Israel marks the Memorial Day for the Holocaust and the heroism of the European Jewry. During our discussion, it is up to us first of all to clarify for ourselves the general picture that the wisdom of Kabbalah describes, the evolution of the common Kli from Ein Sof and its appearance in our world. After this Kli was shattered into pieces, it went through an additional shattering here, and began to develop in the opposite direction after that. This is essentially the last stage towards the correction that began in Babylon.
Although it is possible to begin counting from Adam, we are not talking about personal advancement only about group advancement where the part worthy of correction is revealed in the collective Kli, the part responsible for correcting itself and all the rest of the parts. This is the law that is derived from the integral, analog system that is closed and is completely dependent on its original ten Sefirot.
So Abraham built the first group in Babylon, and it had the responsibility of correcting the collective Kli. With the rest of the Babylonians, he made other kinds of corrections, and as a result of this, various religions and beliefs were born. He led the group to greater and greater connection. And the more that it realized connection for the good of the rest of the parts, the more it developed.
This group, later called the people of Israel, carried out corrections when it was connected with other souls, with other nations who lived in the land of Canaan, if we are speaking in physical terms about spiritual connections within the spiritual Kli. Then there was the Egyptian exile. After Abraham’s group left, it actively began to correct itself reaching the level of the first Temple; it fell from this level into the Babylonian exile, returned and built the level of the second Temple, after which they fell for thousands of years until our day.
And so Abraham’s group was responsible for the process of correction of the world, and this program of development consists of two parts that determine the way of the development for the group and for humanity. The development of the group depends on the development of the world. The group doesn’t exist for itself; it is inseparable from the whole, and so all of the corrections that it does can be good for it, but still are not good enough for the world. As a result of this, throughout history, the people of Israel continue to fall and suffer disasters.
The prophets even wrote about this; it was revealed to Jacob, who symbolizes for us the correction of the middle line, which he heads. And so the account of the people of Israel is not only about themselves, whether they like it or not; it depends on all of them, and they all depend on it. This has continued from the exodus from Babylon to the present day and will continue until the end of correction.
What I mean is that we cannot see the situation that is created around the people of Israel in a conventional way in the world. This is because we have no answer to any question. The world still doesn’t understand why it is so confused about this point, that it apparently seems secondary, but yet it remains like a bone in the throat. Only if we reveal the true picture of the entire creation, as well as the role of the people of Israel in regard to the nations of the world and in regard to the Creator, then we will see everything in a different light.
Historical development is derived from spiritual development that obligates the people of Israel to carry out its role in the world, to correct ourselves, to bring Light to the nations of the world, and to lead them. Israel and the nations are like Galgalta ve Eynaim and AHP, one body, about which it is said: (Isaiah 56:7) “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Specifically from this prism it is up to us to see the history of the people of Israel, and also not to forget that the Creator is found above this collective Kli and the nations of the world with His program that relates to the two interrelated parts. He activates the entire process, and how He reacts and realizes it depends on Israel.
On the other hand, we must understand that we don’t begin the spiritual path on the “right foot.” The whole world, meaning the collective soul, is shattered; therefore, the calculation is not done with a neutral Kli, but rather with a shattered Kli. This question may be asked: Why were the people of Israel forced to go down to Egypt and suffer? That is, they did the correction that was demanded of them, they reached the level of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and did everything that was necessary. So, why didn’t they receive a bright future? Why did an abyss open in front of them forcing them to later escape?
This answer is known to us; they lacked the Kelim that they needed to discover. We already know that the form that troubles come in makes no difference; it is up to us to transform them so that instead of fear there is awe, so that the characteristic of Hasadim will expand the narrow place. It is necessary to correct what comes to us: the evil, the sorrow, the exile, and the blows, without asking why it comes.
It is said: (Psalms 130:1) “Out of the depths have I called Thee, O LORD.” The question is only do we have enough to carry each and every step of all the directions for correction that comes to us? If not, then to our great sorrow, we constantly absorb blows including those for which we apparently are not guilty, as happened to the group of Jacob that was forced to go down to Egypt. The dispute that led to this caused the collective development of the Kelim.”
And so we already understand the process that they always told us, that shattered Kelim were to be discovered, meaning, things that were originally unpleasant. This is clear and there is no question here at all. The idea is only how to correct the situation at a good and useful rate. It could be that in the beginning my motivation is to flee from troubles, from evil, from pain, from threats and dangers, yet in the end, I must realize the corrections in order to connect everything to the higher source and to give Him contentment. And with this comes the completion of correction. And it is desirable to express readiness immediately, according to “the last thing done is the first thing considered.”
Therefore I must organize the environment and prepare for difficulties from the start.
