What does the word “life” mean according to the wisdom of Kabbalah? • What is the importance of the word “alive” (“Chai”) in Hebrew? • What is the meaning of the blessing in Hebrew, “L’Chaim” (“to life”) ? • What is the difference between the soul and the body according to the wisdom of Kabbalah? • What is the purpose of something eternal, like the soul, giving life to something mortal like the body?

Mark Zuckerberg is creating a metaverse, a digital world that gives rise to a sense of physical presence in a virtual space. Users will be able to grasp this digital world through touch. Development of a thin, robot skinsuit is already underway, creating an effect of physical interaction with virtual reality, allowing one to see and touch objects. Movement and interplay will be possible regardless of physical distances. Students will have the capability of teleporting to other countries, going back in time to historical events, writing with the power of thought and so forth. This world will host a billion users. I wouldn’t want to live in such a universe, though. I aspire to a different spiritual reality where people will be capable of moving not due to having a particularly sensitive skinsuit, but first we need to clarify some criteria, such as, “What is happiness?” “What is the purpose of life?” and “What should we accomplish while alive in this world?” Then, we can start building the universe. We would then feel better living in such a universe compared to the current world around us. If the point of this envisioned virtual reality is to feel good, then it is no more than a drug, i.e. an escape through the creation of all sorts of illusions. The spiritual reality, however, is one where we can rise to the level of the upper force of love, bestowal and connection. Rising to the level of the upper force is something that we each need to build within ourselves. It cannot be created using physical, mechanical, technical or digital means. It requires determining what causes a person to enter and exit the spiritual reality. We have to acquire a desire to attain the spiritual world and to ask the upper force for this desire if it is absent. It is also important to remember that there is no coercion in spirituality; nobody can be manipulated to enter the spiritual world.

Today, as never before in history, we experience internal pressure to fulfill our growing desires. We are never content, always trying to outdo others, which leads to great stress and dissatisfaction. Although we have unprecedented abundance, the experience of satisfaction disappears as soon as our desires are met and only emptiness remains. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah we can find fulfillment only if we connect to each other and nourish each other. We need to learn together how to receive pleasure through fulfilling the desires of others, to connect to others so that the more we give the more we are filled. If we can think about others and not about ourselves, we will feel emotionally balanced, tranquil, and internally elated.

Thai Amal, a young, anonymous lady who participated in a singing reality contest, gained fame and success overnight. However, after experiencing losing thereafter, she disappeared from the public eye, and it was recently heard that she had committed suicide. A lot of people dream of becoming famous and gaining attention. When little children receive attention from many people, it fulfills them and they become willing to do anything in order gain people’s attention and respect. Afterward, if they are simply forgotten, there arises a feeling that they have become totally disregarded and disposed of. Today, many parents dream about their child becoming a star, and it does not matter to them in what category that is achieved. This aspiration, however, is foolish because it could lead the child to future misery. As parents, we should direct children toward realizing that wealth is being happy with what we have. We simply need to add within us what we already have, i.e. to acquire the self-realization that we only need to attain the sensation of the force of love and bestowal toward everyone, i.e. the force of nature or the Creator. When we achieve balance with that force, then we will experience completeness and harmony.

An interesting study was carried out during the recent Olympics, which looked at the facial expressions of athletes who won silver medals, second, and those who won bronze, third place. What was noted was that those who won silver medals appeared less happy than those who won bronze medals. There is a saying that “rich is he who is happy with what he has,” and yet we are constantly looking to see what the other has. This seems to indicate that we cannot measure anything about ourselves, without comparing it to someone or something else. Envy sometimes devours us, and all that can free us from it is to learn how to turn it into love. Even though this is quite complicated, it is still possible to achieve. This will let us feel that we have a common goal, such that we become “one man with one heart,” where love ultimately wins. In ancient Greece, wars ceased during the Olympics Games. Today, the Olympic Games causes a lot of strife instead of adulation when another person succeeds. However, if we raise awareness of the need to convert that hatred into love, then we will find ourselves igniting a great flame of love that will provide us with a much greater and stronger fulfillment than we have ever felt before.