Eleven questions I received on the future of Kabbalah, the birth of the last generation, and spiritual leaders of the future

Question: Based on item 12 of Talmud Eser Sefirot, which describes the process of the soul’s conception, can we say and imagine that the current state of humanity – the approaching global crises, are like labor pains during the birth of the last generation?

My Answer: The forces pressuring us are the labor pains that are forcing us to leave our previous state.

Question: Is there a connection between the process of the fetus turning from the state of “head up” to the state of “head down,” the union of Keter and Malchut, and the efforts of Kabbalists?

My Answer: Absolutely, because humanity must change its approach to the world, its purpose and values, and start preferring bestowal to reception, love for one’s neighbor over love for oneself.

Question: Are Kabbalists responsible for making sure that the last generation will be born normal?

My Answer: Yes, because people won’t change without the dissemination of Kabbalah. Suffering and the lack of understanding of what is happening will only keep accumulating. Birth is a harmonious interaction between the mother’s organism and the fetus.

Question: If so, then is it necessary to create and prepare a system of people who are the Creator’s servants?

My Answer: These people are Kabbalists, who explain the Creator’s (Nature’s) plan and how to enact it.

Question: In The Book of Zohar, chapter “The Vision of Rabbi Chiya,” item 57, it says, “…because all the righteous people there are the heads of the Assemblies. And all the members of each Assembly ascend from this Assembly here to the heavenly Assembly. And Mashiach visits all these Assemblies and signs the Torah with the seal of the teachings that come from the mouths of the righteous.” This quote made me think about the recent events happening in the groups. I think that we have to separate the groups working on dissemination from the groups of “spiritually advancing” people, and the latter is where Kabbalists are prepared, who will be responsible for the birth of the new generation. I envisioned a model of a pyramid, consisting of smaller pyramids, which are groups all around the world that are doing spiritual work (and the dissemination groups will be separate). The leaders of these groups will be on different spiritual levels, but will be united by their aspiration upward; and they will form the main, spiritual management (call it the Sanhedrin if you will). Is this correct?

My Answer: If the groups were to be divided, as you suggest, then it would violate the fundamental spiritual law – that all the souls have an equal right to develop spiritually. You don’t know the roots of the souls, and hence you won’t be able to divide them. Only equal, “simple” dissemination will bring all of the “cogwheels” to their proper state, where they work together harmoniously. There cannot be any selection on our part. Any division is Klipa. All kinds of people will gather in every group, and they will all work together.

Question: I feel a strong desire for you to succeed in forming this managing body, to discover the people who are worthy of becoming a part of it, and who have attained the spiritual level needed for this. This is a completely different level of work, and I can’t even imagine how powerful this “antenna” is in attracting the Light.

My Answer: Nothing can be done coercively. At this stage, our objective is:

– For people to gain the correct understanding of themselves and the universe, their purpose, and how to attain it;

– For them to actualize this in practice in the worldwide group, through dissemination.

These actions will bring about a change in the current “shapeless” construction (a “pile,” if you will) and instead there will be a pyramid – a center with branches. Right now this is in the process of reconstruction.

Just like childbirth or any development, we cannot rush anything we do in Kabbalah. Only the realization of the current state’s evil will give birth to the following state and compel us to attain it.

Question: I’m beginning to understand the significance of women and that this is a very serious issue. But the way I see it, according to item 15 of Talmud Eser Sefirot, which describes this entire process, a woman can only understand her true role when she is in a family, by doing spiritual work together with them. Therefore, I think that it’s very important to pay special attention to this issue, and to somehow unite families who study Kabbalah, and maybe even to hold a special congress for them.

My Answer: For our next congress (planned for February 2009), we will invite families with children, and there will be a separate program for the children. Doing anything else would be premature for now. Baal HaSulam writes that forceful or rushed dissemination of Kabbalah will bring negative results, similar to being poisoned by an unripe fruit. It’s best not to invent anything on your own, and to wait for the circumstances to force you to take the next step. Then the next step will be clear to you (and to me), and at least somewhat clear to others. And of course, this decision can only be made by a person who has crossed the Machsom .

Question: To continue my question, women who understand the concept of nullifying themselves before Zeir Anpin will be able to unite as one woman before the man’s group – Zeir Anpin, and then the female conflicts will disappear, and according to the pyramid mentioned earlier, the women will start being like Deborah and the men’s group will gain a real Malchut, instead of having to imagine it the way they do today.

My Answer: The women’s part of the common Kli, of the body of the soul of Adam, also has to mature by developing naturally. In the beginning of the 20th century, Baal HaSulam wanted to build a Kabbalistic society with 300 families, and to have them immigrate to Israel from Poland. But he wasn’t able to do it, and ended up coming to Israel alone. Later, in 1940, he published the first issue of his newspaper, and it too was shut down. And there were many other initiatives. He would always say that the generation wasn’t ready for it yet – and nevertheless, he tried. So I am not against trying, and we need to try, but we have to be on his level in order to do it. As for me, I act based on my level and my feeling of responsibility.

Question: Do we understand this problem correctly?

My Answer: Just take a look at how even a simple task of slightly reorganizing the American groups (the Russian-speaking groups, not the Ari Online students) causes misunderstanding and commotion, when things are on the brink of falling apart and people accuse me of all kinds of horrible things! I understand that their attitude cannot be any different, since they don’t understand the basics of spiritual development. An example of this was the people’s attitude to Moses, blaming him for everything that happened. I give instructions and they don’t follow them, yet they blame me for all the consequences. I explain that as soon as the group members start having power struggles and disagreements, the group has to be dissolved. They should first individually realize the higher value of the group, that it’s a miracle, like the first newborn child in a family, and they should have this attitude to the group – and then gather into a group! But instead, they blame me for destroying the group rather than building it. It’s no wonder that it’s written: “Destruction of the elders is construction, and construction of the young is destruction.”

Question: Maybe we are doing things ahead of time, just like we did with Kabbalistic settlements, “The State of Kabbalah,” whose construction we experienced inside us?

My Answer: I like seeing people make serious attempts to understand what the corrected society is and taking steps toward it. It’s useful to think about this, but only when you do it in theory, with a clear understanding that a state like this can only be created with people who have crossed the Machsom!

Question: I wrote all this because I’m seriously afraid that “formal” dissemination of Kabbalah can contaminate the pure spring of authentic Kabbalah that you have revealed to all of us and to humanity.

My Answer: On the contrary, only “naively” following the instructions of Kabbalists will bring us to the goal. Let everything be born on its own. Nature, or the Creator, will give us the instructions!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Solution – Excerpts from the Writings of the Last Generation by Baal HaSulam
Kabbalah Today Article: Echoes of the Future
5 Things You Should Know About The Zohar
About Baal HaSulam

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