Ask the Kabbalist

To continue the question about the role of Internet that you answered during the last show, what about our sensation of nature? What about smelling a flower, going to the beach, feeling another person, looking at one’s eyes? How does that happen if we connect through the Internet? I heard more than once that people got crazy from studying Kabbalah or The Zohar. Is this true regarding those who study Kabbalah the wrong way? What does a man look for in a woman?..

How can a person discover his self according to Kabbalah? In what ways does he discover his self? In one of your lessons you talked about people connecting through computers. Isn’t that a tool that can make you detached from your nature, from your environment if you use it too much? It seems as if all the economics in the world are deteriorating in a downwards spiral and it’s starting to be frightening. What can we do?..

If the physical body has no connection with spirituality, then why did our body evolve to its present state, and only then, did the point in the heart develop in it? Why didn’t it develop in monkeys or in any other animal that could develop an intellect? Also, does this have anything to do with the fact that many of our body’s organs are in pairs? What is the difference between pleasure of bestowal and pleasure of reception? What does it matter if in the end of the day we do it in order to get pleasure?..

Spiritually speaking, what is the difference between good people and bad people in our world? Why did the Creator make us corrupted? We come to this world broken. It’s true that there is a plan of creation, as you say, but why is the plan of creation the way it is? What is a desire and where does it come from? How can a person control his desire? What is the connection between a desire and a thought? The definition of creation in the dictionary is “doing that which contains innovation.” Is there any creation in this world? Is true creation renewing the connection between people?..

Today I would like to talk about control. I've thought about it a lot. There are many aspects to the term control, and we’ll talk about it from different perspectives. But let's start from what is the most interesting, the most personal place that is closest to a person. Could you tell me, as a Kabbalist who looks at things from Above, why does a person feel that it’s so important to control what happens to him in life?..

They say that all of the thoughts, the desires, and the actions of man come from the Creator. Why do we have thoughts that are so filthy and so corrupted? Why is this so when the Creator is good and benevolent and He has nothing bad in Him? What does Kabbalah say regarding the customs of mourning? Like the seven days of mourning or thirty days after death and all customs related to this. Are you sure that a child, twenty-two years of age that studies Kabbalah from you and reads the articles of Baal HaSulam can study with you? Aren’t you afraid that he might misinterpret your words?..

Do Kabbalists also enjoy the small material pleasures in life? Is it correct, like it says in the Torah, that every person goes through tests during his life and this is how he is examined by the Upper Providence? Does it mean that all of man’s life is a test by the Upper Providence? Where is the world heading? Why do women always find themselves angry with men?..

If the correction is to be done by only 600,000 people why do we need the other six billion people in the world to participate? how can we cope correctly with anger, which is so destructive? Even though I have been studying with you for a few years now, I’m always afraid that it’s going to burst. How can I channel this energy, through Kabbalah? In order to adhere to the Creator, should a person be moneyless? Can you be wealthy and still be in adhesion? Is this a condition?..

Does Kabbalah know what will happen here on earth in ten thousand years? I have heard you say that a man sees in his wife a part that is his mother, and a woman should appreciate a man like a mother appreciates her child. What is the spiritual root for this sensation of the male? Why does the sensation exist and how can you use it to do good? To learn Kabbalah, do you have to have a religious background? What can you say about the game of chess? How is it possible to use it for connecting people and revealing the Creator?..

More and more women choose not to bring children to this world. I would like to ask your opinion regarding this phenomenon, and why does a woman need to give birth to children at all? Should we strive to love extremely wicked people? Someone who broke the hands and legs of his children, killed his wife, corrupted leaders? Can the Rav Laitman love the soul of Ahmadinejad, Stalin and Hitler?..

For the last two years or so, I have been studying Kabbalah via the television. Despite the physical distance, I feel as if you are personally teaching me because I always feel as if today’s lesson fits what I should be learning. What does that mean? Is there a spiritual root to soccer? What happens when two teams pray for victory? Who does the Creator help? What makes so many people gather in one place just to watch two teams of people chasing a ball?..

