Prophets Are Those Who Help Us Find A Way Out Of The Labyrinth

when-will-suffering-disappearWhen you reveal to someone what will happen tomorrow, whether it’s good or bad, and you direct him to the path based on your knowledge of the system which isn’t yet revealed to him, then you are like a prophet in relation to that person, because you are one step ahead of him.

What does it mean to ascend up the spiritual ladder? In our world, it means to move forward “in time.” But what is time? What does it mean that a Kabbalist accelerates and “sanctifies” the time? It means that he ascends. In other words, he has already attained the state that the world will reach several years later. This is why he speaks to the people and warns them: “Be careful!”

It’s like a labyrinth, where some people have entered the labyrinth and are lost there, but he watches them from above and directs them: “Go left, go right, now this way, then that way.” And this is how he leads them out of the labyrinth.

There are several labyrinths in the world that have been specifically designed for us. Once you enter one, you cannot find your way out, as each one is a unique kind of adventure. But our adventure has become dangerous, and those who are above, those who have already gone through this path and who know the method and the program, plan, map, or compass; those who have mastered this entire system, all its lanes and laws, and everything that happens in it – these people are called prophets in relation to everyone else.

You can’t be a guide unless you have already gone through several degrees of this path. Otherwise you will not be able to lead those who want to follow you down the same path.
(Excerpt from the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “One Precept,” on 03.18.2009)

Will the G20 Summit Prove Useful?

laitman_2009-03_4166A question I received: On April 2, a summit of the G-20 leaders will take place in order to try to get the world out of the crisis. What can they do?

My Answer: These people can do a lot, since they have the ability to popularize their opinions. The world is in crisis, and many of these leaders understand that if all the countries will care only about themselves, this will inflict great harm to the world. Therefore, countries shouldn’t separate from each other; they must unite. However, no one knows how to do this.

“We are gathering in order to undertake something, but we are unable to do anything” – this is what they are now demonstrating to everyone. They realize that countries cannot isolate from each other, but no one knows how to solve this dilemma.

They will certainly undertake something, but at the current rate, whatever they do will quickly prove a failure and no one will understand where it all disappeared to. It will be the same as what happened to Obama’s stimulus plan.

Why does this happen? Because they are unable to account for the global law of interdependence between us, the Arvut (Mutual Guarantee).”This law states that we must now create a good connection with one another, and this can only come from understanding that everyone completely depends on everyone.

Twenty powerful people will gather, all of them leaders of nations. They cannot play around with their people anymore by lying to them and trying to calm them down because this will cause riots, starvation, and the greatest kind of turmoil. Therefore, they have to offer something to the world.

However, the regulation and harmony shouldn’t be realized on the corporeal level, but rather on the inner level – the level of connection between people. That is where the breaking occurred (the breaking of the souls), and that is how egoism came to be. Therefore, that is where we have to do the correction. This is why we have to study our current state and the state toward which Nature propels us. We have to learn how to live in our new world just like we teach this to our children.
(From the lesson on the Baal HaSulam’s article “The Freedom,” 03.13.2009)

The Program For Coming Out Of The Crisis

economists-dont-care-about-the-cause-of-the-financial-crisisA question I received: What program for coming out of the crisis would you suggest to the G-20 leaders?

My Answer: Here are the two basic concepts of our program:

1) To bring people clear knowledge of the fact that we are living in a time when we cannot survive without uniting with every citizen of the world.

2) To explain Kabbalah’s main principles on a basic level: what is unification, how can we unite through mutual bestowal, what is essential to us, what is the fair distribution of the essential things, and so on.

Gradually, step-by-step, people will learn how to build the new connections while maintaining all the production and industries. The way to do this is for people to keep only what is essential to them, and to distribute the excess equally to the whole world.

These actions should start being implemented in at least one part of the world, and whoever wants to will join them, and whoever doesn’t want to, won’t. As soon as humanity begins to move in this direction, it will feel a kind attitude from Nature because it will be acting in accordance with Nature’s laws. And because humanity will be harmoniously interacting with these laws, every endeavor will bring positive results. Gradually, by following the new feelings and knowledge, the world will advance.
(From the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “One Precept,” on 03.08.2009)

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Voodoo And Magic Squares: Should We Take Them Seriously?

the-secret-things-belong-to-the-creatorTwo questions I received about curses and magic squares:

Question: My partner grew up in Africa. She has issues with the Evil Eye and Voodoo and it is apparent that these have grown to be a curse on her life. My partner confides in me each day that she wants to meet a Kabbalist who can help her out of her conditions and jinxes. Please advise me on what to do in this matter.

My Answer: Find a psychologist or an actor who will play a shaman role and convince her that the evil eye has been removed. This will be easier than educating her and making her change her mind. Give her some peace of mind!

Question: I believe I’ve found something about magic squares in the Torah. Are you aware of this? Can you give me some information about it? Or at least your opinion about the meaning of magic squares in Kabbalah?

My Answer: There is no such thing in the Torah. However, people attribute this and all kinds of other mysticism to the Torah and to Kabbalah, although they don’t contain them. There are no miracles in the world! There are only things that are still incomprehensible and unrevealed to man. But what is concealed today will be revealed tomorrow.

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Where Have You Seen Other Kabbalists?

othersThree questions I received on Kabbalah dissemination:

Question: In one of your lessons, you asked people for suggestions about disseminating Kabbalah. I had this thought that it’s possible to combine the necessary (Kabbalah) with the useful (education). Who should I contact about this?

