Morning Quotes

- We must gain strength and confidence on the way so that every day will be for us as new, and we have to renew the foundations each time and march forward. 18/8/06.


- We have to arrange all our systems in such a way that spirituality will be in the corporeal activities.

From the booklet: First Intentions


P.S Guys my computer crashed (had to duck into an internet cafe on my lunch break to send this). Hopefully everything will be up and running again soon, so that I can continue posting for everyone.

Morning Advice/Quote

- Make yourself equal to zero, and your friends equal to number one, so as to receive from them the power to attain love of friends and love of the Creator.

- We have to think how to advance in the most effective way, otherwise, wherefore do we live: is it in order to spent time?

Morning Quotes

- When we try to bestow upon the group, we discover the cutoff: that I hate the friends instead of loving them.

- Work in Arvut so that you discover the need of the Creator to unite us.

Morning Quotes

- When we try to bestow upon the group, we discover the cutoff: that I hate the friends instead of loving them.

- Work in Arvut so that you discover the need of the Creator to unite us.

Morning Quotes

- Many people will say that our world is bad; however they do not associate this with the Creator and with their uncorrected qualities.

- Only after I have correctly annulled myself before the group, without the use of the intellect, can I come to the studies with a deficiency of correction.

- I have to push myself with all my might towards adherence. What will appear as opposite to it will be called darkness, which is what I have to correct.

There is None Else Beside Him

It is written that “there is none else beside Him”, meaning that there is no other power in the world with the ability to do anything against Him. And what man sees, namely, that there are things in the world, which deny the household of above, is because He wills it so.

And it is deemed a correction, called “the left rejects and the right adducts, meaning that that which the left rejects is considered correction. This means that there are things in the world, which from the beginning aim to divert a person from the right way, and they reject him from holiness.

And the benefit from these rejections is that through them a person receives a need and a complete desire for God to help him, since he sees that otherwise he is lost. Not only does he not progress in his work, but he sees that he regresses, and he lacks the strength to observe Torah and Mitzvoth even if not for Her name. That only by genuinely overcoming all the obstacles, above reason, he can observe Torah and Mitzvoth.

But he does not always have the strength to overcome above reason, that otherwise he is forced to deviate, God forbid, from the way of the Creator, and even from not for Her name. And he, who always feels that the shattered is greater than the whole, meaning that there are a lot more descents than ascents, and he does not see an end to these predicaments, and he will forever remain outside of holiness, for he sees that it is difficult for him to observe even as little as a jot, unless through overcoming above reason, but he is not always able to overcome. And what shall be the end of it all?

Then he reaches the decision that no one can help him, but God Himself. This causes him to make a heartfelt demand of the Creator to open his eyes and heart, to bring him nearer to eternal adhesion with God. It follows than, that all the rejections he had experienced had come from the Creator.

That means that the rejections he had experienced were not because he was at fault, for not having the ability to overcome, but because these rejections are for those who truly want to draw nearer to God. And in order for such a person not to be satisfied with only a little, namely, not to remain as a little child without knowledge, he receives help from above so that he will not be able to say that Thank God, he observes Torah and performs good deeds and what else could he ask for?

And only if that person has a true desire, he will receive help from Above. And he is constantly shown how his faults in his present state; that is, he is sent thoughts and views, which work against his efforts. This is in order for him to see that he is not one with the Lord. And as much as he overcomes, he always sees how he is found in a position farther from holiness than others, who feel one with the Lord.

But he, on the other hand, always has his complaints and demands, and he cannot justify the behavior of the Creator, and how he behaves toward him. And it pains him that he is not one with the Lord, until he comes to feel that he has no part in holiness whatsoever.

And although he is occasionally awakened from above, which momentarily revives him, but soon he falls into an abyss. However, this is what causes him to come to realize that only God can help and really draw him closer.

A man must always try and cleave to the Creator, namely, that all his thoughts will be about Him. That is to say, that even if he is in the worst state, from which there cannot be a greater descent, he should not leave His domain, namely, think that there is another authority which prevents him from entering into holiness, and which has the power to either benefit or harm.

That is, he must not think that there is a matter of the power of the Other Side (sitra achrah), which does not allow man to do good deeds and follow God’s ways; but he should think that all is done by the Creator.

The Ba’al Shem Tov said, that he who says that there is another power in the world. Namely shells, is in a state of “serving other gods”, that it is not necessarily the thought of heresy that is the sin, but if he thinks that there is another authority and force apart from the Creator, by that he is committing a sin.