What is the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer about? How is it possible to cope with a boss that doesn't like you—to say the least—and always tries to search for ways to harm you? How can I use Kabbalah so that there will be more love in him? What is so special in Kabbalah books? What do you think will happen with fashion when the world is corrected? People will not relate to external fashion or will there be a new kind of fashion?..

It seems to me that questions and answers are an important thing in Kabbalah. What's the spiritual root of questions, and what do you do if you don't have any? You say that the Creator doesn't consider an individual person. How then, can we see that the Creator sends thoughts to every person in a particular way, and that's suited to every person individually? Does a woman who has qualities that are considered masculine hurt herself? What is the spiritual root of laughter?..

How does Kabbalah explain what happened at the Holocaust? What happens to the souls of Hitler, Eichmann, and all those evil people? A ten year old boy is asking, “What is a gift according to Kabbalah, and how do you choose a gift for a friend?” Why are women so busy with their outer appearance? What is the source of the importance of a woman’s appearance to herself, and to men?..

In last week’s newspaper there was research about Rabbis/Kabbalists who are most regarded in Israel. I was amazed to read that all the top people in government and the economic field throng to these Rabbis to receive advice. Can you explain this phenomenon and why so many people use it? Does every soul have different ten plagues? You said that all the actions that are in order to take care of the environment don’t really matter and the main thing is man’s inner work. Does the welfare of the environment (collecting bottles and the like) not influence the soul, so that eventually the soul will develop as well?..

In June, there’ll be the European football Championships and then the Olympics. Why are people so interested in sports? What is this thing about competition among individuals or groups and in general, what is good competition? I know that there is a prophecy about a war called Gog and Magog. From life, I can feel that this war is happening within me, all the time. Can you explain more about these two forces Gog and Magog? What happens to them in this internal war and where is it leading? What is the spiritual root of envy that a woman feels to her man who loves women? What’s the correction she should do to get rid of this terrible feeling?..

In the period of the Torah, the time of the Mikra, when Solomon built the Temple and the Creator dwelled within us, didn’t we have a spiritual bond then? Didn’t we have a spiritual elation? An eight and a half year old boy asks, “Sometimes it’s hard for me to take into consideration other people. So how can a person be otherwise than bad?” I heard that the King of Saudi Arabia is going to have a gathering of Muslims, Jews and Christians. They will deal among others, with the blow to morality and the dismantling of the family. Do you think we should try to participate in such a meeting?..

We say that the whole people will be redeemed if we start to love each other. But if I try to behave this way and am doing good, and not doing bad to anyone, not just at work or with friends, other people try to dirty me and make me fail, even my own sister. She seeks a place where she can harm me and damage me. How far are we going to deteriorate? If one tries, and another don’t, then where are our efforts going to? What is the spiritual root of globalization? What does attaining of one of the sons of Ishmael is, with respect to the redemption of the world?..

This week there was a lot of noise about the financial situation in the US, the decrease of the dollar and the crash of the bank. Some people say it will cause a snowball that will start rolling and crash everything. Some other says that it will all pass away. What does Kabbalah predict about the financial system? If I understood correctly the picture of this world is, actually, an inner picture depicted within us and the souls and the Creator is the one thing that exists. But does that perception makes us ignore the still, vegetative, and animate that are around us since animates are alive and also have desires?..

I am an officer in the army. The state of Israel is facing another existential challenge against rootless enemies who have no limitations in what they choose. They sanctify death instead of sanctify life. How does Kabbalah relate to that, I would like to know? I saw Rav Laitman meet with all kinds of public figures, including actors. My question is, “Why can’t we talk to the heads of our government?” Is there really such a thing as magic on people? Does it really hurt them? Is it possible that a person doesn’t marry or that his way in love is difficult because he is under some spell?..