connection that had existed between them while egoism was still relatively small and the great state of egoism that led to many problems such as separation and arguments. It all ended in ruin. Therefore, they agreed to work for unity so that “love covered all crimes.”

However, it needs to be clear that the crimes being committed were small then and egoism was small too, so it was not as difficult for them to unite as it is today. But at that time, they already understood that there are two ways to the final unification, which humanity must eventually achieve.

After all, this is the purpose of creation, pre-programmed in the original design. But you can come to it in two ways: by the Light or through suffering. They had managed to understand this back then and had begun to implement Abraham’s method.

It is clear to everyone that egoism spoils our lives and that we need to do something about it. Every nation has its own way. There are methods of reducing egoism through special education as well as all kinds of oriental practices such as Confucianism and morality-based traditions. Religions also urge man to be humble and calm and they try to tame egoism by promising him heaven or hell.

All these methods worked for a while but, in the end, people are leaving religion. Egoism grows so fast that morality and religion are no longer able to restrain it. And the method of Abraham is a general method of correcting egoism, directed not at its destruction, but at its correct use. This method belongs to everyone, as Abraham said, “Who is for the Creator, come to me!”

That is, we need to unite and within this connection we will reveal the upper force that will support us and lead us forward, returning us to the purpose of creation and its foundations. This is a very special method that is only realized if people are ready for it. And, at the end of our development, everyone will be ready for it.
[212341]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/21/17, Lesson on the Topic: “Europe at a Crossroad”

Democrats Are Fighting Against Democracy

The only way to build a new reality is through integral education.After all, every attempt humanity makes to correct its state fails every time and causes even greater harm. This is because the cause of all the problems and perverse forms of our development lies only in our egoism.

It is egoism that pushes us to develop and therefore we are increasingly growing our egoistic desire. Instead of satisfying it, however, we fail every time and find ourselves even more devastated.

This is clearly visible in the modern world that is supposedly based on democracy and liberalism. After all, the biggest “democracy” that was currently flourishing in the US has suddenly begun to degenerate, practically into Nazism. Half of the people do not agree with the results of the democratic elections and actually try to prevent the elected president from taking power.

This only happens in countries with the most radical regimes. Could a revolution be in the making in the US? It can be seen that egoism leads a person to a state in which all of his liberal and democratic foundations collapse. Democracy exists for him only as long as it suits him. However, as soon as it goes against his opinion, he is immediately ready to abandon it and throw it in the garbage.

Clearly, all of this stems from excessively developed egoism and it is obvious that there is no solution for this. We have come to these interesting results due to our egoistic development. The wellbeing of society is now directly in the hands of the rich elite.

So what kind of democracy, liberalism, and pluralism is it if the newspapers and media are in the hands of the rich who determine which way they wish to twist society, the country, and the world at large? Therefore, at least, we should not deceive ourselves and believe the news by calling these systems by the names of democracy and liberalism.

This is not a democracy at all but, rather, represents propaganda of opinion, beneficial only to the one who pays the owner of the newspaper. And this opinion will manifest as a result because time after time, year after year, it spreads through thousands of media channels and newspapers as well as via the Internet.

In this way, the public gradually gets a twisted opinion without noticing how it changes and becomes like zombies according to the desire of the one who pays for and orders the “music.” The rich elite want to form a certain opinion among the people and therefore pay to support newspapers, the media, and social networks.

This is a useful and advanced state. After all, while our egoism was small we did not see our vices. Today, the malfunction is revealed to such an extent that people in America and Europe are taking to the streets, shouting, and instigating riots. It has become obvious to everyone that this is not the state humanity has dreamt of.

The American Dream and our hopes for a united Europe have melted. In fact, these systems have turned out to be quite the opposite of what we had thought. This is because our egoism guides us this way. We are trying to correct externalities: the world, the environment, and the form society takes in order to organize new parties and extend new influence on the people. And we hope to correct something this way.

As a result, there will be more police officers, hospitals, and other organizations that help the needy, but nothing good will come out of them. After all, the cause of all these malfunctions is hidden in our egoism and it is this egoism that needs to be corrected.

Therefore, instead of dealing with the correction of the external world, it is necessary to investigate and correct a person’s internal world. The whole world is perceived within a person and we see so many vices around us in human society because we, ourselves, are corrupted inside. If we would focus on correcting our internal properties, we would simultaneously learn how to correct the external world.

We are living at a time when humanity is beginning to reveal the consequences of its many thousands of years of development and is seeking an answer.
[203332]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/3/16, Lesson on the Topic: “Mismah Arosa (Arosa Document),” “What Is to Be Done?”

