Opposition To Unity, Part 1

The Reason for Hating Each Other

Question: Throughout the history of the development of the Jewish people, hatred has always manifested among them. It began in Egypt with the confrontation of the “mixed multitude” (Erev Rav) to the exodus of the Israeli people from Egypt. This confrontation continued in the desert between the tribes of Israel.

At the end of the 10th century BC, a division began between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which led to contention between them.

Later, the hatred that erupted in the ruling elite led to the destruction of the First Temple. Then there were the Maccabees’ war with the Hellenistic Jews, the split into parties, the fall of fraternal love at the time of the Roman Empire, and the collapse of the Second Temple.

In medieval Spain, the first inquisitors were Jews. In the sixteenth century, neglect and harsh statements on the part of the Jews toward the greatest Kabbalist the Ari were documented. At the beginning of the twentieth century there was a rabbinate prohibition on the publication of the books of Rav Kuk and Baal HaSulam.

This list continues on and on.

Today, the confrontation is already observed in the state of Israel itself, numbering about 50 parties of right and left blocs. What is the reason for the hatred between Jews?

Answer: This hatred is ideological, natural, and manifests on completely different levels. The fact is that the nation of Israel was assembled from representatives of all the peoples of Babylon, who, at the call of Abraham, formed one large group together.

Abraham called them to unity above all the contradictions that existed between them because of their natural origin, character, etc. People worked very seriously on themselves in order to become as one whole, as one family, or as one man with one heart. And they succeeded in it. In those days, everything was a little different.

In this way they moved forward for many years, constantly fighting within themselves to suppress their personal egoism and rise to the level of friendly connection with others.

Thus they went through a period called the “Egyptian exile” or captivity. Their egoism rose so much that they were practically detached from each other; egoism pushed them apart. This is the “Egyptian exile” when Pharaoh (egoism) rules over them. But then they managed to overcome their mutual rejection, which led to their exodus from Egypt and their subsequent unity, but at a different level.

In order to rise above the egoism that developed in them during the period of the Egyptian exile, they had to receive a new force from above, the upper light, the so-called light of the Torah, that is, the force of bestowal and love, the force of reciprocity and attraction.

They received it and started working with it in order to stay together. Every day their egoism grew bigger and bigger, and they grew above it each time. Gradual development of altruism above egoism, mutual connection above hatred, led the nation to unity in strength and volume, which is called the “Temple.”

In addition, their state was called the entrance into the Land of Israel. “Land,” “Eretz” comes from the word “Ratzon” and means “desire,” and “Israel” means striving for the Creator.

Having risen to such a level of connection, they could build a relationship between themselves called the “Temple”—a common home, a common heart. The people were in this state for a very short time since egoism in them was constantly developing. They could not resist it and began to move apart, until the Temple collapsed, which means the connection between them collapsed.

For more on this topic, read my books A Very Narrow Bridge: The fate of the Jewish people, and Like a Bundle of Reeds: why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.
[267133]
From KabTV’s “Systematic Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel,” 7/29/19