Furthermore, he who says that man has his own authority, meaning that he says that yesterday he himself did not want to follow God’s ways, that too is considered to be committing the sin of heresy. Meaning that he does not believe that only the Creator leads the world.

But when he has committed a sin, and he must certainly regret it and be sorry for having committed it, but here too we should place the pain and sorrow in the right order: where does he place the cause of the sin, that it is that point he should be sorry for.

And a man should then feel sorry and say: “I committed that sin because the Creator hurled me down from holiness to a place of filth, to the lavatory, where the filth is”. That is to say that God gave him a desire and a craving to amuse himself and breath air in a place of stench. (And you might say, as it says in the books, that sometimes a man incarnates in the body of a pig, that he receives a desire and craving to take livelihood from things he had already determined were litter, but now he again wants to revive himself in them).

And also when a man feels he’s in a state of ascent, and tastes some good flavor in the work, he must not say: “Now I am in a state where I understand that it is worthwhile to worship God. Rather he should know that now the Lord has fancied him, and for that reason He draws him near, which is the reason why he tastes a good flavor in the work. And he should be careful never to leave the domain of holiness, and say that there is another operating force besides the Creator. (But this means that the matter of finding favor in the eyes of the Lord, or the opposite, does not depend on man himself, but everything depends on God. And man, with his external mind, cannot comprehend why now the Lord likes him and after that He does not.)

And likewise when he regrets that the Creator does not draw him near, he should also be careful not to be sorry for himself, for having been distanced from the Creator, for by so doing he becomes a recipient for his own benefit, and he who receives is separated from the Creator. Rather he should regret the exile of the Divine Presence, meaning, for inflicting sorrow upon the Divine Presence.

One should take as an example when some small organ of a person is sore. The pain is still felt mainly in the heart and mind, which are the generality of man. And certainly the sensation of a single organ cannot resemble the sensation of a person’s full stature, where most of the pain is felt.

Likewise is the pain that a person feels when he is detached from the Lord, since man is but a single organ of the Divine Presence, for the Divine Presence is the soul of Israel in general. Therefore the sensation of a single organ does not resemble the sensation of the pain in general. That is to say that the Divine Presence regrets that there are parts of it that are detached from it, which she cannot provide for.

(And that might be the meaning of the words: “When a man regrets, the Divine Presence says: “It is lighter than my head”). And if man does not relate the sorrow at being distant from God to himself, he is saved from falling into the trap of the desire to receive for himself, which is the separation from holiness.

The same applies when one feels somewhat closer to holiness, when he is happy at having merited favor in the eyes of the Lord, he must say that the core of his joy is that now there is joy in the Divine Presence, from having being able to bring her private organ near her, and not send it away.

And man rejoices at having been endowed with the ability to please the Divine Presence. And this goes by the same token, because joy that an individual feels, is but a part of the joy that the whole feels. And through these calculations he loses his individuality and avoids being trapped by the Other Side, which is the will to receive for himself.

Although, the will to receive is necessary, since that constitutes a person, since anything which exists in a person apart from the desire to receive is attributed to the Creator. Nevertheless, the will to receive pleasure should be corrected to a form of bestowal.

That is to say, that the pleasure and joy, taken by the will to receive, should be intended to bring contentment above, because there is pleasure below. For that was the purpose of creation, to benefit His creations. And this is called the joy of the Divine Presence above.

For this reason, man must seek advice as to how he can cause contentment above. And certainly, if he receives pleasure, contentment shall be felt above. Therefore, he should long to always be in the King’s palace, and to have the ability to play with the King’s treasures. And that will certainly cause contentment above. It follows that his entire longing should be for the sake of the Creator.

Author: Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag
Translation: C. Ratz

Morning Quote

"The true and efficient work is to come from the bond."

Kabbaistic Interpretation of Jewish Identity and the State of Israel

BB Australian Kabbalah Group


A Kabbalistic Interpretation of JewishIdentity and the State of Israel
Maya Levina

