Ynet: “How Do We Build Jerusalem If There Is A Ruin In Our Heart?”

Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and the Temple embody within them much more than what comes to mind when we first think about them. Their spiritual meaning leads us to the necessary understanding that the connection between us is not only for our sake, but for the sake of all of humanity.

Forty-nine years ago, paratroopers entered Jerusalem, liberated the Old City, and united it. It seems that there is no city in the world in which every stone within it is steeped in a history so important to the shaping of the human species. The city that gives hope to an entire people is today the focus of outrageous announcements devoid of all logic from UNESCO, that “the Jewish people have no religious connection with the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.”

International organizations are trying to sever the connection between the Jewish people and their heritage. The EU intervenes in every activity in the city, and given the pace of events, don’t be surprised if the enlightened world wakes up tomorrow morning and decides that Jerusalem is not connected to the nation of Israel, and this doesn’t just mean the separation of East Jerusalem.

Tireless efforts and money are invested in creating a false consciousness, which must awaken this question in the heart of each one of us: How can it be that the capital of Israel—an ancient city that encompasses within it the abundant history of the people of Israel, our religion, and our culture, the city in which two Temples were built and, unfortunately, also were destroyed—is liable to be erased from the map of the land of Israel? In general, from where has such a decisive opposition popped up among the nations of the world to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? What does this say about the negative attitude toward us as a people?

We Have the Key to the Gates

The wisdom of Kabbalah maintains that the reason for this persecution lies in our not having realized our role as a people, a role that is rooted within us from the nature of creation, upon whose basis the people of Israel were established. According to ancient wisdom, humanity is connected by a network of mutual links. Within this network, the people of Israel were intended to be “a light unto the nations[FD1] ,” which is to say, connected so that the positive force that is inherent in nature would stream into the world and function to connect people and nations.

The world subconsciously feels that the source of all evil and the root of the suffering that it is experienced is derived directly from the fact that the people of Israel are not realizing their role. This feeling continues to bubble up more and more, and is crystallizing into an agenda that is expressed in the attempts to boycott the nation of Israel. Voices from the international community are calling for a recognition that the world was mistaken when it allowed the establishment of the Jewish nation in the Middle East and that perhaps the hour has arrived to take back the scepter.

Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) writes:

“Judaism must present something new to the nations. This is what they expect from the return of Israel to the land! It is not in other teachings, for in that we never innovated. In them, we have always been their disciples. Rather, it is the wisdom of religion, justice, and peace. In this, most nations are our disciples, and this wisdom is attributed to us alone. …”

“This would certainly prove to the nations the rightness of Israel’s return to their land, even to the Arabs. However, a secular return such as today’s does not impress the nations whatsoever, and we must fear lest they will sell Israel’s independence for their needs, needless to mention returning Jerusalem.” (Rav Yehudah Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), “The Writings of the Last Generation,” Part 1, Section 12, pp. 75-76.).

UNESCO, the UN, the EU, and the rest of the international bodies that protect us are a kind of reflection for us of the lack of fulfillment of our function. In other words, we are determining our fate with our own hands. If the world is exhibiting so much hatred and anti-Semitism toward us that it denies the connection between our people and our home, it depends only upon us. In our hands is the choice to decide the future of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, for better or for worse. All that is up to us to do is to decide to implement an essential change in the interpersonal relationships between us, connecting as “one man in one heart” instead of each person being concerned only about himself. As a result of the positive force that we create among us, we balance the forces of separation and bring to completion the system of connection between people. The forces of connection between us also will permeate the nations of the world and oblige them to begin a similar process as well, to connect and recognize us as the origin of connection and goodness.

“The built-up Jerusalem is like a city that was joined together within itself.” (Psalms 122:3)

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is a parallel and direct connection between the system called the spiritual land of Israel and the state of the physical land of Israel. The desire (Ratzon -רצון) that is in the heart of a person is called Eretz -ארץ, the land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael – ), which has a desire Yashar El (Straight to God), meaning that it has narcissistic desires, but only love for others (The Writings of Rabash). “Jerusalem – ירושלים” comes from the words “Ir Shalem” (Perfect/Whole City) and Irah – יראה (Fear), a city that is built on the fear of separation, representing the sense of necessity in preserving the perfected connection between us.

In the center of the shared fear of Israel, right in the heart of the connection between us, a unique spiritual stratum is revealed that is called the Temple Mount. In it, we build the Temple, a term for a more internal connection between us, a shared desire for love. The moment we stop striving for inner connection, the links begin to unravel, and the people of Israel are expelled. When the roots hidden in the earth are uprooted, this kills the entire tree. That is how the first Temple was destroyed, that is how the second Temple was destroyed, and that is how it has continued until today. And this is not the destruction of a building constructed from wood and stone, but the destruction of the network of love  between us that connects into one. This is because “The house [Jerusalem] was ruined because of unfounded hatred” (Rabbi Israel Segal, Netzah Israel, Chapter 4).

The same general rule applies in our day, “According to the connection of the people of Israel and their awakening to love and fear, Jerusalem is built” (Koznitzer Maggid). Jerusalem will be built only when we establish it first in our hearts with corrected relationships of connection and love. Until then, the unfounded hatred will continue, and Jerusalem will remain as a ruined capital until then, as a torn city full of conflict and bloodshed, for instead of a place where love dwells, after the destruction, the power of separation and hatred dominates.

“The Messiah sits in the gate of Jerusalem and waits for people to be worthy of redemption. He is in cuffs and needs complete people to release him from his chains. …now he craves men of truth” (Sayings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel). The wisdom of Kabbalah, the wisdom of truth, is a method that teaches us how to connect and apply the general rule, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). With the help of the power of connection, we can realize our role as a nation and restore the spiritual concept of Jerusalem to its full glory.

Then, Jerusalem will become the capital of love for all of humanity. As it is written, “In the future, Jerusalem will be like all of Israel, and Israel will be the entire world” (the Yalkut Shimoni). Then the world will understand the words of the prophets: “…for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7), and “for they shall all know Me from their smallest to their greatest” (Jeremiah 31:33 ).
What else did the sages of Kabbalah write about Jerusalem?
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From Ynet article 6/2/16