From A Dark Point To The Light Of Love

Comment: There is an entire discussion in The Book of Zohar as to which letter the creation of the world should begin with. Eventually it was decided that the first letter would be “Bet” (Bereshit, Genesis).

Answer: The first letter is very important since it determines the meaning of the whole act of creation.

In the article “The Letters of Rav Hamnuna Saba” in The Introduction to The Book of Zohar there is the description of the “struggle” over which letter should control the world to bring all egoism, all the attributes opposite to the Creator, to compatibility with Him.

The attributes have to be opposed to each other because it is only as a result of the conflict between the positive and negative forces that we can begin to study and reveal the Creator; it is impossible to do it any other way. It is impossible to discover any attribute, anything in the world, if we don’t have attributes that are opposite from the Creator.

But how could anything opposite to Him be created? For this purpose the constantly growing egoism was created, so that it could be compared to the positive force and in the contrast between them compare: the attribute of the created being and the attribute of the Creator, day and night.

A person has to feel alternately this and that, and then together; these properties are opposite to each other. During this comparison, he either lowers the Creator to the level of darkness or raises darkness to the level of the Creator.

This work helps the created being discover the Creator from the attribute that is opposite to Him, but not in contrast, one against the other, like in our world. A person ascends and dresses his ego with the Creator’s attributes making them into a form that is totally egoistic internally and opposite from the Creator while all His positive attributes are revealed externally.

Then the created being begins to attain the two opposite attributes through one action, in one thought, in one deed, at the same time. As he ascends from our world upward, he begins to build all the creation by himself.

This is why it is said that the righteous build worlds. It is as if the Creator has destroyed the world He created (which is indeed so), and they build it and recreate it just like a child who is given a toy that is totally disassembled in order to teach him to put it together.

Thus, a person gradually ascends to the Creator’s level , and thus becomes equivalent to the Creator. He passes all the emanations and acquires the Creator’s attribute in all his filling.

Question: When you speak about a person, do you refer to the united figure of all mankind?

Answer: Yes, it is all the people in the world; it is their corrected inner core that is connected into one unique correct state called Adam (a human being) that resembles the Creator.

Comment: The wisdom of Kabbalah is so deep and rich that one constantly thinks about how he can absorb it.

Answer: It is impossible to do it in any theoretical manner. The wisdom of Kabbalah isn’t an ordinary wisdom that can be learned from a distance; it isn’t a performance that can be acted and thus felt. We have to fully penetrate and be incorporated in this figure and that is the problem.

Here there is absolute adhesion with the levels of ascent and a person constantly changes his form from a dark point to an enlightened figure of complete love and bestowal.
[159641]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 12/31/14

The Benefits And Dangers Of Reforms

Question: People are always waiting for new reforms with the hope that life will be better. For example, in their opinion, the crisis in the housing sector can be resolved through reform in the Israel Lands Administration, or through the allocation of additional plots for construction, or through a zero value added tax when buying a home.

In general, each project under discussion in the media or government arouses a multitude of reactions depending on whose interests they represent. So do we need reforms?

Answer: Reforms are useful. By announcing them publicly, politicians muffle the loud voices of opposition and shelter themselves from criticism. “Be patient, I am working on the problem.” Over time, the sore subject is obscured, giving way to another, and again someone comes out with new reforms and proposals for sensitive issues.

In brief, talk about reform helps calm passions and shifts people’s attention in the direction convenient for the government or the reformist. Therefore, the only effective reform is possible only on condition that we understand how and in which direction humanity is developing. This basic “educational plan” will allow us to judge if we can continue to live under the egoistic lifestyle that determines all of our mutual connections, the entire nature of our relationships.

Today, unlike in the past, humanity is feeling itself as a single jumble that is welded together in a system that includes the still, vegetative, and animate nature. The entire globe is a single whole.

Just open our eyes and make out the picture, we see, we see that we are in an integrated, global structure, which tightly binds us together. As long as we don’t get along within it, we can expect a thorny path of failures for us.

So in any reforms except for social ones, I see no benefits. They are just a waste of time;  their results will show that the time is up, nothing was accomplished, even to the extent possible in the existing frameworks, and the problem is only exacerbated.