This paper provides a basic overview of the Kabbalistic or spiritual interpretation of the notions “Jewish,” “Nations of the World,” and “the Nation of Israel.” The analysis is based on texts by Rav Yehuda Ashlag, Rav Michael Latiman PhD, and Feiga Ashlag, the belated wife of Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag. The paper establishes the thesis that the spiritual interpretation of these notions makes them equally applicable to every member of humanity and that a growing number of people throughout the world today have begun adopting this viewpoint. As a result, they achieve a sense of boundless spiritual fulfillment and absolute love for one another (despite cultural and racial differences), and overcome the limitations of time and space.
I would like to examine the way in which Rav Yehuda Ashlag’s conception of Jewish identity and the State of Israel is currently being explicated and developed by present-day thinker Michael Laitman PhD, and how thousands of people worldwide—both Jews and non-Jews—have begun to adopt Rav Ashlag’s and Prof. Laitman’s conception of being Jewish. What is so interesting and unusual about their spiritual understanding of this notion is that it makes the attributes of “Jewish,” “Gentile,” “Mitzvot” (lit. commandments), “Torah” and “Israel” directly relevant to all people in equal measure, regardless of one’s origin, religious affiliation or any other differentiating sign. It is as if these thinkers look only at the “absolute value” of any human being such that every person bears an equal relation to these qualities, while nevertheless maintaining his or her unique individuality. It is because these notions—which are often interpreted and ascribed according to various physical variables—are seen here rather as inner spiritual attributes contained in any person. At the same time, every person is seen as a completely distinct individual due to his or her unique “root of the soul,” and as relating to all of the above qualities from an individual point of one’s “I.”
Rav Yehuda Leib HaLevi Ashlag (known as Baal HaSulam, lit. Owner of the Ladder, 1884-1954) is widely acknowledged as a great thinker and foremost Kabbalist of the 20 th century. In a recently published book, leading scholar of Kabbalah Studies, Prof. Joseph Dan of Hebrew University, writes:
Among the most important Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century, there was one outstanding kabbalist in the traditional sense of the term. Rabbi Judah Ashlag, a Lurianic kabbalist who worked in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in the first half and the middle of the century.[1]
However, it is only recently that Rav Ashlag’s work has begun to receive much attention from the public and to be acknowledged in academic circles. Although Rav Ashlag passionately desired to disperse his ideas throughout the world and exerted great effort to this end, there was relatively little interest in his work during his lifetime and he did not live to see the time when his ideas would gain widespread popularity. Prof. Shlomo Giora Shoham, the 2003 Israel Award laureate, provides a first-hand account of his meeting with Baal HaSulam in the early 1950s:
I found him standing in a dilapidated building, almost a shack, which housed an old printing press. He couldn't afford to pay a typesetter and was doing the typesetting himself, letter by letter, standing over the printing press for hours at a time, despite the fact that he was in his late sixties. Ashlag was clearly a tzaddik (righteous man)—a humble man, with a radiant face. But he was an absolutely marginal figure and terribly impoverished. I later heard that he spent so many hours setting type that the lead used in the printing process damaged his health.[2]
After Baal HaSulam’s death in 1954, his work was continued by his son and student Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag (known as Rabash, 1906-1991). Rav Baruch Shalom continued to develop Baal HaSulam’s Kabbalistic method while teaching a small group of students. However, he encountered the same difficulty as his father in presenting his father’s work to a wider audience. During the last twelve years of his life, Rabash became especially close to one of his students, Michael Laitman, with whom he studied daily for extended periods of time during those twelve years. In a recent interview, Rabash’s belated wife Feiga Ashlag reveals her insight to their connection:
Baal HaSulam [passed everything] only to Rav Baruch Shalom, and Baruch Shalom, only to Rav Laitman. I saw that Rav Baruch cared deeply about passing everything to his disciple. I tie these two things together and see that the next on this chain is Rav Laitman. Although on the surface, another former student of Rav Baruch… is now printing books and circulating. But we are talking about the inner essence, about that which Rav Laitman received in special first-hand contact. This is what really needs to be passed on.[3]
After Baruch Shalom’s death in 1991, Rav Laitman founded a center for the study of Kabbalah, the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education and Research Institute, named in his teacher’s honor. In just a few short years, Baal HaSulam’s and Rabash’s innovative work suddenly began to appeal to many people. Hundreds (and later thousands) of people from all over the world, both Jews and non-Jews, have since begun regularly studying the writings of these two Kabbalists with Bnei Baruch. Feiga Ashlag reveals how slowly but surely, this began to happen after her husband’s death:
And so we started putting out flyers and inviting the public to lectures. Initially, three people showed up, then five and six. And that is how it began. Little by little, after two or three years of giving all these lectures in Tel Aviv, Rav Laitman put a group together and started teaching them. Afterwards, everything evolved very rapidly… And suddenly, exactly in 1995, came a wave of genuine interest. And now there are already hundreds of people who are able to grasp Rav Baruch Shalom. These people, likewise, will have a greater need in Rav Laitman as well. They will come and take from Rav Laitman what's needed… It is amazing how it is all happening in one generation, so quickly. This indicates that the coming times will change even faster.[4]
What is so interesting about the students of Bnei Baruch is that any cultural, religious or racial differences between them seem to vanish when they study and work together, whether they are physically together or connected merely through the Internet. Even the language barrier seems to become irrelevant in their mutual work—they have set up a system of simultaneous translation into several languages. Although the group’s center is located in the physical State of Israel, students of Bnei Baruch all around the world see themselves as equally belonging to the spiritual State of Israel and as Jews in the spiritual sense, regardless of any cultural or religious affiliations they may simultaneously have in their day-to-day associations with people not studying Kabbalah.
