The Times of Israel published my new article “What We Can Learn from the Deadly Attack Outside the Halle Synagogue”

The shooting attack near a synagogue in Halle, Germany was yet another dreadful act of anti-Semitism on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. However, it could have been much worse if the 27-year-old attacker, who identified with the far-right, had broken the synagogue’s doors and slaughtered the 80 worshipers who were conducting the Yom Kippur prayers.

In a video he shot leading up to the shooting, the attacker denied the Holocaust, denounced feminists and immigrants and stated outright that “the root of all these problems is the Jew.”

Upon news of the two people who were shot to death, condemnations came one after another, from German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeting that “shots being fired at a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the festival of reconciliation, hits us in the heart,” and “we must all act against anti-Semitism in our country,” through Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commenting for a “call on the German authorities to continue taking determined action against anti-Semitism.”

Among all the cries, prayers and warmth for the victims’ families, there is a clear demand for a significant shift to take place against the anti-Semitism that has rapidly spread worldwide. However, other than desperate words, there is an air of helplessness in the face of the growing phenomenon.

Helplessness. Desperation. They sound like very undesirable feelings. But could it be that such sensations are actually a positive outcome of the exponentially rising anti-Semitic crimes and threats?

Perhaps when we are repeatedly stunned by an irrational phenomenon that has haunted our people for generations—one which makes no differentiation between genders, between Yom Kippur and a weekday, and between synagogues in Berlin and Pittsburgh—then maybe this is what will goad us to look into what the Kabbalists have been trying to tell us for generations?

Whether in The Book of Zohar or other Kabbalistic texts, what have the Kabbalists been trying to communicate to the Jewish people? Simply put, if we Jews unite with one another, we invite a positive force dwelling in nature to spread not only among each other, but among all humanity. By awakening nature’s positive, unifying force through our unity, we can bring peace to the world. On the contrary, if divided, where every Jew remains within him- or herself in his or her own prayers, then we provoke the opposite: hatred and conflict. As Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Haver wrote, “Creation and choice, correction and destruction of the world—all depends on Israel” (Siach Yitzhak. Part 2, Likutim 1).

Hours after the deadly shooting attack, German chancellor Angela Merkel attended a vigil to identify with the victims at a historic synagogue in central Berlin. She stood with the Jewish community as they together sang, “Ose shalom be Meromav” (“make peace in His heaven”). Ironically, sometimes the answer to our toughest questions can be found right under our noses. Sometimes we need only open our ears and listen to the words we’re singing…

• “Ose shalom be Meromav” (“make peace in His heaven”). It means that in our unity and our common prayer, we can make the upper force bring peace above;
• “Hu yaase shalom aleinu” (“He will bring peace upon us”), i.e. the upper force will bring peace to the whole of humanity;
• “Ve al kol Yisrael” (“and upon all of Israel”), i.e. where the role of the people of Israel is to unite;
• “Ve al kol yoshvei tevel” (“and for all the people in the world”), i.e. our role is not to receive the light of unity for ourselves, but to be a conduit for the light to spread to the world, i.e. to be “a light unto the nations.”
• “Ve imru amen” (“and say Amen”), i.e. then we will all—Jews and the nations of the world—be truly grateful for reaching the long-awaited peace.

Amen.
[253844]

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, New Publications - No Comments →

The Times of Israel published my new article “Jewish Post-Trauma: The Cause, Diagnosis and Cure”

Post-trauma from recurring anti-Semitic incidents, the Holocaust and the pogroms has permeated entire generations of Jews. In Israel, anxiety and traumatic events are part of the daily reality affecting children, adolescents and the population in general. The average Israeli has experienced or knows someone victim of terror or war. Drugs may numb symptoms of this phenomenon, but the real cure can only come from our unique capacity to build a safety net when we connect as a Jewish nation.

Israel has the strongest army in the world, yet it provides no immunity from the trauma of losing a friend in combat, or the constant gray cloud of threats from enemies inside and outside the country. Loads of combatants at various levels are exposed to anxiety, from adults and seniors who have participated in Israeli wars in the past, to young men who have completed combat service.

The phenomenon, however, is much broader than merely the Israeli army. It includes all of us. We are a nation living in trauma on a daily basis. It is not only due to the permanent threat that has engulfed the State of Israel since its establishment, and not just because of the hidden fear of occasional violence and terror. We are constantly traumatized for being Jewish.

The trauma that grips us—from the threatening future, the hostile present or the haunting past—permeates all avenues of the nation. Children attend kindergarten in areas attacked by rockets, breathe hidden panic in the atmosphere, quickly drop everything and run to shelters whenever warning sirens sound nearby, and shiver whenever the alarms sound on their phones that another rocket has penetrated a more remote part of the country. The trauma is already within us, whether or not we’re conscious of it.

We tend to take pride in our Israeli roughness, the outward toughness. But those who feel safe do not need such armor. They can afford to be outwardly sensitive as well. This is another symptom of Jewish trauma: the need to defend, fortify and play tough so as to not get hurt.

Why is this happening to us? Who are we Jews? Where did we come from and where are we headed? What is it all for? What is the purpose of this world? What is our role toward the world?

We must answer these questions distinctly, and reach the realization of our important role in humanity, even if it seems like a heavy weight on our shoulders. On the contrary, the implementation of our role will make our current difficult reality become lighter and more pleasant.