My Answer: Write to english@kabbalah.info

Question: With the global crisis deepening, why don’t other groups of Kabbalists (other than Bnei Baruch) help us bring the knowledge to the masses? Shouldn’t we work in unity and bring the whole world to unity as well? Don’t they know that we have to work as one? And why do they criticize us for disseminating Kabbalah?

My Answer: They do not feel that this is their mission, and they find different excuses for not fulfilling Baal HaSulam’s will. This is why they are in such a sad state.

Question: With the world in crisis, why don’t other Kabbalists help to disseminate Kabbalah to the masses? Why can’t we just work as one? Don’t they know that this is what we are supposed to do? Why do they reject us?

My Answer: “Where have you actually seen other Kabbalists?” This is what Baal HaSulam wrote in one of his letters, in response to the same question from a student.

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Unity Must Happen Through Our Souls, Not Bodies

Mutual Guarantee in a Virtual GroupA question I received: I believe in one heart and one world. I believe that God is nature, the energy all around us. The energy governs us and gives us information, and we have very little free choice. And I love it that way, I accept it with all my heart.

But I don’t understand the separation of men and women at the Congress? And the Kippah (skullcap)? Are we not supposed to be free of religion and be as one heart? Souls don’t have gender, and Kippahs represent religious separation.

My Answer: The presence of women influences the male hormones and thus distracts the men from the right intention. This is why we prefer to study separately. The unity has to happen through our souls, not bodies. And in addition, the unity has to happen according to the proper scheme, which is clear to those who study the structure of the common soul.

The Kippah and all other external attributes are not required. The Kippah is worn only by Jews, and the only purpose of this is to demonstrate that they received Kabbalah from its source. After all, for 4500 years Kabbalah was passed down within the Jewish nation. Of course, there is absolutely no need for a Kippah or for the observance of any other rituals.

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Where Will All The Money Go After The Crisis?

whereA question I received: You said that each person should receive only what’s necessary. However, we know that a very small number of people in the world hold most of the world’s capital in their hands. How will these people be able to reject their power in order to share it with everyone else?

My Answer: They shouldn’t reject anything on their own. They are already being forced to reject it. They used to be billionaires, but now they are millionaires. With more time, their capital will become smaller and smaller. They don’t need to reject anything willingly. Each person is suddenly discovering that nothing he had is worth anything.

Where did it all go? In the end, as a consequence of various factors, it will become the property of the society. We will see this happen. This property seems to be bought by countries and governments, but as a result, more and more it is becoming the property of society instead of individuals.
(From the lesson on Baal HaSulam’s article, “One Precept,” 03.05.2009)

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New Study Shows Teens Benefit From The Internet

From Our World, to the Virtual World, to the Upper WorldIn the News (from MacArthur Foundation):New Study Shows Time Spent Online Important for Teen Development” There are myths about kids spending time online – that it is dangerous or making them lazy. But we found that spending time online is essential for young people to pick up the social and technical skills they need to be competent citizens in the digital age.

My Comment: This positive effect is not actually coming from the inanimate internet network or from the communication that’s stupid and pointless for the most part, but from conformity to the law of Nature, which drives us toward globalization and integration.

If the world wide web will incorporate elements of authentic cooperation, such as games based on interaction instead of virtual violence, simulating the corrected world (even for an egoistic reward – Lo Lishma), then we will advance and reveal the benefits of cooperation. Then, according to the rule, “habit becomes second nature” (Ergel Naase Teva Sheni), we will help the young generation progress toward the quality of Nature – bestowal and love (Lishma).

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The Spiritual Meaning Of Names And Titles

titlesA question I received: In one of your books, you wrote that Moses (Moshe in Hebrew) comes from the word Moshech - to pull out. However, the word Moshe ends with the letter Hey, and the word Moshech ends with the letter Kaf. So from the linguistic point of view, the roots don’t quite match.

My Answer: His name was given to him by Batia, Pharaoh’s daughter, who found him in the Nile river and pulled him out of it. This is why she named him Moshe. It says so in the Bible. However, there are also other, additional meanings to the names. In essence, they refer to a person’s actions and predestination.

Baal HaSulam writes, “The mountain of olives (Har HaZeitim) may have been named by regular people, rather than Kabbalists, who saw that this mountain is good for cultivating a plantation of olive trees. But this name also corresponds to the inner, spiritual meaning of the place, and the reason for this is that all of nature is revealed in such a way that people speak and act without understanding what governs them.”

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Is It Possible To Hasten The Correction?

psychiatry-and-kabbalahTwo questions I received on advancing on the path to spirituality:

Question: I have been watching Channel 66 and the morning lessons for the past few months, and I was at the Congress. But I still can’t understand the purpose of my existence in this world. Is there any sense in hastening the correction if it was initially determined to be completed at the end of this millennium? Is there a way to reach it faster?

My Answer: The program of correction will be completed by the forces of Nature (the Creator) by the end of the sixth millennium. This can happen in 231 years under the influence of the coercive forces, which we perceive as suffering. However, we were given Kabbalah in order to hasten the path of correction and to go through it pleasantly. Kabbalah explains the Creator’s plan, and to the extent we are willing to attain this plan, we proceed along the good, short, and simple path, arriving at same result.

Question: Nature constantly pressures us, forcing us to develop. Theoretically, we can classify the pressure into three types:

  • strong, as when a child develops physically, not by his own free will;
  • weak, such as a person who lives a regular life thinking that he is free in his actions; and
  • intermediate, when a person discovers Kabbalah and acquires the freedom of will to choose to advance by the path of Kabbalah or by the path of suffering.

Is this classification correct?

My Answer: No, because the pressures differ in their nature and quality.

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