Perhaps this unusual connection they have with one another, as well as disregard for any differences and cultural implications, are a result of their mutual goal—to actualize what they consider to be the main Mitzva or rule in the Torah, “love your neighbor as yourself.”[5] This goal is clearly articulated in the texts of Baal HaSulam and Rabash, with the provision that this mutual love, “Arvut,” or mutual guarantee must be achieved for the sake of the Creator—for the sake of attaining, in Baal HaSulam’s words, "adhesion with Him." According to the writings of Baal HaSulam, this union with the Creator is the inevitable purpose of every person’s existence. In his article Arvut (lit. Mutual Guarantee), Baal HaSulam writes:
Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon [many consider Rabbi Shimon to be the author of the Book of Zohar, one of the fundamental Kabbalistic texts], clarifies this concept of Arvut even further, by saying that it is not enough that all of Israel be responsible for one another, but that the whole world must be included in that Arvut. It is also upon the Israeli nation, to qualify themselves and all the people of the world through Torah and Mitzvot [these are understood as spiritual actions of bestowal, to be shortly addressed], to develop so that they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of a fellow man, which is the ladder to attain the purpose of creation, which is adhesion with Him. Because it has already been shown (item 20) that the impression that comes to a man by dealing with Mitzvot between man and his God, is completely the same as the impression he gets from the Mitzvot between man and his fellow man. For here, in this exalted point the love of God and the love of his fellow person unite and actually become one.[6]
Adhesion or union with the Creator—also known as the reception of the Creator’s light into one’s soul—is considered to be “the reception of the Torah,” just as it was received by Moses’s group at the foot of Mount Sinai:
…which is why they are spoken of in singular form: “and there Israel camped before the mountain (Exodus 19, 2),”” which our sages interpret—as one man in one heart. That is because each and every person from the nation detached himself completely from self-love and wanted only to benefit his friend, as we have shown above (item 16) regarding the meaning of the Mitzva of “Love thy friend as thyself.” It turns out that all the individuals in the nation have come together and became one man in one heart, for only then were they qualified to receive the Torah. …Because the Torah was not given to them before each of them was asked if he would take upon himself the Mitzva (precept) of loving others in the full measure expressed in the words: “Love thy friend as thyself.”[7]
How is it that so many people who do not bear any physical relation to Judaism or Israel have taken it upon themselves to observe the Mitzvot and to identify themselves as Jews and inhabitants of the Nation of Israel, even when they are not actually of Jewish descent and do not live anywhere near the Land of Israel in the physical sense? It is because all of these words receive a very different interpretation in Kabbalistic texts than they do in other contexts. Kabbalistic books employ words from our normal language, but these words never refer to the physical objects that are named by them. Rather, they refer to the objects’ spiritual manifestations, which are completely withdrawn from any physical likeness.[8] Since Baal HaSulam revealed his Kabbalistic method in the 20 th century to anyone wishing to use it regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or level of intelligence; therefore no one holds an advantage or disadvantage in his or her chances of mastering this methodology, i.e. of attaining the spiritual message described in Kabbalistic books. We can find many examples of this in Baal HaSulam’s texts. For instance, in the Introduction to the Zohar, he writes:
And now, in our time, when we are nearing the end of the last two millenniums, we are given the permission to reveal his words [the words of Rabbi Itzhak Luria, known as “the Holy Ari”] and the words of the Zohar throughout the world to a great measure, in such a way, that from our generation onwards the words of the Zohar will become more and more revealed in the world, until the full measure is discovered as God wills it.[9]
Returning to our main topic—the interpretation of “Jew,” “ Israel” and “Nations of the World” that is being adopted by a growing number of Kabbalah students; we can gain a basic understanding of these notions from excerpts of Prof. Laitman’s work. In his book, Interview with the Future, he explains the way in which these fundamental Kabbalistic notions should be understood:
The terms “Jew” and “Gentile” do not relate to this or that individual, but express two spiritual situations in the same person. The word – Jewish (Hebrew: Yehudi) comes from the word – unification (Yechud), connection with the Creator, the inner essence of man’s soul; and a Gentile is its outer essence.[10]
We can see that this explanation derives directly from Baal HaSulam’s writings, as he provides a similar explanation in Item 66 of theIntroduction to the Zohar:
Bear in mind, that everything has internality and externality. Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is generally considered the internality of the world, and the seventy nations are considered its externality.[11]
In order to understand this explanation, we must also understand what is meant here by internality and externality. Just as all words used in Kabbalistic texts, these notions refer to non-physical phenomena perceived in the part of the person that Kabbalists define as “soul.” The process of attaining spirituality, of coming closer to the state of “loving others as yourself,” to the state of similarity to the Creator and “adhesion with Him,” is the process of uncovering more and more inner layers in oneself. It is a process of self-attainment where a person constantly reveals deeper, more inner layers of feeling and perception, ultimately arriving at the level of “absolute love” or “absolute bestowal.” When a person attains this final level, it is considered that he has attained the goal of creation, that he has become equal to the Creator in every way, since the Creator is defined as a Giver, a Bestower, or the attribute of bestowal relative to a person.
In this way, the inner part of a person is the desire of Israel (“Yashar – El,” meaning “straight to God”) or the Jewish attribute in a person, the so called “spark” of divinity that is contained in every person and awaits its development and realization. Rav Laitman describes this in the following way:
Attaining the spiritual degree of “Jewish” is the purpose of every man’s existence in this world. Each soul has a spiritual spark called “Jewish,” a spark of light inside our corporeal will to receive. That spark exists in all people …[12]
This is the desire that expands and develops with the correct use of the Kabbalistic method, ultimately expanding to envelop a person’s entire heart, meaning his or her entire perception of reality. This means that a person expands the attribute of “bestowal” in him and bestows to other people and the Creator on all levels (meaning, on the level of the corporeal world and on the many spiritual levels he has attained):
The spark wishes to return to its root, and rise to the exact same place and degree it had prior to its clothing in a body. If one is not given the chance to nurture that spark through the wisdom of Kabbalah …[13]