The prophet Jonah, whose story we read on Yom Kippur, also suffered from trauma. His story, which describes our experiences, began with the mission he received from God: to warn the people of Nineveh to turn away from their evil ways and begin to act as reality requires—with mutual affection.

Jonah tried to flee from his destiny. He boarded a ship that sailed far into the sea, and his escape caused a storm. The sailors on board realized that the cause of the storm, which created much hardship, was the “Jew” on their ship. Thus, they threw him out to sea. A whale swallowed Jonah. While in the whale’s stomach, Jonah underwent an arduous self-scrutiny until he agreed to carry out the role assigned to him. Afterward, the whale brought him to safety, to the city of Nineveh.

The story of Jonah is the story of the people of Israel.

We have a role that has always accompanied us: to establish unity among us, and serve as an example to the world. However, we try to avoid this role. Therefore, every time the world suffers from a given crisis, minor or major, it marks us Jews as guilty for the trouble. Also, every accusation we face becomes a trauma that accumulates over and over in our Jewish experience, whether or not we feel it.

Our destiny is inevitable. It is the result of rigorous laws of nature written in the Kabbalah books. We must learn them in order to understand what we have to do, otherwise we will continue experiencing amassing blows from the nations of the world.

It is correct to treat the entire Jewish nation as suffering from trauma. We should not blur the problem, but accelerate the understanding that healing such trauma depends on developing an upgraded, unified approach to each other and reality as a whole.

Yom Kippur is a time of introspection, both for individuals and for the Jewish nation as a whole. We can use the time for self-examination at Yom Kippur to positively affect our destiny if we also agree to realize our role, unite and become “a light unto the nations.”

By raising awareness and working on uniting among each other, we will satisfy humanity’s demands upon us and radiate a positive light to the world, as it is written, “for they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:22).
[253814]

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

The Times of Israel published my new article “Anti-Semitism in Australia: The Deeper Cause and Solution”

Two anti-Semitic events involving children that hit Australia in the past week are just the tip of the iceberg showing a worldwide boost in anti-Semitic sentiment, crimes and threats.

The first was a 5-year-old who was revealed to be subject to anti-Semitic bullying at his school’s bathrooms regularly for months. It reached such scales where the boy would wet his pants in class rather than use the bathroom to avoid the ridicule. All it took was his classmates finding out that he was circumcised for the abuse to begin, which included calling him a “Jewish cockroach.”

At another school, a 12-year-old Jewish student was taken to the park by his classmates, who forced him to bend over and kiss the shoes of a Muslim boy. Of course, the act was photographed and spread on social media. In the months following, the child suffered from anti-Semitic slander, physical assaults, threats and curses. Beyond an injury to his face, which ended with a visit to the hospital, the child began to suffer from acute anxiety.

In both cases, the schools denied involvement in the incidents, and faced minor backlash from the Jewish children’s parents and Jewish organizations. Both Jewish children eventually left the schools.

Despite these events coming to light in the media, there is no guarantee of a safeguard from future such events. We are left with no reason to believe that other Jewish children won’t face similar or worse bullying.

The 2018 Anti-Semitism Report of the Kantor Center reported an unprecedented 59% increase in anti-Semitism cases in Australia compared to the previous year. The cases included phone and email harassment and threats, verbal abuse, vandalism, and anti-Semitic posters and graffiti spreading in the public sphere unimpeded.

These are just some of the cases. Most cases are not reported at all, and Jews continue encountering harassment and curses on a regular basis whether on their way to synagogues on Shabbat, whether at Jewish festivals or other Jewish events.

It’s no wonder that Jews and Israelis living in Australia are starting to feel uncomfortable, to say the least.

I have quite a few students and friends there. Debbie and Avi are part of a large Jewish and Israeli community, living in Bondi Beach in Sydney. Debbie stated that she shivered when she saw the pews of Sydney’s northwestern neighborhoods covered with swastikas and graffiti that call for killing Jews.

Aviva and her family also migrated to Australia a decade ago in her work for a small town near Byron Bay, which has a large community of Israelis. One day when Aviva was sitting in a little café, as she usually did, she was surprised to discover a swastika adorning her coffee. When she asked the waiter what this meant, he explained that Hitler was basically pursuing peace and equality, and his ideas had good intentions.

Apparently, even in a stable and tolerant democracy, in which Jews are free to maintain their beliefs and customs, there is reason to fear. Again, we find that Jews have nowhere else in the world to escape and shake off their role.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that Jews have a special role in the human puzzle: “Israel’s purpose is to unite the entire world into one family,” writes Rabbi Kook. The people of Israel are a special people who rose with the common agreement to love one another and live “as one man with one heart.”

The method of uniting the Jewish people, which can also unite humanity, has been instilled in us Jews. Therefore, it is our duty to use it, and to bring about the long-awaited union between us—to set an example for a humanity that is suffering from increasing division and hatred. But as long as we continue letting ourselves get driven into conflict with each other, failing to transcend our egos and connect with each other, anti-Semitism intensifies and gives us a hard reminder that we have a role.

The only way to stop and even reverse the rising trend of anti-Semitism around the world is if we Jews realize our unity above our growing divisions, and to spread this unifying tendency to the world.
[253625]

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, New Publications - No Comments →

The Times of Israel published my new article “What Forgiveness Should We Ask for on Yom Kippur?”

We Jews anger the Creator constantly, endlessly, and in every situation, when we agree to division and hatred among each other, and do not want to connect.