We must bring modern society in accord with the requirements evolution applies to us. Suddenly we are discovering that we have formed an integral community in which all depend on each other. At this stage, according to the wisdom of Kabbalah, we need to consider ourselves as a single common family. First of all, it is necessary to take care of the appropriate social reforms. After the development of this approach, it must be conveyed in educating people. It is necessary to provide people with educational and informational systems so that he will begin to be involved in this actively, so he will understand and feel what is at stake. Only then will unity stop being a hollow sound for him.

Today a new force is manifested in society that connects all people, even against their will. But we don’t take it into account, not in politics and not in economics. And so we stand on the threshold of chaos, continuing to form artificial “bubbles” of systems that have already completed their life cycle and no longer inherent in the nature of human society.

Based on our egoistic understanding, we are trying to implement these “fossil” remnants of the past in new structures of mutual integral relationships, but they don’t match each other. Hence, the dire results we see here in the course of development today have become negative.

Of course we always find excuses for ourselves, referring to the deficits of another choice. But if we look realistically at the matter, humanity finds itself before a serious problem.

Whether it wants it or not, it is advancing towards an integral world “kingdom” that is more strongly mutually connected. Still within the old habits, we want to insert into it our vision of a “digital,” discrete world, although in reality there is a completely different calculation.

We don’t take into account the universal mutual connection and interdependence, ignoring the “underground” threads that strongly connect us with each other. Or we want to squeeze them into formats of our egoism, placing them under the control of money and power, the military and banks. As a result of this, two types of systems are in conflict, clashing against each other, and we are entangled more and more in a mass of concealments and contradictions. The time has come to turn to the root cause, instead of making vain reforms.
[159458]
From KabTV’s “The Solution” 5/6/15

Slavery In The Modern World

In the News (from facte.ru): “What is slavery in the modern world? It is about economic slavery and continuous coerced work:

1. Since the money a modern slave has is always enough for only one month, the modern slave is forced to work his whole life until his death.
2. The creation of artificial demand for products that one seemingly needs by advertising forces the slave to buy.
3. Modern slaves are drawn deeper and deeper into bondage by a credit system, through a mechanism loan interest creating a pyramid of debt.
4. The myth of the state: the money in the slaves’pockets goes into the pockets of the slave owners.
5. Inflation: the rise of prices but not the rise of the slaves’ wages leads to the invisible robbery of the slaves.
6. Denying the slaves the means to purchase real estate in another city or state forces modern slaves to work in one factory that was built in their city and to suffer from the bad conditions.
7. Concealing information about the real cost of the slaves work, the slaves lack of supervision as to the extra profits that the slave owner takes for himself.”

My Comment: The revelation of the true state of the society that develops as a result of growing egoism and the greater recognition of the dead-end that our evolution has reached will force society to make changes, while the search and the lack of a solution will lead to the acceptance of the new integral education method that the wisdom of Kabbalah offers to re-educate man and society.
[139770]

Who Is Our Master?

In the News (from thetheoryandpractice.ru): “Genes determine everything for us! They find the best partner in life for us so that we can reproduce ourselves with healthy offspring. Unconscious DNA testing for compatibility takes place with the exchange saliva in the first kiss. Genes also choose friends for us: friends have 1% of the same genes, the same as it is with fifth generation relatives.

“People prefer to associate with those with whom they have the same perception of smell, yet different immunity (so that everyone will not get sick at the same time). The genes choose the appropriate environment for their own distribution—they push us into a particular society. Characteristics of human nature are results of the genes.

“Bacteria may release psychoactive substances that enhance religious feelings. There are trillions of bacteria living within us that use the human body exclusively for their own interests. 3,000 species of bacteria live within the human body. Most of them populate the digestive system, and are nourished by the same food, and they have their own taste preferences.

“If food composition—the ratio of the proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients—is appropriate for the development of the bacteria, they encourage their host by releasing substances that improve the health of the person. If the food composition is not to the taste of the bacteria, they release toxins. In this way the bacteria shape our sense of taste and determine our diet.

“The activity of the brain depends upon forty genes and is activated by the bacteria.

“In a spoonful of water there are five million bacteria and five million viruses. The bacteria are 80% of the total biomass of the Earth. The entire biosphere is a system for exchanging genes between various micro-organisms.

“Parasites damage trees, flowers, animals, every life form. If the behavior of the subject becomes different, if he puts himself in danger, it is because of the parasite that actively controls the subject through various chemicals.