The Nations of the World or Gentiles are the more external desires of a person, the desires to receive egoistic fulfillment rather than fulfillment due to one’s equivalence with the Creator, who is a Giver. These desires are not viewed negatively. They are considered indispensable for one’s spiritual growth and must only be used correctly. The egoistic desires of “the Nations of the World” are considered absolutely necessary to one’s spiritual development because it is only by using them correctly that a person can develop and expand the attribute of “ Israel” in him. Rav Laitman writes:
Spiritual evolution is accompanied by the appearance of a stronger egoistic will to receive, and that is what sets off the transition to the degree of growing…[14]
Since a person constantly uncovers deeper layers in oneself, there is a constant increase of egoistic desires. That is to say, when a person achieves a certain level of bestowal to the Creator (which is achieved by bestowal to the neighbor), he feels an immense pleasure from this action of bestowal and accepts this pleasure for the sake of the Creator—because this is what the Creator desires. However, as soon as a person achieves a certain level of ability to receive this pleasure altruistically (i.e. for the sake of the Creator), he immediately sees the following level, which is greater pleasure contained in a degree of bestowal greater than the one he has achieved. He desires to receive this pleasure egoistically, meaning the desires called “the Nations of the World” in him desire to receive this pleasure for the sake of the person rather than for the sake of the Creator. However, by focusing again on the desire of “ Israel” using the Kabbalistic method, the person is able to use his egoistic desires correctly to again expand the attribute of “Jew” or “ Israel” in him and achieve greater similarity to the Creator.
This way, we see that spiritual advancement, as understood in Baal HaSulam’s Kabbalistic method, is based on correctly juxtaposing “Israel” and “the Nations of the World” with one another, in such a way that all of a person’s desires work correctly towards the goal of unifying with the Creator or fulfilling the aforementioned Mitzva. We can also see that in the process of one’s advancement on this path, the layers that were once internal constantly become the external layers as soon as a person reveals the existence of the following, deeper, and greater level of bestowal.
From this, we can begin to see why students of Baal HaSulam’s method gradually begin to identify themselves as Jews and Sons of Israel, even while they may culturally and socially observe other traditions to which they are accustomed on the physical level. Feiga Ashlag expresses this personal and internal process that the students undergo:
This has to be the group where each person, deep in the hiding places of his "I", somewhere in the silence of his "home", knows that he wants to bring his soul to correction. I want to say that one has to find his demand, the point where he has a dispute with the Creator. …T he inner point of each person plays a very important role. Each person, somewhere in silence, has to find time for his personal aspiration. … Baal HaSulam stressed that the inner part of the Torah, the science of Kabbalah, is intended not for the development or service of society, but for each individual's correction of his soul. A correct development of society will come as a consequence to this.[15]
In this way, students of Baal HaSulam’s method begin to focus more on the inner processes that transpire within their soul, not attaching much significance to the corporeal aspect of their lives. It is considered that the corporeal level of one’s existence is fully determined—whether by one’s genes, the surrounding society, or other factors. According to Baal HaSulam’s worldview, almost any aspect of one’s life is somehow arranged or determined for the person, and one’s freedom of choice consists only in developing spiritually[16], since the spiritual development is entirely up to a person and can never be forced on him by anyone. As a person utilizes the only free choice he has and develops the inner attribute of “Israel” in him, his entire experience of life drastically changes and he begins to exist both in the corporeal world as all people do, and in the spiritual worlds with other Kabbalists. At the same time, his life in “this world” (“Olam Hazeh,” a Kabbalistic term referring to a person’s perceptions and desires on the level of the corporeal reality) remains the same as if he were not a Kabbalist and he may appear to be just an “average Joe” to any observer.
At the same time, we cannot say that there is absolutely no relation between people’s spiritual development and the events that take place in the physical world. It is hardly possible for a non-Kabbalist to articulate the connection between the two without erring since the spiritual reality and the corporeal reality are composed of very different qualities (these being the “will to receive” and “the will to bestow”). One sees how the physical world is related to the spiritual world only once he or she has attained the spiritual world to a certain degree. Nevertheless, we can roughly say that according to Kabbalah, the events that take place in the physical world are results or physical manifestations of the events happening in the spiritual world or in the common soul of humanity. This way, the prosperity of the physical State of Israel is directly related to the prosperity of the part of “ Israel” in people’s souls. Feiga Ashlag expresses this connection between circulating the wisdom of Kabbalah to a wide audience (thus providing people with the opportunity to develop their soul’s inner desire for the Creator) to the prosperity of the State of Israel:
There is a credo: circulation. It is clear that circulation saves the situation in Israel, and maybe even ensures its survival. Outwardly directed circulation will lead Israel to the point when its inner part will actively engage in this process. However each person inside himself must create his or her own inner need, inner question. He has to work in relation to his own soul. And this is what he has to pass on.[17]
Baal HaSulam, Rabash and Rav Laitman often articulate this idea of Israel’s and the world’s dependence on people’s engagement in the “inner part of the Torah.” However, perhaps Feiga Ashlag’s simple and personal account allows any reader to relate to her more easily in the most regular, human way:
I need my people to survive. I need my children and grandchildren not to live through the atom bomb. I need us to avoid physical and spiritual suppression. I need to believe that there is a group of people who are fighting for survival of our country in both material and spiritual aspects. By saying "country" I mean the survival of Israel and all of humanity. If there was no mass circulation of the authentic science of Kabbalah, its inner part, the finest details that suit beginners, and if none of this existed at a group level, I would be sad and frightened, thinking "Who will take this upon themselves?"[18]