The Creator strongly desires for us to be united because from that force of connection, He will become revealed to humanity. By facilitating this action of connection, the Jewish people truly become a “light unto the nations,” and a conduit of peace and tranquility to all.

However, the opposite is currently happening.

Due to our alienation, we prevent all the goodness from spreading through us to the entire world. And because of our estrangement from one another, we need to ask for forgiveness this Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).

The Role of the Jewish People and Yom Kippur

A key part of the Yom Kippur prayer service is in reading the book of Jonah the Prophet. In the story, God orders Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh, who had become very abusive toward one another, to correct their relationships if they wanted to survive. However, Jonah evaded his mission. He took to the sea in an effort to escape God’s command.

Like Jonah, we Jews have been inadvertently avoiding our mission for the past 2,000 years. For this reason, we have suffered terribly. If we want to alleviate more suffering, especially today, in times of rising anti-Semitic tides, we simply cannot afford to keep remaining indifferent to the role we have to fulfill.

“Since we were ruined by unfounded hatred, and the world was ruined with us, we will be rebuilt by unfounded love, and the world will be rebuilt with us.”
– Rav Avraham Itzhak HaCohen Kook, Orot Kodesh (Sacred Lights), Vol. 3

Yom Kippur, traditionally considered the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, is observed on the 10th of Tishrei. It is also known as the Day of Judgement. But who judges? And who is being judged?

It is the individual who judges himself. We are accustomed to examining our actions in the world, but we should also examine our intentions, especially with regard to others, like taking an X-ray of the heart’s intentions, checking to see how well we were able to rise above our egoistic self-interests to care for the needs and desires of others.

Why? It is because through such concern, we reveal the world for what it really is: a unified and interdependent system.

The role of the Jewish people, as explained by our sages, is to pave the way for unity above all differences as the only solution to all the evils in the world-–to serve as an example of unity for the rest of humanity. However, what do we see instead? We see deepening division and rejection of one another. Therefore, the nations of the world complain about our wrongdoing, despising us, punishing us and even desiring to annihilate us.

This hostility toward Jews is manifest in the spike of hate crimes worldwide, targeting Jewish victims for no reason other than religion. In Berlin alone, an average of two anti-Semitic incidents are reported daily, a total of 404 cases in 2019 (until April), as informed by the city’s commission for combating anti-Semitism. In New York City, violent attacks against Jews are spiraling out of control with anti-Semitic crimes up 82% this year, as compared to 2018, (a total of 152 cases so far, while over the same period last year, there were 93 incidents) according to the Police Department’s statistics.

Day by day, the multi-faceted sensation of instability in the world increases people’s need for calm and contentment. This increasingly causes sentiments of anti-Semitism to boil within humanity.

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that hatred against Jews is triggered by our lack of desire to unite: among each other and with the Creator. When we are divided and reject one another, we block the passage of the force of love and connection through us to humanity. Then, humanity’s insistent demand for a better and more united life surfaces with force, inflicting us with blows.

“In such a generation, all the destructors among the Nations of the World raise their heads and wish primarily to destroy and to kill the Children of Israel, as it is written (Yevamot 63), ‘No calamity comes to the world but for Israel.’”
– Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, Introduction to the Book of Zohar.

Transforming a Mournful Day into a Happy One

Yom Kippur is the state where I reveal the egoistic force of separation within as something evil. After I discover it, I can then approach the Creator with this evil and demand correction from Him. This transforms the Day of Atonement into a day of joy because I discover the ailment for the evil within me, my selfish nature. In other words, I find how my ego needs to be corrected in order to fix my relationship with others, and that it is the cause of all division, conflict and crisis in the world.

People often consider Yom Kippur as a sad day because they do not realize that what is perceived as “bad” could be used as a springboard to attain good. What is regarded as good or evil depends entirely on one’s attitude. For example, if, during a routine visit to a doctor, one discovers that he has a disease, then the evil was revealed so that it could be treated and healed. This is an example of how the discovery of something bad in you turns out to be something good.

“There is no happier moment in a person’s life than when he discovers how absolutely powerless he is and loses faith in his own strength since he exerted all possible efforts that he was able to, but reached nothing. This is because precisely at this moment, during this state, he is ready for a complete and clear prayer to the Creator.”
– Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, Pri Hacham: Igrot Kodesh.

This moment is called a personal “Day Of Atonement.” From this moment on, a person can be certain of receiving the light of correction.

Our Entry to the Book of Life

I earnestly hope that we use Yom Kippur as an opportunity for introspection and realize the true reason for our suffering and the suffering of the world so that we will be able to fulfill the role that humanity expects from us:

“The Israeli nation had been constructed as a kind of gateway through which the sparks of purification will flow onto all of mankind throughout the world, until they can perceive the pleasantness and serenity that exist in the kernel of love of others.”
– Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee).

May all the Jewish people lead by example and be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year.
[253622]

Filed under: Holidays, New Publications - No Comments →

The Times of Israel published my new article “Rosh Hashanah: Looking for a Leader of the Jewish People”

Israel’s political mayhem after the elections comes as no surprise. The dead heat between the two main parties in Israel and the fierce deal-making to form a coalition capable of governing the country reveals the great divide within Israel’s society.

Why should a Jew in Manhattan, Paris or Buenos Aires care? Why should this situation be a matter of concern for the Jewish New Year?

As we celebrate Rosh Hashanah—the beginning or “head” of the year—it is time to reflect as Jews on our connection as a people, regardless of the place where we celebrate around the dinner table. We are in the thick of a groundswell of hatred against Jews and Israel that will leave no stone unturned and no time for second-guessing.

