Europe is turning to the right: How will this affect the European Union? • A Nation’s Forgiveness: What should the Jewish people ask for forgiveness? • Boycott Against Israel Supporters at UC Berkeley: How should the students respond? • A World Without Work: What will the unemployed do all day long? • Hurricane Ian: Why are we helpless against nature? • Never Religious, Never Secular, Lacking Structure: What should a person do when he has a foot on the inside and outside of religion?

Yom Kippur, the day of atonement and forgiveness. It has many names. In Israel, the streets are empty, the kids ride their bikes, and people start to examine the year, all the deeds from the past year and receive a stamp of approval. What does that mean? • Protests in Iran Continue: A 22-year-old girl was killed and people took to the streets. It seems that man is a slave to fear, and Iran fell under oppression, and now the Persians are waking up. How can we work with fear and oppression? • Bernard Shaw said that “Eventually our relationships deteriorated to such an extent that there is only one thing left to do, to agree that we extremely respect each other,” and he also said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” What is a Kabbalist’s opinion on these statements?

Circumcision pertains to a person who wants to cut off any ties with his ego, so that he can connect with the Creator, the positive force in nature. The person’s ego is opposite to the Creator and thus unable to connect with this force or feel it. The ego sits in the person’s heart. It is as written in the Torah, “Circumcise the foreskin of your heart.” It should be noted that this pertains to a person who evolves egotistically and reaches a spiritual state called circumcision and is in no way related to the external symbols. A baby has no ego at this stage, so circumcision is not considered a spiritual action but merely an external symbol unrelated to spirituality. Circumcision as a spiritual state is for those who understand and recognize the evil inclination as the ego. When we can work with the ego, we acquire good intentions toward others, and this brings us to the revelation of the upper spiritual world, or in other words, the revelation of the Creator—a force that fills and governs the whole of reality. When we reach such a revelation, we acquire the ability to feel a spiritual life and the qualities of bestowal, love of others, and a sense of connectedness with everyone. Such a force is good and benevolent, and if we develop the same senses, then we will feel the Creator. It is all about love, as it is written, “from the love of the created beings to the love of the Creator.” The general name of the Creator is love.

Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman discusses the month of Elul with Oren Levi. In Kabbalah, the month of Elul is for us to judge ourselves, examine all our actions, thoughts, and relations with others. It provokes us towards change, in asking for forgiveness from others and deciding to undertake to not act inappropriately in the future.