July 5, 2008
Archive for Kabbalah Today
June 27, 2008 at 1:35 pm · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
Mankind’s Growing Hunger
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 15
The current food crisis has been declared a ‘silent tsunami’ in recent headlines. Kabbalah explains the root of the problem, and shows us how to avert this growing threat.
Actually, food shortages are nothing new—they have shaped civilizations since the days when Pharaohs ruled Egypt. In the past 50 years alone, famines in Africa, North Korea, China, and Cambodia have claimed millions of lives. So why are world leaders today so alarmed by the current situation?
In Pharaoh’s time, a famine in Egypt didn’t affect tribes wandering the plains of America. In contrast, today’s crisis ripples across the entire world. Global food prices have risen 83% in the past three years, making it almost impossible for the world’s poorest nations to feed their people. More than 70 countries spanning every continent are now facing critical shortages. Moreover, famine is no longer limited to third world countries. Even developed countries like the United States are facing soaring food prices that are impoverishing the once-comfortable middle class. This time, hunger is truly global. Read the Full Article…
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June 3, 2008 at 8:26 am · Filed under Articles, Humanity, Kabbalah Today
Kabbalah Chronicles
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 1
The Rambam (Maimonides) wrote that when the whole of humanity was deep in idol worship, one man could not go with the flow. His name was Abraham. He pondered and searched until he found the truth: that the world has only one leader. When he discovered this, he realized he had discovered life’s eternal truth and ran to tell the world. Since then, the world has had a method that reveals this truth. Today this method has a different name - “Kabbalah” - but it is essentially the same. If we open our hearts to it, it will teach us why things happen, and how to make them happen better. Read the Full Article…
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May 13, 2008 at 8:57 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
Generation I
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 14
In our generation—generation “I”—every person is unique. But the true art is in knowing how to be unique. Read the Full Article…
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May 6, 2008 at 4:08 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today, Kabbalistic Stories
Man, Woman, and the Snake Between Them
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 14
For centuries, the story of Adam and Eve has captured the imagination of children and adults alike. It’s time to know the true meaning of the story, who that cunning little snake was, and of course, how all this relates to the fact that 50% of American couples today are getting divorced. Read the Full Article…
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May 4, 2008 at 10:05 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
Obesity: A Lack of Spiritual Food?
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 14
Everyone today is counting their calories—but the obesity problem only keeps growing. Kabbalah explains that this epidemic is yet another symptom that the modern human being is not getting his “spiritual food” Read the Full Article…
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April 28, 2008 at 8:17 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today, Society
The Story of Stuff - Untold Story of: a Consumer Nation
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 14
Stuff. It fills our closets, our garages, and our lives. We gauge success in life by the stuff we own, and spend incredible amounts of time shopping for it. A new documentary, The Story of Stuff, shows how our entire lives have been taken over by “stuff.” And the wisdom of Kabbalah shows what we can do about it. Read the Full Article…
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April 8, 2008 at 6:30 am · Filed under Articles, Education, Kabbalah Today
Tom, Jerry and Our Children
An Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 13
Today, even Tom can’t help us teach good values to our children. Not to mention Jerry…
Modern psychological research shows that a child’s cognitive development and patterns of behavior begin to form very early on. The acclaimed Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget, showed that soon after birth, a baby begins to learn through observation, adopting mental concepts from the environment. The incoming sensory data that the child receives, even as a toddler, has a major effect on his development. Later on, the child only continues developing and perfecting what he had absorbed from his surroundings during the early years.
In light of this, just imagine how sophisticated we must be in order to give our children the right examples, literally from the age of zero. On the other hand, how can we give our children positive examples when even the children’s entertainment industry feeds them countless negative values and images?
To cite just one example, here is the latest description of Tom and Jerry, as it appears on the Cartoon Network website: “Tenacious cat Tom is forever on the tail of his elusive nemesis, Jerry the mouse, and no tricks, traps or cast-iron frying pans will stop him in his timeless pursuit.” And that, dear parents, is what our toddlers learn from.
But apparently, our children are not the only victims of their environment. Society doesn’t ask any of us, “What would you like to want?”—it rather dictates to us what to want, from dawn to dusk. Whether it’s Coca Cola, Nike, iPod or Benz—“you just gotta have it!” But when it comes to our children’s education, it’s up to us, the parents, to choose the values and patterns of behavior that will influence our children.
The Oldies and the Newbies
Take a look at the games our children play or the movies they watch. Chances are, you’d be hard pressed to find even one cartoon that doesn’t use elements of violence, scorn and degradation. There will always be someone who suffers—and someone who enjoys it. Systematically, the cartoons’ plots revolve around the pleasure derived from deriding and abusing one or more of the characters.
On the other hand, think of the oldies—they, at least, had a touch of goodness. So what happened? Let’s go back to our beloved Tom and Jerry: They started off with the tiny, likeable mouse struggling to escape the big, bad cat, who was always eventually punished for trying to pick on the harmless creature. But over the years, along with the scriptwriters’ steadily growing egos, the little mouse also gained some nerve. Today, he’s a real snake, plotting how to best snare the sleepy, silly cat, and revels in making that cat suffer! Anything less than that is already boring for the mouse, and for us, too.
Time to Grow Up
The fact is that this is how we were created—as self centered creatures. However, today, nature demands that we grow up. Even as we keep encouraging our egoistic tendencies, reality is forcing us to realize that we are all part of one, big, integrated whole, and we have to start acting like it. Otherwise, we won’t survive the 21st century.
For millennia, Kabbalists have been telling us that Nature’s higher law is one of love, reciprocity and unity. But even more vital for us to know is that the law of Nature treats us the same way we treat our children: When they are young, it’s OK for them to make mistakes, but when they grow bigger, they have to learn how to play by the rules.
So today, let’s do ourselves a favor and start changing our values, if not for ourselves, at least for our children.
* Read this article in Kabbalah Today Issue 13
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March 31, 2008 at 10:09 pm · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
Facebook - What’s All the Fuss?
An Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 13
The obsession with Facebook expresses a deep rooted desire within each of us - to feel connected with everyone. But does the largest virtual community really deliver the new and improved social world we seek? more…
* Read the Full Article “Facebook - What’s All the Fuss?” in Kabbalah Today Issue 13
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March 18, 2008 at 8:39 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
The Secret of Harry’s Magic
An Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 8
Harry, the amiable, bespectacled youth who attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, must fight wicked witches and monsters to save the human race. But Harry’s struggles are not a unique phenomenon. They are the culmination of a globally increasing attraction to the mystical, hence young Potter’s success.
Along with Harry came other cinematographic hits such as The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings. We can point out many more examples but the idea is clear: we fancy fantasy. What is it that attracts us to mysticism? What are we trying to find there that we cannot find elsewhere? Do we really believe that such enchanted places and magic powers exist, or are we merely trying to escape our bleak reality? more…
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March 11, 2008 at 8:06 am · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
The All-Purpose Remedy
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 12
The World Health Organization reports that nearly 40 new diseases have emerged in the last 30 years, over 1,100 epidemic events took place in the last 5 years alone, and mental illnesses have become a plague. According to Kabbalah, one principal flaw stands behind all of this - human egoism. more…
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