Now more than ever, Israel’s leadership must also lead all Jewish people, fostering unity both in the Land of Israel and toward the Diaspora in order to tackle the great divide between the two communities.

In recent years, young Jewish Americans have experienced an increasing loss of Jewish identity, and a growing indifference toward Israel as the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people.

The internal and external pressures we face as Jews every day, in every part of the world, enhance the sense of urgency of needing to come to terms with our divisions. What happens in Israel must be relevant to all Jews because even if it is not always evident to us, we share a common destiny, an invisible but indivisible link.

Realizing this indivisibility and working toward unity should be the Jewish people’s highest priority in order to have the strength to face today’s existential threats. Our enemies make no distinction between you and me, between leftist and rightist, between religious and secular, between an Israeli Jew and an American Jew.

Consequently, we need to stand side by side as one.

5,880 Years to Break the Siege

This year, Jews all over the world felt less safe. The deadly shootings at synagogues in Pittsburg and Poway were a major wake-up call to the anti-Semitic terrorism that can unfold at any given moment in the heart of American society.

Large cities in the US have also experienced a sharp spike in violent attacks against Jews. The New York Police Department registered 184 hate crimes by the end of June targeting 110 Jews. The number of incidents almost doubled compared to 2018. In contrast, overall crimes in the city decreased to a record low.

In Europe, 89% of Jews feel anti-Semitism has increased in their country over the past decade, and a similar percentage believe it to be a serious problem. Meanwhile, the economic, academic and cultural boycotts against Israel, known as the BDS, are expanding around the globe.

Therefore, whoever will govern the country must understand that a weaker Israel and a widening gap between Israel and the Diaspora will only increase threats against us and anti-Semitism throughout the world. As reality has proven to us time and again, and as history shows, when we are divided, our enemies rise against us. As we head into the new year, we must finally be ready to reverse that fate for good.

A Change for the Better

Rosh Hashanah, comes from the Hebrew words, “Rosh Hashinui” (“the beginning of change”). It symbolizes our aspiration to acquire higher values, benevolence, sharing, and caring for each other. All of our Jewish festivals symbolize milestones along the path of our transformation of the evil inclination—namely egoism—to altruism, to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Rosh Hashanah tradition to eat a fish’s head symbolizes our decision to be at the forefront, not the tail, leading ourselves and others toward unity.

The pomegranate we serve at this time of the year, with its numerous juicy seeds, reminds us that we, too, are like seeds, that it is time for us to ripen spiritually through unity. The seeds also represent our egoistic desires, which we want to learn how to use in a more balanced way—for the sake of others rather than selfishly—realizing our aspirations through our many contributions to society.

The meaning of the apple we eat at Rosh Hashanah is the primordial “transgression” of self-centeredness. We dip it in honey to symbolize its sweetening (correction) through our reestablished care for others. To achieve this state and rekindle our brotherly love, we have to rise above our egoism, balancing it with its opposite altruistic force by establishing positive connections between us.

The Head, Not the Tail

Let’s consider further the symbolism of the fish’s head in the Jewish New Year customs. Israel and the Diaspora need leadership that will also take care of our younger generation, which is losing grip on its traditions.

What kinds of actions should be taken toward this end? First and foremost, an educational framework needs to be established that explains the following essential questions:

• What does being a Jew mean? To be one who works to unite all separate parts of humanity into one whole.
• Who is Israel? It is those who embody the meaning of the word Yashar-Kel,e. those who go “straight to the Creator” as the unifying power in reality.
• What is the Land of Israel? It’s the path of common purpose between us.
• What is the role of the Jewish people? It is to be a “light unto the nations.” That is, to give an example of unity to the world.

We need to work in close cooperation with representatives of world Jewry, even if their views seem completely opposite, and to take into consideration their perspectives in Israel’s policymaking process. It is important for us to find a common language and to work in mutual guarantee (Arvut) with one another.

The leadership Israel requires is one that will show how crucial it is for all of us, without exception, to connect, to be “as one man with one heart,” and to give the world the key to attaining that unity. The Jewish people require leadership that will let every Jew live safely in the country of his birth and to open its doors to every Jew in times of trouble.

This demand for change must begin within ourselves. It is the choice of each of us to transform our state of separation to one of cohesion, for with that change of state also comes the transformation from insecurity to safety. And there is no more beautiful time to start realizing the power of our unity than now, around the Rosh Hashanah festive table.

We are of many different ages, tastes, backgrounds, ideas and points of view, but we should not try to change or erase any of that. On the contrary, our uniqueness is the treasure that each brings to the world. We should preserve our differences, rise above them, and cover them with mutual love and respect like the white cloth that covers the festive table. This is our special family recipe for a rounded and sweet life, and for a promising future as a nation.

Let’s raise our glasses of wine and make a toast to our unity.

Happy Rosh Hashanah!
[253517]

Filed under: Holidays, New Publications - No Comments →

The Times of Israel published my new article “How Kabbalah Explains Anti-Semitism”

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that anti-Semitism first surfaced together with the emergence of the Jewish people around 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. Also, Kabbalah explains anti-Semitism as a natural phenomenon that ignites especially at times when the world needs more unification, subconsciously expecting unity to come from the Jews.

Understanding Kabbalah’s explanation of anti-Semitism means being aware of how the attainment of unity 4,000 years ago differentiates the Jewish people from other nations. It also means recognizing that the stature of a united people, which the Jews attained, remained with them throughout history.

