The modern person has all the comforts of this world, but we are still unsatisfied – in fact, more so than before. In the past, if a person had a loaf of bread a day, he could not dream of anything more. Compared to that, look at all the things a modern person needs. Yet, is he satisfied? No! And everyone’s asking: Why?

Satisfaction is not to be found on the regular, human level, and none of the new toys we get will help. We want to dope ourselves with “stuff,” but the emptiness that surfaces in us comes from a completely different place – our lack of similarity to the Creator. That is why we cannot fulfill it with anything other than the sensation of the Creator!

This emptiness gradually forms inside us and accumulates to a specific measure in order to “explode.” That is when a person comes to understand that he can no longer suppress that emptiness. He has to fulfill it since otherwise his life will seem worse than death. It is impossible to find fulfillment for this desire in this world because it is a need to reveal the Upper World, the Creator!

Yet the body’s protective forces compel us to search for ways to confuse ourselves. People take drugs, alcohol, or fill their lives with empty, fashionable things or trips. Thus, like ostriches, we hide our heads in the sand to escape the problems.

That is how the protective force of our ego operates, wishing to prove to itself that it is fulfilled and to conceal the emptiness that never can be filled. Why think about the things we could never attain anyway and spoil our lives?

But this cannot go on for long! For now we still manage to confuse ourselves on the “animate” level in order to avoid feeling the unfulfilled need on the “human” level. But the cover up will unavoidably blow up.

In different periods throughout history similar states brought about revolutions, wars, and dramatic, tragic solutions. Let us hope that in our case the solution will not be so cruel. In our case, we have to rise from the level of our world, the “animate” degree, to the level of the Upper World, the level of Adam or the Creator. This is not in our power and humanity is starting to go crazy from its own futility.

On our egoistic level it was possible to ascend from one degree to the next by way of revolutions, wars, new regimes or religions, and new technologies such as book printing, the steam engine, the Internet, and so on. All of this provided fulfillment for a certain segment of time, but now egoism has exhausted itself and the need to reveal the Creator demands precisely the spiritual fulfillment. We are revealing a new inner desire: to reveal the One who controls us.

From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/2/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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If we fail to awaken the world to spiritual evolution, to the Light that shines ahead, it will be pushed from behind by suffering and thereby forced to advance. This path is very long, till torment forces man to contemplate why he suffers and what to do. Imagine how long it will take and how much pain it will bring!

However, if we somewhat assist mankind’s development by disseminating the science of Kabbalah, we quickly instill advancement and avoid all these blows. We know that everything that occurs at the inanimate (still) degree equates to a single act at the vegetative one. Everything that happens on the vegetative level is equal to a single act at the animate one. Just think about the difference between these states.

There have to be wars, torment, and horrific disasters in order to move us one step up, onto the higher degree. Instead, we can draw the Upper Light and avoid all these problems at the level of this world. We can replace a decade of suffering with our one minuscule individual effort toward spiritual advancement with the help of the Light.

This is how great the difference is between the still, vegetative, animate, and speaking levels of nature. Hence, we must take serious responsibility for the opportunities handed down to us.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/4/10, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”

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In order to ascend to a next degree, we should act by “faith above reason.” “Faith” means that our “head” (Rosh) is in the Upper One. The Upper One tells us what to do, and we do as we are told: Unite with the friends and study. We know that we do not love anyone and do not want to unite with anyone, but we are told: “Do it mechanically, and do not fool yourselves. You do not want to unite; your heart is against it. The Pharaoh, the will to receive pleasure, the evil inclination, rules you with all its might. Hate is inside of you, and the game of ‘love,’ a lie is on the outside.”

This is done on purpose. It is necessary because the Upper degree which we are now enacting is a lie to us; we are not yet connected with it. However, we have to act it out until it becomes the truth. This is done by the Light that we draw through the “silly” act of “we shall do,” and, as a result, we “will hear,” will attain “Lishma” (Bina), the spiritual level of “hearing.”

This is the most intelligent action that allows us to grow. Without it, neither plants, nor beasts, nor humans evolve. We advance only when we annul ourselves before the Upper One, the higher spiritual degree. We simply imitate whatever we are able to, as much as possible, without the mind’s participation for we do not yet comprehend or perceive what is occurring at a higher spiritual degree. The sages say: “Whatever is in your power, do it” and “I have labored and found.” You put forth effort and find a “treasure” that you did not expect or imagine you would obtain.

