“Unity As A Panacea, But What Unity Are We Talking About?” (The Times Of Israel)

The Times of Israel published my new article “Unity as a Panacea, But What Unity Are We Talking About?”

The deep divisions within Israel, America, and basically every society in the world are the subject of in-depth study in both academia and the media, but the most effective way to repair the breakage is itself also a source of intense dispute. This dispute is one which I will clarify. As a Kabbalist and researcher I publish in dozens of different publications on social networks on a daily basis. My message is constant: unity is the solution to all problems. Egoistic human nature divides and distances us from one another and is the root cause of all problems and predicaments we experience every day.

One of the recurring questions that is sent to me asks what unity am I talking about? What connection do I call for? Is it for the reunification of the souls? Is it unification between men and women, or political and/or religious alliances?

My answer is simple, set, and it derives from the ancient sources of the wisdom of Kabbalah. The unity I speak about is a unity not meant to fix anyone or change anyone’s perception, mind or heart. All we need to repair is the connection between us, the way we relate to one another. We have to rise above all our myriad opposite attributes, characteristics and viewpoints and unite as one. As our sages rightly wrote: “Love will cover all transgressions.”

Achieving this level of connection is precisely the role of the Jews in the world. We must join between two layers, like the meat between slices of bread in a sandwich: “All transgressions” is the bottom layer, and “will be covered with love” is the top layer. The correct connection between those two layers will make a very tasty meal. Both sweetness and a little bit of salty spice are necessary to balance the flavors when love and hate are revealed. Nothing in life can exist without its opposite, like how the plus requires a minus in physics.

Although the people of Israel should be the first to pave the way to such a “tasty” existence, all humanity, every person on earth, ultimately has the destiny to attain this approach to fulfillment in life. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, Jews are obliged to experience this unity first by learning how to connect above differences, above hatred and rejection. To discover existence “in the middle line” means, on one hand, that you might want to reject the other, while on the other hand, you learn how to embrace the other person in spite of all. On one side, I am right. On the other side, the other person is right. Since everything is in the eye of the beholder, we are all right, and justice lies above us. This is the love that covers everything.

Even further, we must not destroy evil, conceal the differences, or uproot the undergrowth. We need only realize that they are the foundation over which we have to add the good, the spice that gives complex new flavors to the relationship. Therefore, I see no hater or enemy in anyone, but instead full partners in unity.

The way to travel this golden path is taught by the wisdom of Kabbalah. Because the clock is ticking and our troubles are increasing, we must hurry to rise above the egoistic force within us that seeks to draw everything to its own advantage, to rise above the gathering storm clouds into a wide and open dimension, to rise from this world into a spiritual, complete and eternal world. The entire Torah encompasses this: unity and love cover schism and hatred.