Ancient Babylonian society experienced life-threatening division due to an outburst of the human ego, i.e. the desire to enjoy at the expense of others.

Seemingly out of nowhere, without warning, people simply started hating each other.

The story of the Tower of Babel describes how ancient Babylonian society experienced chaos when the human ego blinded people into prioritizing their self-interests over the interests of society. No one could consider other people’s needs, and society moved head on toward ruin.

Among the social turbulence, a Babylonian priest emerged—Abraham.

Abraham explained the cause of the social division and hatred that was spreading among the people of the time as being rooted in the growing human ego. He also promoted the fact that he had discovered a method for rising above the ego, uniting, and discovering the single force of nature through such unity.

Abraham called for people to rise above their conflicts, unite, and made his teachings available to whoever wanted to join in this process.

The Essence of Abraham’s Method: Love Will Cover All Transgressions

As I mentioned, the human ego is a desire to enjoy at the expense of others. It is embedded in every person from birth. This ego grows continually over the course of history and throughout our lives. However, the ego undergoes periods of exponential growth bursts, as well as periods of more stable growth.

The essence of Abraham’s method is the person’s elevation above the human ego in order to attain unity with other people and nature, thereby experiencing a harmonious life.

Moreover, by using Abraham’s method, we can rise above the ego in advance of the ego’s growth, in order to ensure a peaceful unified life, and not fall to the destructive patterns that come from a bigger ego dictating its demands, which causes increasing hatred and division.

The group that implemented Abraham’s method became known as “Jews” (“Yehudim”) from the word for “unity” (“yichud”). By uniting, they attracted the force of nature. (In Kabbalah, “God” [“Elokim”] and “nature” [“HaTeva”] have the same meaning. This is reflected in Gematria as the words for “God” and “nature” have the same numerical value.)

Abraham called that group, “Israel,” which translates to “Yashar Kel” (“straight to God”), i.e. a group aimed directly at the attainment, understanding and sensation of the upper force.

Many people who lived in ancient Babylon and followed Abraham dispersed around the world, and they received the name “the nation of Israel.” The nation of Israel is not a nation in the biological sense. It is a gathering of many people who lived in ancient Babylon, who experienced the confusion and division that existed during the period of the Tower of Babel, and who implemented Abraham’s method to unite above their divisions.

Also, what does it mean that Abraham’s group dispersed around the world?

It means that after attaining a degree of unity at the time, they experienced a further growth spurt of the ego that divided them 200 years later in what is known as “the ruin of the Temple.” They were expelled from Babylon after they stopped following Abraham’s method. They entered a state of unfounded hatred, and accordingly, dispersed around the world.

If the nation of Israel fails to sustain their unity above all problems, divisions, confusions and conflicts, then they fail to hold the condition that identifies them a nation.

Anti-Semitism: A Force that Holds the Jewish People Together

The nation of Israel has no natural unifying sensation as do other nations. Therefore, what can demarcate the nation of Israel while they’re detached from each other?

It is precisely the hatred toward us Jews from other nations.

If we would experience no such hatred, we would try to vanish in all directions until we would completely lose our identification as a Jewish nation. This inclination to lose our national identity happens to no other nation but our own.

Today, the twelve tribes of Israel have disappeared. Only two are left, which is about 20% of what once existed. The fact that the nation of Israel has sustained a degree of identification as a Jewish people, even that minimal extent of connection, has given us a certain spark of the sensation of the unifying force that we once attained—the force of nature that dwells between all parts of reality.

This tiny illumination has somewhat positioned the Jewish people in the world differently to other nations. For instance, it is the reason for the Jews’ disproportionate success compared to other nations.

How Kabbalah Explains the Cause and Solution to Anti-Semitism

The wisdom of Kabbalah explains the phenomenon of the role of Jews in the world, and how the cause and solution to anti-Semitism relates to the Jews’ success or failure in realizing their role.

As the world becomes increasingly integrated, humanity looks more and more like a single global organism experiencing two conflicting tendencies: increasing interdependence vs. increasing division and hatred.

While the world endures this growing rift and the need for positive connection rises dramatically, since the Jews once achieved unity above division by implementing Abraham’s method, the Jews are expected to once again bring unity to the world. Otherwise, a widespread threat of destruction grows all the more imminent.

Therefore, anti-Semitism, the hatred toward Jews, awakens in the nations of the world in order to express their need for unity and their dependence on the Jewish people to pioneer a process of global unity.

Hatred toward Jews thus becomes fiercer and more intense the more society experiences negative effects from its growing division. The nations of the world simply feel that the Jews somehow block their experience of a happier and better life.

However, neither the nations of the world nor the Jews know about this core reason for anti-Semitism that Kabbalah explains.

If you ask Jews today, they won’t tell you that they have a method of unifying humanity above its growing divisions at their fingertips.

Anti-Semites, too, will often only point out reasons for their hatred of Jews that don’t point directly to their core, e.g. that they’re not anti-Semitic but that the State of Israel is the problem, or that Jews hold too much influence in their nation’s governance, politics, finance, commerce and other fields, as well as many other reasons for Jew-hatred.

The wisdom of Kabbalah points to the core reason for anti-Semitism: the need for the Jewish people to unite for the sake of humanity’s unity, and their failure to do so when it’s required of them.

