It Isn’t The Place That Sanctifies A Person, But A Person That Sanctifies The Place
Question: What does it mean to be the “chosen people?” Why is it chosen? Is it in order to suffer?
Answer: It is chosen to do a special kind of work in the world, and it is expressed throughout history. Yes, its mission is difficult, and it is performed in different ways.
First, the Jewish nation gave the world the Torah, the connection with the Creator. This connection was adopted in different ways by different parts of the general Malchut, which are called the nations of the world. They lost the original idea and used it for self-benefit, each in their own way.
Thus, religions were formed: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as we know it after the destruction of the Temple. Different beliefs and methods also stemmed from this, whose origin sometimes even precedes Abraham.
On the whole, the concept of Godliness is interpreted in different ways by each of the seventy shattered vessels and their descendents. On the individual level, we also perceive life and our relations with the world and with Godliness in different ways, each relating to life in his own way.
As for the chosen people, although their vessels are shattered, they can perform actions that are aimed at correction thanks to their preliminary preparation.
It has experienced almost anything one can imagine and has been thrown to the strangest places! However, it finally has reached the “finish line,” the last phase of self-fulfillment. This phase can last for decades and involve processes that I would rather not talk about, but that’s the way it is, and the finish line is getting closer.
These are the results of the preliminary preparation of these vessels in which there are sparks of the shattering, and therefore, they respond differently to the Light that Reforms. The Light pours on everyone equally, but every nation awakens according to its uniqueness, and everyone advances in his own way. The Light reaches everyone, but the pace and the type of changes are different.
If you saw the Surrounding Light that comes and advances all of humanity, if you knew the inner essence of every nation, you wouldn’t have to watch the news. You would know exactly what is going to happen with every nation and every individual even without following the news.
Question: But, still, what is the “chosen people?” Who belongs to it?
Answer: It is about a group of vessels, desires, that have a certain Aviut (thickness). They are connected in a group in order to perform collective work and thereby move forward. There is a spark in this nation that is separate from the egoistic desire, a spark that in the future, can be turned into a force of bestowal that grows in a person’s general desire.
Question: Does it have anything to do with the people who live in Israel?
Answer: It has nothing to do with a geographical location. However, at the same time, this nation has special external conditions in the land of Israel and, accordingly, inner conditions that are different from the conditions of other parts of the nation who are dispersed all over the world.
Generally speaking, there is an order of development of the different parts of humanity. First, it is our global group, and then the nation of Israel living in the Land of Israel, and then the nation of Israel living outside the land of Israel, and then the rest of humanity, and this is according to the order of people’s attraction to correction.
In the past, the nation of Israel was the corrected vessels that were beyond the Machsom (barrier), beyond Parsa. Then, it was shattered and sank into an egoistic intention in order to mix with AHP and eventually, to reach the highest general level of the correction of the world.
Before the destruction of the second Temple, these vessels belonged to GE (Galgalta ve Eynaim). They had to be shattered and penetrate the vessels of the nations of the world since the Creator actually wanted to give them the Torah first. The “nation of Israel” is the phase of preparation, the link. It must go through all the diversities of its fate so that it now will finally ensure the correction of the world. This is what we are trying to do, to be the forefront, the pioneers. Therefore, the Jewish people have received the chance to return to the land of Israel and from here, return to their roots and start the correction.
Question: Is the land of Israel holy in any way in the geographical sense?
Answer: No, but the connection to it, even on the still level, already includes the altruistic intention.
A person sanctifies the land. A person sanctifies the still, vegetative, and animate nature. However, we don’t belong to the “human” level since we are still on the animate level. So, the “Land of Israel”—which means the desire to receive on the still level—is not holy. After all, I don’t attribute this desire to myself and sanctify it. I live in the land of Israel simply because I feel comfortable here. If I feel pressure here, I will leave this place, just as it happened two thousand years ago.
I met many Israelis during the New Jersey convention, and none of them wants to come back, except a few individuals who are connected to us. Polls show that the Jews in the U.S. are drawing away from Israel and don’t want to be identified with Israel. They prefer to be American Jews, like members of other nations. Although they are angry that I write about this in my blog, these are the results of polls that they actually take part in. I see the same thing in talks and lectures that I give in America.
I don’t blame them in any way, of course. It is quite natural when you live in a certain country and you are connected to it egoistically and want to feel good there. You may remember your homeland once every few years. Most of the Jews in America, including those whom I have met, have never been to Israel. What have they actually got to do here?
Question: So, does a person have to live in Israel in order to complete the correction?
Answer: Baal HaSulam says that a person who is attracted to spirituality is attracted to the land of Israel. After all, there is something here. This attraction cannot be expressed in words, it is caused by the spark in us. This is why people who study the wisdom of Kabbalah come here, even if they are not Jewish. They feel that the source is here, that this place is different and unique, and that you feel differently here than in any other place. This has nothing to do with the dynamics and the quality of the external life, but with much deeper reasons.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 05/14/13, Writings of Rabash
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