The Main Thing Is Intention

Question: What role does intention play in building any relationship?

Answer: Intention means absolutely everything. There is nothing except for intentions.

Desires are given to us; they are broken, sorted, scattered, and arise in us according to some special program. Therefore, the main thing is the intention: for the sake of what, in the name of what, for whom am I going to do something or even just to think. The main thing is where I direct my thoughts, feelings, and aspirations.
[213354]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 06/11/17

The World At The Crossroads, Part 1

A few months ago, when we started preparations for the European congress, which will take place in a few days, it seemed that the most pressing issue was the unification of Europe and our need to work on this. After all, Europeans do not understand why all of their attempts to create a united Europe fail.

First of all, we need to prepare the society and build a common platform between all the European countries. Only then can we start talking about uniting Europe so that this would be a union of hearts and not banks. A union can exist only if it is based on good relations between people because we are talking about human society.

However, a few months have passed since then and the situation has deteriorated significantly; new and more urgent problems have more recently emerged. It is no longer enough to talk about the unification of Europe; it is necessary to unite the whole world. This issue is crucial today.

It is becoming more and more noticeable every day: the development of the world is rapidly accelerating. This development is inevitable, but it can go in two ways: the path of Light or the path of the natural course of evolution, which is suffering. And it depends on us, the people, which path we will choose. In any case, we must undergo this development of “absolute magnitude” whether we will move into an abyss or toward a beautiful life.

These two paths lie before us. The path of natural development is a path of separation that will inevitably doom us to strikes, suffering, unhappiness, and even world wars. And all this is only to force us to eventually go on the path of Light or at least to walk along the middle line between these two ways.

And the path of Light is the path of unity, which is the ultimate goal of our entire development. We all have to reunite as one person within one system: Adam HaRishon. And if we correctly aspire toward this goal together and by our own will, the world will move forward in a good way. If not, the world will advance with blows. We choose one way of these two.

In addition, another negative development has appeared recently: Nazis re-emerged in the United States. This is not a mere accident as they always existed; however, they were quiet and afraid to be vocal. But today, they stopped hiding.

We can talk for ages about the internal and external reasons that led to neo-Nazism raising its head in the US, but, in fact, the reasons are not important because Nazism is a natural phenomenon.

As Marx and Baal HaSulam wrote, Nazism is the next stage after socialism. If socialism does not follow the path of the right type of unification, then it degenerates into Nazism, that is, the wrong kind of unification of society.

In essence, this is the whole difference between the path of suffering and the path of Light. There is evidence that Nazi fascists had hoped that in the future the US would have become a Nazi country, united by a national-socialist idea.

This trend will continue to develop further with the help of American Jews, just as it was in Germany at the very beginning of the Nazis rise to power. Therefore, it is necessary to do everything possible to avoid the recurrence of the bitter mistakes of the past, which are already looming on the horizon.

History repeats itself and not only Europe stands at a crossroads today, but the whole world. Let us hope that we will be able to change it from the path of suffering to the good path of light.
[212315]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/21/17, Lesson on the Topic: “Europe at a Crossroad”

What Is Pain?

Question: You claim that if you hurt a friend, then you hit the whole system. What is pain?

Answer: Pain is a sensation of lack of filling in a desire. There are different thresholds of the sensation of lack of filling. A serious threshold causes pain.

Question: What does it mean to hurt a friend in the ten.

Answer: If it is a good ten, then you hurt your friend if you do not realize yourself in it.
[213741]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 5/21/17

New Life #879 – Integration In A Group Of Students Of The Wisdom Of Kabbalah, Part 2

New Life #879 – Integration In A Group Of Students Of The Wisdom Of Kabbalah, Part 2
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Yael Leshed-Harel

Summary

In what way is integration different from connection? What makes it possible for a person to be integrated in a group even though inner resistance is awakened in him, and how is it possible to soften the ego that separates between friends?
From KabTV’s “New Life #879 – Integration In A Kabbalah Group, Part 2,” 7/11/17

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

There Is No Division In Spirituality

Torah, Deuteronomy 29:28: The hidden things belong to the Lord, our God, but the revealed things apply to us and to our children forever: that we must fulfill all the words of this Torah.

This is not a correct translation of the Torah. Which means, that the hidden is from Creator and the revealed, up to the third or fourth degree, is by us.

Because if we reveal it by ourselves, then it happens toward the whole system of the ten Sefirot or until the third or fourth degree, which is toward the Kelim (vessels) of bestowal—Galgalta ve Eynaim, or even AHP.

