The Next Step in Human Evolution: A Cure for the Ego
We are standing on the verge of a significant historical change, an ascent to the next level of our development as human beings. On the way, we will need a cure for the ego, which distances us from each other and destroys every good part of life. This cure for the ego was developed for us by Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) and his son, Kabbalist Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (RABASH), the great Kabbalists of the 20th century. Thanks to them, a door to a new life is opening for us. Accordingly, I consider them the most important people for our world in our times.
My teacher, Kabbalist Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag (RABASH), was born in Warsaw in 1907. He grew up in a special family. His father was Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, who was given the nickname “Baal HaSulam” (“the Master of the Ladder’) due to his authorship of the monumental “Sulam” (“Ladder”) commentary on The Book of Zohar. In 1921, their family immigrated to what would become Israel, and settled in Jerusalem. As was the custom of Kabbalists, he would wake up early in the morning to attend his father’s lessons, and during the day, he worked as a steelworker, building structures and paving roads. His view was that a person must work to earn a living and should not rely on charity, and he ensured that his students adhered to this principle throughout his life.
When I met RABASH in 1979, I found a humble and reserved man who had not opened himself up to anyone. He was 72 years old, and I was forty years younger. At that time, he had a few older students who had been learning with him since his father’s days.
RABASH explained to me that in order to grow spiritually, I needed a group of friends who would study together with me. I began giving lectures on Kabbalah to the general public. As a result, in 1984, about forty young students came to RABASH in Bnei Brak. From then on, RABASH began writing weekly articles for us, explaining how people should connect in order to discover a higher force of unity and love in their connection.
RABASH and his father dedicated their lives to developing a practical method of connection suited to our times, through which we can ascend to the next level of our spiritual existence, where we discover eternity and perfection. RABASH continued his father’s path and opened the gates of the ancient wisdom of Kabbalah to everyone.
In the next stage of our development, we need to become a corrected human being who rises above the ego and becomes similar to the upper force in nature, which is characterized by pure love and bestowal. When we learn how to truly connect, we will discover this force in our connections.
Our connection will solve our lives’ myriad problems and lead us to the peak of human existence. We will then all care for each other’s well-being, considering how to help and support one another, and we will then mutually benefit. In connection, we will discover a special force — the force of love that can heal everything. Why? It is because we are all parts of a single system, and when we start connecting correctly, this system begins to function harmoniously and peacefully, coming back to life. Within the special connections we create, we start feeling a new, spiritual, higher, eternal, and perfect life.
This wonderful path was paved for us by the two great luminaries, Baal HaSulam and his son, RABASH, and the journey through this path to eternity and perfection is up to us.