Thus, we have slightly clarified that in the Kabbalistic interpretation, internality, externality, Israel, and the Nations of the World are spiritual degrees or levels in any human being. At the same time, there is a specific way in which these spiritual attributes reflect in the physical world, such that people’s engagement or lack of engagement in developing their internality or the attribute of Israel in them results in positive or negative effects regarding how Israel and the Nations of the World manifest in “this world.” It is difficult to select just one excerpt from Baal HaSulam’s writing that summarizes his view on this matter because he explains this in great depth and delves into many distinctions related to the topic. The matter cannot be fully understood without understanding all of the components of his reasoning, but we can begin to have a basic grasp by looking at a few excerpts from his Introduction to the Zohar:
When a person from Israel enhances and dignifies his internality, which is the Israel in him, over his externality, being the Nations of the World in him, meaning that he dedicates the majority of his time and efforts to enhance and exalt his internality, for the good of his soul, and a minor effort, the mere necessity, to sustain his Nations of the World, meaning his bodily needs, as it says (Avot 1) - “make your Torah permanent and your labor transient,” by that he makes - in the internality and externality of the world - the Sons of Israel soar upwards and the Nations of the World, which are the general externality, recognize and acknowledge the value of the Sons of Israel. And if, God forbid, the contrary occurs, that a person from Israel enhances and regards his externality, which is the Nations of the World in him, higher than the Israel in him - as it says (Deuteronomy 28) “The stranger that is in the midst of thee,” the externality in him will soar upwards, and you, that is the internality, the Israel in you, will plunge deep down. That causes the externality of the world in general, which are the Nations of the World, to soar ever higher and overcome Israel, degrading them to the ground, and the Sons of Israel, the internality of the world, to plunge, God forbid, deep down.[19]
It’s been thoroughly clarified, that the Torah too has its internality and its externality, as does the whole world. Therefore, he who delves in the Torah also has those two degrees.…But if, God forbid, the contrary occurs, that the person from Israel degrades the virtue of the internality of the Torah and its secrets, dealing with the customs of our souls and their degrees, and also in the part of the reasoning of the Mitzvot (precepts), with regard to the virtue of the externality of the Torah, that deals with the practical part alone, and even if he dedicates some time to the internality of the Torah, but just a little of his time, when it is neither night nor day, as though it were, God forbid, redundant, by that he causes degradation and decline of the internality of the world, which are the Sons of Israel, and enhances the domination of the externality of the world - meaning the Nations of the World - over them, and they shall humiliate and disgrace the Sons of Israel, and regard Israel as redundant, as though the world has not a need for, God forbid. And furthermore, by that they make even the externality of the world overcome its internality. For the worst of the Nations of the World, which destruct and damage it, mount higher over the internality of them, which are the righteous of the World, and then they cause the ruin and the heinous slaughter our generation witnessed, may God protect us from now on. Thus you see that the redemption of Israel and indeed its rise depends upon the study of the Zohar and the internality of the Torah. And vise versa, all the ruin and decline of the Sons of Israel, is a result of their abandoning of the internality of the Torah, degrading it and turning it to something seemingly redundant, God forbid.[20]
In his Introduction to another fundamental Kabbalistic work, The Tree of Life by the Ari, Baal HaSulam writes:
Now you will understand what is written the Zohar: “That with this composition the Children of Israel will be redeemed from exile,” as well as in many other places, that only through the expansion of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the masses will we obtain complete redemption.[21]
From these texts, we can see that students of Baal HaSulam’s Kabbalistic method worldwide identify themselves with Israel and as Jews not only due to their personal aspiration to attain a sensation of spirituality and the immense pleasure contained in this sensation, but also due to a sense of urgent responsibility of ensuring the existence of the physical State of Israel and preventing possible disasters in the rest of the world. For this reason, their main sphere of activity today is in circulating the wisdom of Kabbalah (as Baal HaSulam had dreamed during his life in an attempt to prevent future catastrophe[22]) and in providing a Kabbalistic explanation for all of humanity’s misfortunes. Rav Laitman sums this up in the following way:
It therefore depends on the education. We must provide for the right education: explain to our children and ourselves the purpose of creation, what our role entails and why the Creator chose us. … The absence of attainment of the upper providence will set off the next holocaust. We, and only we, must stop it now! The examples I have brought here show how necessary and how urgent it is to bring to everyone’s awareness the knowledge of the purpose of providence, the purpose of our lives and the reason for our troubles, so that we will choose the right way for ourselves.[23]
From all this, we can see that Baal HaSulam’s and Rabash’s Kabbalistic interpretation of Israel and the Jews has begun to appeal to many people during the last decade, and that their work continues to be developed by Dr. Michael Laitman and students of Bnei Baruch which he founded. In addition, Baal HaSulam’s work is beginning to be examined in the academic world—both in Jewish philosophy departments and by scientists in fields such as quantum physics and biology, where researchers are beginning to obtain scientific results that coincide with Baal HaSulam’s descriptions of spiritual laws—the laws of bestowal. The recent developments in technology and communications also allow students of Baal HaSulam’s method to realize his recommendations and to connect “as one man in one heart” despite separation by continents and language barriers, and this way to enter a life of spiritual perception beyond time and space as described in Kabbalistic books.
Perhaps Baal HaSulam’s method achieves its truest realization during the international congresses held by the Institute several times a year in different locations of the globe, which are attended by hundreds and even thousands of students from all over the world. Arguably, the fullest realization of Baal HaSulam’s method takes place during the Institute’s congresses held in Israel during Pesach and Sukkoth, both according to the amount of people that connect “as one man in one heart” and the duration of this connection—over a week, during which this is their only activity. The physical and spiritual connection of such different parts of the “common human soul” (there are representatives from practically every part of the world) that unite during such congresses is what students of Bnei Baruch consider the Nation of Israel—a spiritual entity that comes into existence in the heart of each person who so chooses.


