Social Relationships Shape The Person

Humans began to develop from the animate level, not because they began to walk on two legs hundreds of thousands of years ago, but because they began to develop social relationships.These were relationships not only within their pack, family or tribe, where they felt that everyone was as close to them as they felt themselves. They truly began to feel others and developed a connection with them.

Something like this doesn’t exist among animals. They live in families and packs, but there is no connection between the different packs. And humans developed beyond familial connections. This connection is egoistic, natural, and through this connection it is possible to exploit others as much as possible; I exploit you and you exploit me. Everything depends on the benefit that I can derive from the connection. You could catch a person and eat him, turn him into a slave, take his property from him and kill him if he resisted, or you could make an alliance with him. All of the egoistic relationships have existed until today. There is no difference between what was thousands of years ago and what exists today, this is the same form of behavior—to exploit others maximally for my benefit or for the benefit of my tribe, people, or nation.

That is how it always was and that is how it is today too. But now we have reached a very interesting point in history that has not yet been discovered. It arouses intense pressure and pain and tragic situations whose purpose is to awaken this point.

All of the families, tribes, packs, nations, and peoples who were formerly separate are suddenly beginning to feel that they are connected with each other and depend on each other. And this dependence obligates them to behave differently. On the one hand, from an egoistic point of view, I would want to exploit everyone. But on the other hand, I understand that I depend on them and need everyone.

In the meantime, this is only the beginning of development. But ultimately we will reach a situation in which a person will be forced to accept everyone as one family, meaning that he will see how much he depends on them, even though the ego won’t disappear, as happens in a real family.

We don’t feel an egoistic intention regarding people who are close to us; on the contrary, we want to do everything for their benefit. We behave with them nicely and well, for we feel that they are close parts of us as if we were one body.

So what do we do if, on the one hand, the mind tells us that strangers are close to us and we depend on them one hundred percent, and on the other hand, the ego still doesn’t disappear, as happens in a family? We find ourselves between two opposing forces. One force commands me to love others! And the second force turns around and says that I hate others! What can be done when there is a split like this?

In the framework of our world there is nothing be done and this is a great tragedy! Sometimes this happens in a family, and then there is nothing to fix. This is an unsolvable conflict like the commands that Abraham received from the Creator: “Through Isaac your seed shall be called and now you should bring him up for a sacrifice: And God said to Abraham, Be not displeased concerning your handmaid; whatever Sarah tells you, hearken to her voice, for in Isaac will be called your seed.” (Genesis 21:12).

“And He said, Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, yea, Isaac, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains, of which I will tell you.” (Genesis 22:2).

If this happens in a family, it is not terrible, it is possible to get along and settle the conflict. But what is to be done if our natural development brings us to a conflict like this, where our life or death depends on the ability to get close to others so much that we become one body, like one person with one heart?

Our entire society, our entire civilization of seven billion will have to reach this discovery. The ego is disturbing me and doesn’t make it possible for me to approach others, and on the other hand, I depend on them one hundred percent.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/25/14