“A flatworm is so eager to get out of the body of the mouse into the body of the fox that it transforms the mouse into prey for any predator, slowly but surely. Nematodes color ants like the red berries that the birds into which they want to pass indulge themselves with.

“Toxoplasma first inhabits rodents, from them it passes to cats, and from there to a human. People who are infected with toxoplasmosis stand out in their behavior: They often lose self-control and are unable to be freed from worry. In addition, the toxoplasma slows down a person’s reaction time. So some people prefer adventure, epinephrine and eternal searching, while others are satisfied with the television remote.

“Neurons. A person makes a decision much later than it is made by the neurons. The brain alone decides how to act. The conscious choice of a form of behavior is only an illusion that conceals the true processes that are happening within the human brain without any connection with himself. The acceptance of a decision is the attainment of the active threshold of particular neurons that signal the motor cortex of the brain to launch rational or emotional behavior.

“Neurotransmitters. Neurons determine our desires. The source of the various senses are neurotransmitters—chemical substances that provide for the passage of electrical current to synapses that connect between nerve cells.

“The feeling of happiness depends on the amount of serotonin in the tissue of the brain, and depression is the result of a lack of this substance. Another neurotransmitter, dopamine, causes us to yearn for food and sex, and not for higher goals. The more the level of dopamine rises, the more the system of ‘reward and punishment’ develops.

“The arousal neurotransmitter norepinephrine influences our behavior. Our ability to concentrate, our level of energy, our motivation to act, relaxation, memory, good mood and our behavior in times of danger depend on norepinephrine. The discovery of the neurotransmitters leads us to conclude that we are not the masters of our emotions.”

My Comment: The wisdom of Kabbalah explains everything in a simple form: We have freedom of choice; nothing that happens depends on our desire. We are compelled to do everything, even if it seems to us that it is our desire.

Cooperation between higher forces that are hidden from us manages the biological substances in our bodies and arouses desires, thoughts, decisions and actions in us.

Freedom of choice is given only to make the acceleration personal spiritual development possible. The wisdom of Kabbalah explains how we can realize it. With everything else, we are always left with the illusion of freedom of choice in our decisions and actions. And this is despite the fact that science will continue to prove to us how much we don’t have freedom of action.

In general, the wisdom of Kabbalah defines our lives as existence on the animate level and the level of Adam; this is our only spiritual development, in the direction towards equivalence with the Creator.
[143658]

We Won’t Follow The Path Of Suffering Forever

Following the path of suffering is like a naughty child that is spanked until he says that he wants to study. Do you want to? Please, advance. He takes one step forward and again doesn’t want to so he has to be beaten once more until he says that he wants to and advances again.

This is the path of suffering which has a posterior and an anterior in each phase. In the posterior we receive great sufferings until death and wars, and then, having no choice, we agree and take a step forward the size of which is determined by the sufferings you receive. This is enough fuel for you to make you want to escape them, and this is how we advance.

Escaping the sufferings is the bad path. We still advance, but it is very hard because we receive blows at every point along that way until we finally breakdown and advance despite our laziness and stubbornness, escaping the sufferings.

The blows become increasingly more focused and eventually we begin to feel that it isn’t enough to simply escape the rod that catches up with us. I have already received so many blows, so why am I not moving? Why am I so stupid and stubborn? When will I ever learn?

This is what many people think these days when they look at our planet and see how we are ruining it and our lives, why do we arm, fight, and hate one another? How can we get rid of all that?

But all this isn’t enough to make a step forward. Our advancement has to be towards attaining a goal, not escaping blows like fleeing animals. We have to know the path, understand why it was given to us and for what purpose in order to advance as human beings.

This means that besides the force that pushes us from behind through sufferings, we have to develop a force that will pull us forward though the appreciation of love, bestowal,adhesion, wholeness, and the greatness of the Creator. Unless we have that force we will not be able to move and will not be able to get rid of the suffering. They will become increasingly greater in order to force us not simply to escape from them but to attain the greatness of the goal.

We shouldn’t think that the ordinary corporeal suffering in our world would help humanity overcome the crisis. We, Bnei Baruch, will have to approach people and show them the way so that they will be drawn to the good. Only then will they be able to advance.
[135098]
From the 5^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/14/14, Writing of Baal HaSulam

The Torah Is Given Every Day

Question: In an atmosphere of complete disconnection and lack of understanding, how can we convey the law of love for others to people?

