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Long Way To The Temple, Part 5

Exiled for Thousands of Years

After destruction of the First Temple, the Babylonian exile began. Purim events described in Megillat Esther took place during this period of time.

The hardships of exile forced the Jewish people to return to the land of Israel and enhance their unity.

They managed to build a good, strong connection among them even though their unity was not quite the same level as it was previously. They returned from Babylon with a new higher degree of egoism [1] and strong selfish desires that they picked up from other nations.

It was as if they returned to Babylon that they once abandoned, submerged in the bubbling egoism, and then again returned to Israel. However, this time they were unable to build relationships as faithful, strong, and wonderful as they had initially. So, they decided to build something less complicated, that is, to create the type of connection called the “Second Temple [2].”

They were intertwined with each other but still divided into various confronting groups and clans. As a result, a new round of collapsing began. It’s very important to realize that unity can be reached only for a moment; after this moment, for centuries people slid down from the height of unity.

This is what happened to the Second Temple. The First Temple lasted for several centuries and then collapsed. The Second Temple repeated this pattern.

Great Kabbalist, Rabbi Akiva, lived at the time of the Second Temple. He made every effort to strengthen unity [3] among the people of Israel.

Unfortunately, an unexplainable hatred instead of brotherly love suddenly appeared among his disciples who numbered 24,000 people. Distorted connection among them didn’t allow them to sense a magnificent “circle” that embraces the entire universe.

Detachment among Rabbi Akiva’s students accelerated the collapse of the Second Temple, i.e., hastened annihilation of their internal connection. This explains why they once again were exiled. The exile has lasted or two thousand years, until now.

To be continued
[162712]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 7/5/15

Related Material:
Long Way To The Temple, Part 4 [4]
Long Way To The Temple, Part 3 [5]
Long Way To The Temple, Part 2 [6]