Notes
1. Dan, p. 108.
2. This excerpt was published on Dec 17, 2004 in Haaretz newspaper, in a story by Micha Odenheimer. (Bnei Baruch.)
3. Ashlag, F. para 29.
4. Ashlag, F. para 11.
5. Love thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19, 18) ” Rabbi Akiva says: “ it is a great rule in the Torah .” This statement demands explanation. … It turns out that when he says about the mitzvah of “love thy neighbour as thyself” that it is a great rule in the Torah, we must understand that all other 612 mitzvot (precepts) in the Torah with all their interpretations are no more and no less than the sum of the details inserted and contained in that single mitzvah of “ love thy neighbour as thyself .”
… a convert who came before Hillel and asked of him: “teach me the whole of the Torah when I’m standing on one leg . ” And he replied: “anything that you hate do not do to your friend (the Aramaic translation of “love thy neighbour as thyself”) .
… each of the six hundred and thirteen mitzvot revolves around that single mitzvah of “ Love thy neighbour as thyself.” And we find that such a state can only exist in a nation whose members all agree to it. (Ashlag, Y. Matan Torah p.1)
6. Ashlag, Y. Arvut p. 2.
7. Ashalg, Y. Arvut p. 1.
8. And the books of Kabbalah and the Zohar are full of corporeal parables. Therefore people are afraid lest they will fail with materializing and will lose more than they will gain. And that is what prompted me to compose a thorough interpretation to the writing of the ARI and now to the holy Zohar. And I have removed completely that concern, for I have proven the spiritual message behind everything, which is abstract and devoid of all physical resemblance, above space and time as the readers shall see, in order to allow all of Israel to study the Zohar and be warmed by its sacred light. (Ashlag, Y. Introduction to the Book of Zohar p. 22)
9. Ashlag, Y. Inrtoduction to the Book of Zohar p. 24
10. Laitman, p. 159.
11. Ashlag, Y. Introduction to the Book of Zohar, Item 66
12. Laitman, p. 160.
13. Laitman, p.160.
14. Laitman, p. 159.
15. Ashlag, F. para. 13, 32
16. Ashlag, Y. The Freedom.
17. Ashlag, F. para 15
18. Ashlag, F. para 22
19. Ashlag, Y. Introduction to the Book of Zohar p. 25
20. Ashlag, Y. Introduction to the Book of Zohar p. 26
21. Ashlag, Y. Introduction to the Tree of Life p. 7
22. Ashlag, Y. The Solution. Section “Disparity of Form.”
23. Laitman, p. 161.