Over thousands of years, the wisdom of Kabbalah was concealed. Today, however, it has become revealed because today we have grown up into a global world, and we have all the conditions necessary in order to implement this method.

Therefore, the wisdom of Kabbalah surfaces widely today in order to explain where anti-Semitism originates, what its solution is, and how we can implement the solution to experience a more peaceful and harmonious world by uniting above our growing divisions.

It is my hope that, sooner rather than later, we will learn the ways of uniting above our divisions and realize what a wonderful world we truly live in when we’re freed from our egoistic impulses.
[253316]

Filed under: Anti-Semitism, New Publications - No Comments →

The Times of Israel published my new article “The Fast of Gedaliah and How It Resonates In Contemporary Jewish Life”

The murder of Gedalia Ben Ahikam was the first political assassination where a Jew killed a Jew. This tragedy is commemorated on the day after Rosh Hashanah with the Fast of Gedaliah.

Most likely we have hardly heard about this personality, so why is it relevant to our lives as Jews? It is because it reminds us of the heavy price that we pay when we as a nation degenerate into extreme internal disputes.

How did this unfortunate event in Jewish history unfold and what is its deeper meaning?

The assassination took place in the locality of Mitzpa in the Judean Desert just 2,591 years ago. The kingdom of Judea was then under Babylonian occupation, the First Temple had been destroyed, and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ruled the country. In those days, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, exiled most of the Jewish nobility to Babylon (today’s Iraq), and concentrated in Judea the poor workers who remained so they would supply the soldiers with food.

Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah Ben Ahikam, the son of a respected family in Judea, as his High Commissioner. His role was to control the social order of the occupied minority that had remained as a sort of “Ambassador for Jewish Affairs.” Gedaliah was worried about the political entanglement that the kings of Babylon and Amon had worked out, but true to the advice of Jeremiah the prophet, the senior spiritual personality of the time, he settled in Mitzpa, west of Jerusalem, and assumed his role as the kingdom’s governor.

In less than two months, he managed to unite the remnants of the refugees of the destruction, rehabilitate the Jewish community, and life returned to its course. As a result, many Jews returned from neighboring countries, but none suspected the scheme that was being plotted under Gedaliah’s nose.

What was that scheme?

Ismael Ben Natanyah, a scion of the House of David, could not acquiesce to the fact that he was not chosen to rule Judea and was hoping to take over the reins in the country. Motivated by jealousy, he recruited a group of Jews, and together they conspired to eliminate Gedaliah. He joined forces with the King of Amon (today’s Jordan) who himself felt threatened by the renewed strength of the Jewish community headed by Gedaliah, and together they executed their malevolent plan on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

In the midst of a festive meal hosted by Gedaliah for Ismael and his men, Ismael murdered Gedaliah the “traitor” and also massacred all of his supporters. Ismael, who had hoped to become the ruler, was met with strong opposition and rejection from the Jewish population, and became forced to escape and find refuge in Trans-Jordan. The residents of Judea, fearful of Babylonian revenge, fled to Egypt, and following them, the last remnants of the Jews immigrated to different countries and the Babylonian exile officially began.

The unfounded hatred that erupted in Judea cut short the hope of reconstruction and renewal. It brought about the last disintegration in Israeli society. It put an end to Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel and it ended the period of the First Temple: the symbol of unity and mutual guarantee. Since that day, it has been customary to mark the division that tore us apart and drove us out of the country as a day of fasting.

3,000 years have passed since then, and not a lot has changed in the 2019 model of the “Kingdom of Judea.” The people of Israel are divided into camps and tribes with different conceptions and viewpoints. Polarization and division are the order of the day. Any sort of leadership is met with derision, and unfounded hatred abounds. The Fast of Gedaliah that is commemorated the first day out of the ten days of repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is a day of deep soul searching in which we should find out what can unite us as a people.

The more we deal with the natural elements of the people of Israel—unity, mutual guarantee and love of others—the sooner we will arrive at the realization that the reason for all suffering in our lives is the human ego: the negative force in nature. In order to counteract the ego, we need a positive force: the light of the Torah, which resides in our unity.

The murder of Gedaliah and the fast for its remembrance are a reminder, as Maimonides writes:

“There are days in which all of Israel torments themselves because of all the troubles that have occurred in them, in order to awaken the hearts and open ways of repentance. And it will serve to remind us of our bad deeds, and this memory we shall return to do good.”
[253618]

Filed under: Israel, New Publications - No Comments →

Thrive Global published my new article: “How to Rise Above Time, Space and Motion and Communicate With the Dead”

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, if we were to develop like nature and its laws, and aspire to a more advanced human state, we would need no such technological means. We would experience a more perfect reality than any technological development that a narrow human brain can ever imagine.

AI technology is taking a turn to help us communicate with the dead. The HereAfter startup offers AI learning so that you can continue holding conversations with your loved ones after they pass away. Instead of settling for stories based on memories of your loved ones, HereAfter offers to learn their speech and behaviors with AI technology, so that you can stay in touch with them after they pass away.

This is yet another example of how we keep advancing technologically, but fail to advance internally, in our attitudes toward people, the world and nature. If we would be more mentally and emotionally advanced, then we would see the need to communicate with our dead loved ones as simply childish and stemming from a lack of purpose in life.

It is understandable that people seek feelings of warmth, support and protection, and that this technology can help provide those sensations, but such engagement contributes nothing to any positive human development. It’s no different to the tendency today to have psychoactive drugs readily available: to hold us within bubbles of calmness.