This is the sole basis of growth. There is no other way to ascend from one spiritual degree to another. I have to annul myself before the Upper One and tell myself that my “head” (Rosh) serves only one purpose: to recognize the actions of the Upper One and copy them with my “body” (Guf). Just that! I don’t use my “head” for my “body.” I use my “head” solely to connect with the Upper One and repeat his actions as my own.

Our world operates according to the same principle. In every element of nature where there is growth and evolution this law presides, even in the vegetative and animate levels of nature. A living cell that desires to grow matches itself with the more advanced cell, and thereby evolves. This is called “acting” because the higher spiritual state has not clothed in me as “Mochin,” and I move forward by the mind of the Upper One, as in a game. I do it just like a child who is playing a “grown-up” and because of this becomes one.

This is an iron law in all spiritual degrees. Only by abiding by this law can we ascend the spiritual degrees. This law governs both the material and spiritual worlds.

From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/3/10, The Zohar

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Question: It is difficult to tear ourselves away from our current state and bring ourselves into the hands of the environment in order to rise to the next degree. Is there some other way that this can this be done?

Answer: This is the only way to ascend the spiritual ladder! It seems to you that the spiritual world is something opposite to nature. However, this is not the case. We are part of nature, and by following the advice of Kabbalists, we act according to the laws that exist in it.

From a higher degree, which emanates Light and brings about darkness, the two opposites, the Light and desire, become revealed. They come and develop from there according to their nature: One is giving, while the other is receiving. In this manner, these two attributes of bestowal and reception spread out from Above downward, intertwined together, until they reach us. In turn, we study how we are arranged according to this two-fold nature (the double helix of spiritual DNA) and how we can ascend by these natural degrees.

So do not look for some other ways. Kabbalists describe indisputable facts that exist in nature. Whether we like it or not, we will be forced to accept them. After all, one who does not follow the laws of nature will be punished by suffering.

An animal, contrary to a human being, never makes mistakes since it is a part of nature and cannot act against it. Meanwhile, a human being is the only creature that has egoism. Yet, egoism raises us above nature. The inanimate, vegetative, and animate parts merge with nature. They cannot think, desire, or act otherwise. There is an additional level above them called “human.” This level is opposite to the Upper nature, meaning to the Creator.

And egoism is the source of all our mistakes and transgressions. It is created precisely for the purpose of showing us our opposition to the Creator. Our whole problem is: What do we do with the degree of “human” in us? The whole potential of our development above the natural level is instilled in it.

From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/2/10, Article, “The Matter of Truth and Faith”

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A question I received: Is playing the best way to develop?

My Answer: Yes, a game is the best way to develop. It is the foundation of progress in nature. We think of a game as something plain and simple. But, a game, in fact, is the most serious thing in the world.

When we stop playing, we stop developing. We evolve only through playing. When we play, we don’t realize what we are doing and as a result we expand our feelings and abilities. Later on, when we stop playing and start learning, we are only fulfilling the possibilities we have created with the help of games.

This is what turns a good game into the foundation of a human being. His gradual development from one level to another, in accordance with the law of “negation of negation,” and the ascent from a state of the lower one to that of the Upper One, is possible only through a game.

When playing, a person doesn’t realize what his next step will look like since he isn’t there yet, but he strives toward it, models it, and “tries it on” in various ways. This element is called “a game.” It is about uncertainty, unpredictability, intuitive attempts to figure out how, and acting like a child. This is what growth is about.

When we stop inquiring how and we begin to study what is already opened, prepared, and processed for us, this unique state of mind  (the inquiring “how?”) disappears, and we stop progressing. We simply fill our brain cells with information that stops our development. We turn into “nerds.” With respect to elevating to a new dimension and ascending to our next level, naturally, the only way to climb this ladder is by "playing a game.”

People are well aware of this. Here is an example: during my doctorate exams, one of the examiners asked me to describe the elements of game in the development of nature and human beings. They also asked me to answer this question from the perspective of Kabbalah. So I had to present the whole system to them. (They accepted it, but gave me a “B.” I got a “B” in my major, in Kabbalah!)  Why do I mention this here? It is just as an illustration of how commonplace the acceptance of play and gaming are today.

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The story of the creation of Adam shows his creation and subsequent division and multiplication. Biologists maintain that sustainable existence of the biosphere is possible only if bio-geochemical cycles are closed. Otherwise, living creatures will quickly consume all resources and will be intoxicated by byproducts of their vital activities.

However, for the cycles to be closed, there must be a community of microorganisms of different species that share bio-geochemical functions among them. Some microorganisms use resources from the environment and supply it with products of their vital activity, while others use these products and return, as their waste products, the original resource back to the environment. No microorganism can close the cycle by itself as it would be a perpetual motion machine.