That which is revealed by the creator is revealed to us in our efforts. On the other hand, we experience failure. If you do not work correctly, you leave a similar trail behind you to the third and fourth degree. It is stated clearly: “The guilt of the fathers falls on their children to the third, fourth generation.”

Question: It turns out that my next spiritual degree is compromised?

Answer: Your next degree depends on you. However, if it is compromised, it extends all the way through and you must rebuild it anew. It is impossible for only a part of it to be damaged. As it says: “There is no division in spirituality.”
[213178]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 1/11/17

What Can One Get From Kabbalah?

Question: What can one get from Kabbalah?

Answer: From Kabbalah one can receive the revelation of the Creator, and this explains everything. Indeed, the revelation of the Creator is the unveiling of that common single force that governs the entire universe: the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels of nature of our world and all five worlds that are included in the world of Infinity.

Relative to us, this one common force of control is called the Creator. It contains all the pleasures, all the happiness, all that a person desires. Kabbalah reveals this force. And all the rest comes from this.
[214201]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 6/25/17

Soul, Desire, Intention

Question: Is soul a desire or a desire with intention?

Answer: The soul is desire. The light of the soul is that which fills the desire. And intention is the correction, screen, reflected light.
[213759]
From the Lesson in Russian, 5/21/17

The Way To The Final Correction

Question: Do we have to get used to the intention to give egoistically so that, at some point, quantity will translate into quality?

Answer: First of all, correction is not realized in the general mass of humanity but, rather, in a small group—in a ten—in which ten people gather and make a pact that they “want to become similar to the Creator.” No one can achieve this by him or herself but only when everyone starts practicing mutual bestowal toward one another.

We agree amongst ourselves to support one another, to show each other an example, to annul ourselves before one another, and to demonstrate the importance of the goal in the unity between us. In this way, we create a miniature structure that resembles humanity—corrected in its entirety—but on a very small scale of no more and no less than ten. According to Kabbalah, this is the optimal way to reach correction.

Gradually we begin to feel special states between us, we discover the upper worlds, and we reveal the Creator that exists between us and the forces that connect us with each other.

We begin to understand what kinds of forces exist, which of them are called “angels” and which ones are referred to as “sacred animals,” etc. We begin to perceive the upper forces, meaning the qualities of love and bestowal. And most importantly, a special force emerges inside these revelations, a special quality called the Creator, the source of everything that exists, which encompasses the entire universe and becomes revealed to us as a result of our actions.

The result of our work will be the feeling that we are ready to absorb all of humanity and even the entire world inside of us. We do not have to work for this result. For if we create a complete ten, then our work inside it is enough for all of humanity to be included in us automatically.

And then we begin to feel ourselves as completely corrected and similar to the Creator who exists with us together inside our little circle.

All of humanity does not feel this because they do not correct their qualities from reception to bestowal or from egoism to altruism but we do. However, the final correction requires us to immediately disseminate the method once any threshold of correction has been reached. This is the purpose of our work.

Therefore, in the same measure that I want to get closer to the Creator, I simultaneously have to come out of the limits of my ten and disseminate the method to everyone else. Precisely in this manner, I become closer to the Creator and reveal him more and more clearly.

This is similar to a holographic picture in which I can feel the Creator in a very small degree, in a little point (colored red on the diagram), as if I am looking at the world without glasses and seeing everything in a rather blurry way.

If I add more little points to this part, then the focus of the picture will become sharper and sharper, more complete, and with all the details. So there is actually no difference whether I reveal the Creator in my ten or in a larger group.

Everything depends only on the resolution; when I come out into a general setting and attract other people to my ten, then, together, we start revealing the Creator more clearly and precisely and with a fuller understanding and a larger sensation.

That is why the very structure of the system requires us to disseminate. In the measure that I disseminate, I will attain the Creator even more and raise to His level until I reach the maximum capacity and completely fill all of humanity by passing the upper Light through myself into it. In this way, I will become equal to the Creator and achieve the final correction of my soul.
[211267]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 4/2/17

How Can Souls Help Each Other?

Question: How can higher souls help us in the development of spirituality?

Answer: The Creator created only one soul. It split into many parts, the so-called individual souls, each of which corrects itself only to facilitate common correction. But generally, the soul is one for all. Baal HaSulam writes about this in the article “600,000 Souls.”

Since all individual souls are in one aggregation of souls, the correction of one soul helps the other and so on.
[213351]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 5/21/17

“But Not Only With You Am I Making This Covenant”

Torah, Deuteronomy 29:13 – 29:14: But not only with you am I making this covenant and this oath, but with those standing here with us today before the Lord, our God, and [also] with those who are not here with us, this day.