Society in general lacks purpose in life. What once would illuminate in front of us as a lofty goal worth working toward, has disappeared. In its absence, such developments together with the legalized drug tendency, which I see in the same line, emerge as temporary replacements.

You Don’t Need Technology to Communicate With the Dead

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, if we were to develop like nature and its laws, and aspire to a more advanced human state, we would need no such technological means. We would experience a more perfect reality than any technological development that a narrow human brain can ever imagine.

Who are Kabbalists? They are people who have attained a perception and sensation of reality as interconnected, above time, space and motion. Since they rise above time, space and motion, they can communicate with each other and with people from the near or distant past, regardless of whether they have made physical contact.

It is neither an imaginary, illusory, mystic nor prophetic ability. It is, instead, a very real ability attainable with the Kabbalah methodology.

By rising above time, space and motion in our perception and sensation, we gain access to the beginning and end of nature. We can then dress into any person who has ever lived, knowing what and how they thought and feeling what they felt, and by doing so, learn directly from them and use their advice.

It is as Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag wrote in his article, “Spirituality Is Called That Which Will Never Be Lost”:

“From that extends what our sages say, who interpret the verses of the Torah. They say that this is what Abraham said to Isaac, and other similar sayings of our sages. They would say what is said, what is explained in the verses.

“The question arises, ‘How did they know what one said to another?’ But, because those who reached the degree where Abraham (or anyone) stood, they see and know what Abraham saw and knew.

“For this reason they know what Abraham said. And likewise in all the sayings of our sages when they interpreted the verses of the Torah. All that was because they, too, attained the degree, and each degree in spirituality is a reality. Everyone sees the reality, as all those who come to the city of London in England see what is in the city and what is said in the city.”

How to Rise Above Time, Space and Motion Using Kabbalah

We each feel time, space and motion within the narrow framework of our subjective individual perception based on our inborn egoistic qualities. The wisdom of Kabbalah is a method for how to rise above our egoistic perception of reality through developing love toward others. By doing so, we reveal an eternal and perfect reality where everything and everyone are connected as one.

Attaining reality in such a way means attaining a perception of nature that is unfiltered and undistorted. We come to feel how nature is a force of love and bestowal, which constantly acts to connect all parts of reality together as a single whole, and we align our approach to life with nature’s laws and functionality.

From this interconnected attainment of reality, we can then access the desires and thoughts of any individual who ever lived. It can be compared to how we currently use a search engine to pull information that we need from a virtual cloud. However, it’s much more intensive than a mere search query, since we literally dress into the states of all kinds of people, from King Solomon to Hitler to people we never knew existed.

Of course, this elated ability can only be granted to those who would use it completely altruistically, for the benefit of others and nature, without a shred of egoistic self-aimed benefit attached. That is nature’s condition. It is why we need the wisdom of Kabbalah to rise above the ego in order to reach such an attitude to reality.

Absolute connection to others and nature requires no sophisticated technologies. We need only work on our thoughts, desires and intentions, called “inner work,” according to the method of Kabbalah, and we then develop a whole new expansive perception and sensation of reality.

Filed under: New Publications - No Comments →

My article in Newsmax: “Israel Remains United in Its Divisions”

We have no nation. Division stands in our midst.

Those are the results of an X-ray scan of Israel following its 22nd election.

How can a nation constantly in conflict and under threat let its every sector care only about its own backyard and personal interests?

The dead heat between the two main political parties and round-the-clock deal-making expected in the coming weeks to form a governing-capable coalition further highlights the great divide in Israeli society.

However, discovering the wretched state we are in opens up the perfect opportunity to realize that we have no alternative but to cast a vote for unity and elect the force that connects us as a nation.

How could our nation unite above its divisions?

Could politicians put their egos aside and strive instead to rise above their personal benefit for the sake of a common goal?

Clearly, no one is interested in doing so, but the fact is, we have no choice.

We have entered an era where the nation is up against grave threats, the most vivid being Iran. Wealthy and powerful Iran is gaining support from Russia and China, and it is convenient for Iran to tag Israel as its enemy.

As Iran holds a strategic position in the heart of the Mideast, its beef with Israel lets it flex its muscles in the global sphere, as well as show its readiness to escalate pressure toward that goal.

After 71 years of statehood, instead of becoming stronger, we suddenly see that Israel is in an unfounded state. Our legs are stuck in quicksand, and we cannot pull ourselves out. We are a stubborn, powerful, enduring and unequivocally creative people, but in 2019’s second national election, we are left again with polarization and partisan manipulation instead of choosing our good future together.

Why does Israel’s political spectrum look like a rough patchwork, where loose threads fray in detachment from one another?

It’s because we have failed “to elect” the one and only force governing all aspects of nature: the upper force. Once again, we have neglected the only Jewish element that justifies our existence as a people: the value of our connection.

In order to come to terms with the urgent call for unity and put it into practice, Israel needs competent leadership that prioritizes rebuilding the social fabric.

It will require a gradual educational process that should be led by a national-unity government made up of Benjamin Netanyahu, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, and Avigdor Liberman, with Netanyahu acting as prime minister until the rest acquire the necessary skills to govern.

The job of heading a nation requires learning experience just like any other profession, but we have no academy for governing the nation, and the volatile internal and external pressures we face leave no room for trial and error.

Ruling the country demands a completely different mindset than ruling the army.