References
Ashlag, F. 2005. I Believe in Rav Laitman: Recollections of Feiga Ashlag, the Widow of the Late Rav Baruch Ashlag. Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies.
Ashla g , Y. 2002. Matan Torah (The Revelation of Godliness). Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies. Trans., C. Ratz.
Ashlag, Y. 2002. The Arvut (Bond). Bnei Baruch Autumn Congress Textbook 2004 . Trans., C. Ratz, pp. 34-39, Israel: Bnei Baruch. Published in original Hebrew as HaArvut in Matan Torah. 1996. Israel: Ohr HaGanuz Publications, pp. 31—46.
Ashlag, Y. 2002. Introduction to the Book of Zohar. Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies. Trans., C. Ratz . Published in original Hebrew as Hakdama LeSefer HaZohar in Kabbalah LaMathil. 2002. Israel: Bnei Baruch, pp. 37—63.
Ashlag, Y. 2003. Introduction to the Book Tree of Life. Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies. Trans., C. Ratz . Published in original Hebrew as Hakdama LePanim Meirot UMasbirot in Kabbalah LaMathil. 2002. Israel: Bnei Baruch, pp. 236—260.
Ashla g , Y. 2004. The Solution. Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies. Trans., C. Ratz.
Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies. 2006. About Bnei Baruch .
Dan, Joseph. 2006. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction . New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
Laitman, Michael. 2006. Interview with the Future . Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies.

Morning Quote

"Humanity must speedily come to know that there is a remedy for the blows. All depends on us."