Answer: The same state of disconnection occurred at the time of receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Before that, the people of Israel came out of Egypt, where Pharaoh, the evil that separates us, was revealed.

We found ourselves in terrible darkness, passing through the “49 Gates of Impurity.” That is why we were rewarded the revelation of the force of unity, the Light of the Torah.

It is said that the advantage of light is known from the darkness. So today, when no one considers others and everyone hates each other, the light of the Torah is revealed to us.

Question: Why is this light hidden from us?

Answer: The light is hidden because we do not use it. The evil force is revealed to us through our egoism and desires, and the force of good has no place to be revealed. Let’s begin to perform good actions, bringing the force of good from concealment, and we will suddenly find out that we have two forces: the plus and the minus, the good and evil.

We will be able to balance these two forces and live in a world where we will become the masters of everything we do. The world will be opened before us.

Question: What would you like to wish the people of Israel on the holiday of the giving of the Torah (Shavuot)?

Answer: I would like to wish that we all understand that we have been given the Torah. We need to recall every day that we were given the Torah and that we must receive it. It is the only thing that we lack. This is not about religious traditions but about the method of correction, which allows every person to correct himself and attain love for others.
[159807]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 5/3/15

The Holiday Of The Giving Of The Torah—Every Day!

Question: Why must we receive the Torah every year during the holiday of Shavuot if we already received it at Mt Sinai?

Answer: It isn’t a physical action and about being physically at the foot of Mt. Sinai. We are told that a person should see himself as if he is coming out of Egypt every day. He must hear the Ten Commandments every day as if he is receiving them over and over again. It is because our ego, our desire to receive, is renewed every day. In contrast to this, we continuously must awaken the desire to bestow, the power of love. This is the reason that the Torah is given to us on a daily basis.

Now, however, we are in exile, which means that we don’t feel the good force which is concealed from us. We only can reveal it through the wisdom of Kabbalah, which was also intentionally concealed until not too long ago.

Question: How is the Torah related to the wisdom of Kabbalah?

Answer: The wisdom of Kabbalah is called the wisdom of truth, the wisdom of the Light, since it is actually through this wisdom that we can attain the force of goodness, the force of love and bestowal, and fulfill the mutual guarantee and unity between us. We have been trying to do that for decades in the state of Israel, but things are getting worse and worse. We already have reached a point in which the situation is unbearable.

The wisdom of Kabbalah, on the other hand, reveals to us the force of goodness, the force of love, that ties us together and allows us to use it. We begin to feel how we must balance evil wherever it is revealed by the force of goodness. Then, we have two forces by which we can advance in the right direction to unity and love, and can develop in a good and wonderful manner.
[159833]
From Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 5/17/15

Who Has A Soul?

Question: Does every person have a soul, and is it eternal?

Answer: Only a person who builds his soul has one. Building a soul means attainting the level of love of others. To the extent that I attain the love of others, I feel the love of others in my corrected desire, a feeling that is called the Upper Light. The desire with the Light inside it that is absolutely aimed at bestowal and love of others is called a soul.

The Light is the feeling of the upper force, of the Creator, inside the desire. The desire that is aimed at love of others and the Light that fills it, which means what I feel in my desire by aiming at love of others is called a soul. The vessel of the soul is the desire and the filling of the desire is the Upper Light. This is how we discover the soul. Thus it is clear that initially no one has a soul, but everyone can acquire it if he corrects his attitude to others. Our life is arranged so that eventually everyone will attain his soul no matter what.

If we speak about the nation that will attain it first, the nation of Israel is intended to reach the attainment of the soul first. Now in our generation everyone can do it. This is the reason that the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed, the method that tells us how to attain the soul out of the egoistic desire, how to change the desire for the benefit of others according to the principle “love thy friend as thyself.” When the whole Israeli nation begins to engage in it and attains that level, the state that is called a soul, all the nations of the world will be able to do the same too. Whatever the Israeli nation attains will also flow unto them. All the problems and the corruption that have lately been revealed in Israel are because we should have started to correct our soul long ago but we are lagging behind.
[159162]
From the Israeli Radio Program 103FM, 5/10/15