It is even more obvious in the chemical pre-life stage. There is no single organic molecule that could persistently self-replicate and maintain homeostasis in the environment. Only complex organisms consisting of  a large number of different molecules that have established “mutually beneficial cooperation” or symbiosis are capable of achieving this.

Thus, it is obvious that the first living species was not a single microorganism but a polymorphous community characterized by the active exchange of genetic material. Diversity, symbiosis, task-sharing, and information exchange – rather than the qualities that evolved from a single, organic molecule – are the primal qualities of Earth’s life. Today it is becoming clear that community rather than a single, microbial species stood at the beginning of life’s development on Earth.
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A question I received: Will my soul remember everything I learned in this life? Will I continue to learn Kabbalah and come to the group again in my next life?

My Answer: The only thing that a person takes with him from this life is the spiritual path that he went through; this does not vanish. After all, in regard to spirituality, we are, and continue to be in the same reality, but it is slightly hidden from us.

I am constantly situated in my soul, in spite of the fact that I don’t feel it, I continue to work with it and go through different states. All this occurs in my eternal soul. The fact that I now see physical bodies and this world around me is a “mirage” of my spiritual state.

If I work internally now, then I will begin my next reincarnation from a higher spiritual state, and I will come to a Kabbalah group faster and will be more successful in my studies. The entire previous path will remain within me in the form of spiritual genes (Reshimot); it doesn’t vanish. In the spiritual world nothing vanishes at all; things disappear only in our world because this whole world will eventually vanish. In the meantime, nothing that I have acquired through my egoistic desire remains, since the desire itself vanishes, only the external clothing remains.

Every time the soul goes through a new reincarnation, it builds an environment for itself according to its ability and the necessity to correct itself. Why do I exist in this environment and not a different one? It is because my soul requires this. No calculation is performed in regard to the bodies; they exist in connection with each other, in this world, in all of the situations that are necessary for the soul’s correction.

Meanwhile, the body is not taken into account. Actually, it doesn’t exist at all; it is a virtual illusion that presents itself to us in this form. In actuality, only the soul exists, but we are unable to feel it. And its development clearly determines what happens to the bodies.

Therefore, in the end of “Preface to The Book of Zohar” Baal HaSulam writes that only the correction of the souls will help us correct our world and perceive this corporeal life as more kind. All the offenses that occur in this world are a consequence of the necessity for the soul to be corrected. At the same time, there are no actions or corrections in this world: changes are only possible through the soul.

From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/2/10, Article “Which Degree Should One Acheive?”

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The world has to reach equilibrium, and only then will it come to rest. Throughout our long history we have been forced to develop because of our growing egoism, its growth causing our dissatisfaction to the extent of suffering.

But by entering the last stage of this development, we have come to realize that we are interconnected and interdependent. Our further existence depends on our mutually beneficial coexistence, otherwise, our lives will be similar to existing within a hateful family.  And in spite of that, in the end we will still have to attain the state of good relations with each other.

Kabbalah is intended specifically to show to us how to change our mutual relations from egoistic to altruistic, not by force through blows and suffering, but voluntarily, willingly, quickly, and easily.

Thus, there is the path of suffering (egoistic) and the good path (altruistic). However, it is most likely that in our lives, we will advance along both paths, which is the middle path called the “path of the earth.”

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In the News (from Crystalinks): “Human Migratory Patterns”  Modern humans are known to have left Africa in a wave of migration around 50,000 years ago, but another, smaller group – possibly a different subspecies – left the continent 50,000 years earlier, suggests a new study. While all humans today are related to the second “out of Africa” group, it’s likely that some populations native to Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia retain genetic vestiges of the earlier migrants, according to the paper’s author, Michael Schillaci.

My Comment: There is no discrepancy between this and the Bible because the Bible speaks only of man’s spiritual development, of our desires (heart) and reason (brain). It says nothing about our animate body, which belongs to the animate level.

However, our desires and thoughts are the basis for the future soul, and they come from the Reshimot (informational data) of the Upper World. These Reshimot carry the qualities of bestowal and love, and that is why the evolution of our desires and thoughts raises us toward bestowal and love of others, the primary Biblical commandments.

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A question I received: What do you mean when you say “the new generation”?

My Answer: The new generation is the next level of humanity’s development. It is when humanity will transition from the animate, egoistic, or instinctive level, where we try to regulate our instinctive, animate, egoistic desires lest we eat each other alive (and by the way, this is what we call human society, or our civilization. We will transition from this to a civilization where everything will be regulated by love for one’s neighbor.

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