In general, when we begin the work, we must understand that if I realize free choice together with the group, then essentially it cannot be that I will suffer. On the contrary, I see a call from above in everything that arouses and bothers me. Certainly on the way I also feel descents, yet very short, not prolonged; these are not the terrible upheavals that happened before. Everything depends upon preparation.
Today the problem of the people of Israel with the Creator penetrates into everything that is done and is developing in the theater of our world. In order to agitate these people, the Creator awakens the Pharaoh through the kings of Egypt, Spain, France, and England, whatever. This could be Hitler; it could be all other leaders through which the Creator awakens special treatment for the Jews by the example of the Egyptian exile. And the Jews must respond accordingly. Even though they are not that bad and try to do something, but yet the people still continue, and a great Kli is discovered that activates additional pressure.
And so the relationship between GE and AHP depends on several factors that are very difficult to explain to the world in the traditional language of the historical approach. Just as it is impossible to explain complexities of familial dynamics even to people who understand and have personal experience. No great novels or stories can help here, a person must pass through the inside, and then he will see for himself how the general system works and is constantly changing. And its parts, which are the nations of the world, Israel, and the Creator, are one (Israel, the Torah and the Creator are one) are tightly connected. He will see the general program of creation, the three lines which advance towards the end of correction, through the ladder of spiritual levels by way of the circles and straight lines.
This is a very complicated system since it is a multifaceted program in which the endless Kelim, the desires, are mutually and integrally connected and found in all kinds of changes.
We can give only partial and fragmented explanations about particular historical events, so we must simply copy the general picture from the spiritual map since it is impossible to describe them or apply descriptions of the physical world to them.
Returning to the subject of the Holocaust, it was revealed in a unique situation in Europe, which was the cultural center of the world, in the most developed nation and in a country where a multitude of Jews lived, who had invested enormous effort in culture, education, the economy, and other areas human life. They were truly ready to join with these people and to assimilate; yet they encountered a very violent reaction from those who hadn’t seen any problem with Jews. This hatred seemed largely irrational. The Jews were doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So why did this happen?
Again, there are several reasons for this. First of all, the egoistic development of the world had reached a stage that required the beginning of the general correction and the Jews had to be the head. They were concentrated in Germany and held a very high status, but they were involved in completely different things. As a result, the demands and the arguments against them from the side of the AHP greatly increased since the nations, according to the program of creation, felt powerless. There were other circumstances for example, Hitler even received money from the United States and was supported in the beginning by a particular strata of the population including the Jews themselves.
In general it is possible to say that parts of the collective Kli are divided in a particular manner and this was expressed in our world. One way or another, the answer to all of the questions and problems is simple. If the Jews for whatever reason, depending on them more or less, were connected to the ideas of previous generations and the present condition, and had delayed the program of creation according to which they were supposed to bring correction to the AHP as well as to the entire still, vegetative, and animate levels of creation, and elevate them all to Olam Ein Sof (world of Infinity), then this caused them trouble and suffering. There is also significance to the level and type of delays, not only its quality and manner. These criteria change all the time on different levels, and therefore, their expression can be completely different. Yet in fact, in a particular and general manner, this is the origin of anti-Semitism. And therefore it is specifically here that it is necessary to search for the true reasons for the Holocaust.
It is written, (Psalms 148:6) “He hath made a decree which shall not be transgressed.” We are in a world that is entirely managed by one power, and this power acts according to a program, the relationship between the Lights and the Kelim. In normal life, there are a multitude of difficult and terrible conditions with which we cannot and are not ready to agree or justify. And emotionally it is impossible for us to agree with what happened during the Holocaust.
If there had been an eruption of a volcano, a tsunami, a meterorite, or any other natural disaster causing tens of millions of people to die, including six million Jews, then we would not call this a Holocaust, but a deadly disaster. Yet in Europe people didn’t just die, they were intentionally murdered only because they were Jews. The cause of this phenomenon is up to us to clarify. And this is already a completely different investigation. What did they do incorrectly “in the eyes of the Creator,” meaning from the perspective of the law of creation, which caused such an attitude towards them from the side of the environment? If we ask this question, then we can find the answer.
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From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/14, Chosen Topics on: Holocaust Memorial Day
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We Should Prefer Internality
What Is the Spiritual Root of the Holocaust?
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Opinion (Mark Schaller, Professor of Psychology – University of British Columbia): “It’s an unconscious strategy for avoiding a wide range of potential infections, since we have no way of detecting germs themselves. But since the consequences of missing a sign of disease are serious, possibly even fatal, and the array of symptoms wide, our behavioral immune system (as Schaller has dubbed this suite of responses) tends towards over-sensitivity—which is why we might be more averse to practically anyone who strikes us as anomalous. That includes a man in a wheelchair who poses no disease threat at all. Recent scholarship bears this out; for example, research published in Evolution and Human Behavior revealed that disease-avoidant psychological processes play a driving role in prejudices against people who are obese or disabled.