Correction of the common soul is consecutive. It spreads into the levels of its ego from level zero to level five.

First, each of the five egoistic levels divides into five more and then further divides into an additional five. Second, each level and all the subsequent categories divide into three lines, twelve tribes, and tens.

These multiple divisions provide an optimal and easy way to change from the use of egoism to love and bestowal. There are desires involved in this change right now, others that will be corrected later, and still others that will be corrected much later.

The thing is, the Torah seemingly describes the history of what happened to the Jewish people as well as what is still to come. However, in reality, the story doesn’t exist. Nothing from the story is real. All these images in our conscious minds actually represent relationships between spiritual forces or Sefirot.

So all the memories of the past that are incorporated in anthropology, history, cosmology, and other disciplines only actually exist in our imaginations. We need to understand that everything that is written in the Torah only happens on the levels of consciousness, understanding, and the spiritual attainment of a person.

The Torah speaks of all of this on the levels of the forefathers, then their sons, and later, on our level. And all of it can, provisionally, be broken down into historical brackets and periods of time because in reality it never existed. This is how it works in our consciousness.

The Torah speaks of how a person can attain spirituality when he starts to work on himself. However, if he does not exert in this work, then everything the Torah speaks of does not really exist for him. The Torah is imprinted in his subconscious when he starts to read, attain, and hear, but it is just a shadow of what he should go through internally.

Comment: So, here now stand the forefathers, the nation that already entered there, and now us, here today…

My Response: Those standing here are the ones in the state of the weekly Torah portion. They attain this for themselves because there is no past, present, or future. Everything exists only in relation to the attaining person.
[212605]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 1/9/17

The Jewish Voice: “A Kabbalistic Take On Ronald Lauder’s Blessing For The Jewish New Year”

The American portal The Jewish Voice published my article “A Kabbalistic Take on Ronald Lauder’s Blessing for the Jewish New Year“:

[214241]

Crossroads: Labor Pains Of A New Worldview

Crossroads: Labor Pains of a New World is a documentary that reveals the depths of the current state of humanity and the emergence of a new perception of the world, which literally forces us to turn all our past knowledge of the world’s structure inside out.

This film is the revelation of modern reality for all viewers and a loud call for those who are already aware that we are on the threshold of a completely new perception of the world.

*Crossroads* won the 2013 Free Speech Award by American Insight.
[212798]

“The Most Tender And Delicate Man Among You, Will Begrudge His Own Brother”

Torah, Deuteronomy 28:54: The most tender and delicate man among you, will begrudge his own brother and the wife of his embrace and the rest of his children, whom he will leave over

People are unable to control their egoism and exist in love for their neighbor. When people who are soft, good, and kind in everyday life feel the desire to achieve love for their neighbor, they suddenly uncover such huge, inner, egoistic layers that they begin hating each other.

It is like how young people in love, in the beginning, live like a couple of doves. And what happens later? Scandals, assaults, difficult divorces, and lawyers.

If they did not try to get close to each other, they could remain good friends and lovers, meet from time to time, and please each other, but without any obligations. This is the most important thing. After all, love for your neighbor obliges you; you are obliged to love him and overcome your egoism all the time. Therefore, today there are so many unhappy marriages.

Question: How can we avoid this?

Answer: A person must rise above himself! But is he capable of doing this? Can his environment give him the required support? If not, it is better to walk away.

Suppose—if I am already married—then I can do nothing; I live next to this person involuntarily. I do not have an opportunity to regulate the distance between us according to my ability to control myself and rise above my egoism. If I could do this, everything would be fine. If we are a little tired of each other, we move away from each other and later we move closer and so on. This is a big problem.

This is exactly the kind of rejection we try to overcome in a Kabbalistic group. We constantly work on this, for many hours a day, without walking away or separating.

Is it possible to oblige a young couple who does not understand anything about the inner work to do this? It is necessary to study Kabbalah for this, to discuss it constantly, and to implement it practically. Where do you see such a family and such an opportunity?

Can you imagine, in what state people were, 2,000 years ago when they had to implement all of this amongst themselves? Therefore, it is not surprising that their spiritual unity, called the First and the Second Temples, fell apart.

Comment: Today, we have reached such a state that all marriages are falling apart. However, previously we somehow kept this circle.

My Response: This is because, previously, religion was holding people. Today, religion has changed its form so much that only an outer shell remains of it. Although it still holds them but with its last bit of strength, it takes new forms all the time.
[211504]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/21/16