Although organizing our political leadership is important, we will not return to sanity until we realize that our main goal as a nation should be to eliminate our biggest enemy: our war with each other.

The principle of unity that we inherited from Abraham, the father of the nation, has completely escaped us. It is a principle by which we became a nation in ancient Babylon.

In its absence, we have dismantled into a loose collection of peoples and “tribes.”

The principle of brotherly love built the Temple — the connection between us — and its absence, unfounded hatred, kicked us into exile and persecution.

Therefore, regardless of who will form the next government, we should certainly not depend on the guidance of a flesh-and-blood leader that will be replaced in four years or less. We need to depend on the power of society, the strength of our connection. This is and always has been the root of our salvation as a nation.

In other words, it is important to cast our votes and choose our leaders as in any democracy, but our real free choice should be made on a daily basis, renewed regularly and not subject to the considerations of any government in office.

At any given moment, it is worth stopping for a moment to ask: “What are we living for?” “Why do we exist?” “Who runs our lives?” “Who runs the society we live in?” “Who governs us?” “Who is really in control?”

The upper force in nature drives humanity. It emerges from its hidden state when society functions harmoniously in mutual guarantee (Arvut), showing us how we live in a unified system where all parts are interconnected as a singular and integral unit.

Disagreement is part and parcel of our Jewishness.

There is no need to eliminate or obscure our differences and divisions. Nor do we have to flatter and agree with the views of others. But we do have to bridge the abyss between opinions, to spread an umbrella of love over our differences, because “love will cover all transgressions.”

As our ship sails forth into unknown waters, it is time to persistently emphasize the positive qualities of others and create a more harmonious society where mutual care, consideration, understanding and support prevail.

By doing so, we will be able to realize how our disunity drills a hole in our ship’s keel, whereas our cohesion strengthens our ability to navigate to a safe port of a bountiful land.

That is the election vote we need to cast regularly for the ultimate positive outcome.
[252980]

Filed under: New Publications - No Comments →

My article in Newsmax: “Israel at a Crossroads: Time for a Government for Everyone”

If other people’s failures can make us feel a bit better in our loss, Israel is not alone in the world in its political limbo after the second elections this year again left no clear winner.

Similarly, Spain is headed for its fourth election in four years in the wake of inconclusive results from last April’s polls; and in the UK, the Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament — an apparent move to avoid opposition to Brexit — was unlawful, causing political turmoil.

It seems humanity has advanced technologically but has regressed in terms of stability and certainty about the future. The good news is that reaching a solution does not require rocket science. The leaders just need to take the example of a family and govern accordingly.

Family life is based on interdependence and built on mutual concessions. If it weren’t, then any crisis could easily lead to divorce.

A delicate balance is kept where, on one hand, the couple endeavors to stay close and appreciate the comfort and security that the closeness provides, while on the other hand, they maintain healthy individuality and room for personal growth. Successful couples move in a sort of mutual dance where each partner refrains from seeing the negative aspects of the other and covers disagreements with love.

From Independence to Interdependence

In Israel, the leaders who aspire to run the country feel no interdependence. They appear to be complete separated, bearing no resemblance to a warm family. Each pursues his own justice, barricades himself in his position, and thinks of his own self-interest.

Unlike family management, where negotiations are relatively easy and the damages are small in scale, at the state level, slight movements can quickly result in complicated political squabbles that risk deterioration into social crises or re-elections. Therefore, any party that barricades itself within its own position deserves no governance until it can muster the strength to relent a little in its position and pride.

It is abundantly clear to everyone that the success of the State of Israel will depend on its ability to form a national-unity government. This government should be like a family incorporating countless opposing views and political rivalries, yet working together, mutually compromising for the benefit of the people. It can only work this way because no unity can exist except above diverse opinions. The sages expressed it as follows: “Just as their faces are different, so are their opinions,” in other words, just like the differences that exist between members of a family.

The political approaches of the two major parties, Likud and Blue-White, are similar in character. Therefore, the current prize to be won for Israel can be taken by compromise and nothing else. Even if there is a significant conflict in the future between the two leaders, Netanyahu and Gantz — disagreements over the peace process that could deteriorate into real struggles, for instance — the national-unity government’s magic will work.

Unity Out of Diversity

Unity accepts and contains the other, agrees to work with the different, and gives room to everyone.

Unity balances the various worldviews and draws a continuous line between diverse perspectives in order to weave a single, complete vision. Unity produces a reflective and rich discourse from a smorgasbord of opinions.

Israel’s divided people are thirsty for solidarity and cross-sectional social cohesion, wishing beyond hope that our chosen leaders would set an example and sit together at a round table, just like in a classic family. We long for leadership strong enough to demonstrate mutual trust, one that can give up on ego and pride for the people’s benefit.

Good for All, Good for Me

Leadership that works toward such unity would inspire people with a positive spirit of becoming an example of willingness to yield self-benefit for the collective good.

Why would someone be willing to give up their own particular position for everyone’s benefit?

Such visionary leadership is possible when one comes to realize that each of us is an integral part of a collective whole, so when everyone benefits, I am also a recipient of that goodness.

This has been the hallmark governing resilience the people of Israel since time immemorial: a powerful government made up of leaders with differing views who are strong enough to transcend their private egos for our common property: the people of Israel. With such leadership, the people too will come out stronger and more united, able to rise above the prevailing divisions in society. This is the beginning of the road to heralding Israel’s unity as an example for the world.

Filed under: Israel, New Publications - No Comments →