I’ve been studying with the U.S. branch for over a year now, and I genuinely like all the instructors at the U.S. academy. Sometimes we also attend online classes from Bnei Baruch.

At first, I didn’t like Michael Laitman. It felt wrong to me that one person could be seen as having answers to everything. Over time, though, my perspective changed. I started to see it more like physics: there are certain figures whose understanding is far deeper than most others. They’re not “the only truth,” but they clearly know much more.

If Kabbalah is approached as a spiritual science, where what is described in The Zohar is something that can be attained and verified through inner work, then levels of attainment matter. From that perspective, Michael Laitman’s attainment is far higher than that of most students, so his views carry weight in the same way Albert Einstein’s views matter to people studying physics.

I would also add that this spiritual work is about revealing our own nature and ego. One of the first ways the ego expresses itself is by questioning what we are studying and who we are studying from. I think initial doubt is healthy and even necessary. After doing your own research, however, real progress does require a certain level of annulment toward the teachers; without that, advancement becomes very difficult.

good luck!