I Hold Myself Accountable

The nation of Israel is an unusual group, because our connection is not on a corporeal level, and therefore, it is very unstable. It seemingly connects us somewhere above, but we feel no connection to each other. All of this is because of our big egos that separate us from each other. There is no natural, corporeal, worldly connection; there is only a spiritual one, which evades our senses.

Baal HaSulam writes that only common problems unite us, like brothers in misfortune. Thus, we resemble a bunch of nuts in a bag united only by the bag alone, which does not let them disperse. Therefore, our only hope is a public education, a movement toward national unity capable of igniting love for the nation within the people, so that we will feel ourselves as one body.

We must feel ourselves not as brothers in misfortune, as we do today, but we must feel the natural, eternal connection that exists inside each of us that no one can hide from. It is the upper light that holds us together. Other nations are connected instinctively by nature itself, feeling a sense of belonging to their nation. But for the people of Israel, this connection requires our participation, we must draw it from above by ourselves.

This love existed among us at the time of Abraham, the founder of the nation of Israel. But after the destruction of the Temple it started to fade and was completely lost over the years of the exile. We must rebuild this love now so that it would be natural and spiritual. After all, there is no corporeal love between us and we do not want the connection with each other like the other nations. There is nothing left of the national love after the two thousand years of exile.¹

I have to do everything to awaken the group. Regardless of their response, I keep doing everything to unite them: quietly praying for my friends, and doing various acts that everyone can see, leading by example. By doing so, I depend on no one but the Creator, so I ask Him to give me the strength and the desire. Then, I turn to my friends and try to inspire them. I hold myself accountable: “If I am not for me, who is for me”²
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/17/19, Writings of Baal HaSulam, Newspaper, “The Nation”