Israel And The World | Rabbi David Samson | Beit Midrash

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The Art of T'shuva

קטגוריה משנית

FIRST IN T’SHUVA
We have learned that the force of t’shuva is perpetually at work, propelling all of life toward perfection. While the enlightenment of mankind is a gradually developing process, the day is soon coming when the wonder of t’shuva will capture all imaginations and hearts.

In this saga of universal redemption, where do the Jewish people fit in? What role do they play? Just as one might expect,Am Yisrael is to be the leader, blazing the trail for all other peoples to follow.

"The Jewish people, because of their enhanced spiritual nature, will be the first nation in the world to do t’shuva. The special spirit of t’shuva will initially be revealed in this portion of humanity. Israel is propelled from within to be united with G-d’s light in the world, which is free of transgression and and wrongdoing. Every falling away (from its connection to G-d)blemishes the wholeness of its inner perfection, yet in the end,its powerful life-force will triumph over the deviation, and it will return to complete health. This complete health will start to invigorate (the nation) with great strength and the light oft’shuva will shine within her first. Afterward, Israel will be the special channel to spread life’s inner yearning for t’shuva to all of the world, to lighten the world’s darkness and elevate its stature."

The Art of T'shuva (20)

Rabbi David Samson

15 - Barriers To T’shuva

16 - Israel And The World

17 - Eretz Yisrael

As we mentioned in Chapter Six, Israel’s enhanced spiritual nature lies in its unique holiness and connection to G-d.

For thou art a holy people to the L-rd thy G-d; the L-rd thy G-d has chosen thee to be a special people to Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth."

The nation of Israel has an exalted inner content which radiates G-d’s blessing to the world. This segula, or unique Divine connection, encompasses all of the Jewish people. It is our national soul. Blemishes caused by sin are always external to the soul of the nation, leaving no permanent scar.

Israel’s deep, inner yearning to be connected to G-d, triumphs in the end, banishing all darkness. We are not speaking about a spiritual awakening of scattered individuals. THE WHOLE NATION RETURNS TO G-D. True to the prophecy of Moses, the whole nation will return to live by the Torah. Politicians and soldiers, artists and farmers, teachers and judges will have one common purpose - to sanctify life’s every endeavor.Israel will return to being itself - A kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

The revelation of Israel’s holiness will bring more light to the world than the sun. Mankind will be blinded and stunned. All people will proclaim:

Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is so great that has G-d so near to them... and what nation is so great that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all of this Torah?

This awakened, holy nation will demand a new life order,the correction of all wrong, the uprooting of all evil, rescue for the downtrodden, equality for all people, food for all children,salvation from a life of paganism and sin.

Inspired by the holy nation of Israel, mankind will abandon its vain and misguided paths, and a mighty spirit of t’shuvawill be ignited throughout the world. Nations will flock to Israel to learn the ways of the Jews.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the L-rd’s House shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the L-rd, to the House of the G-d of Yaacov; and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths, for out of Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem.

AN END TO WORLD DARKNESS
An example of Israel’s future influence on the nations will help make this Utopian scenario more clear. Rabbi Kook writes that t’shuva is ever-present in the inner fabric of existence because it was brought into being before the creation of the world.Before sin had occurred, a remedy for it had already been prepared.

This understanding is in dramatic contrast to Christianity’sdoctrine of original sin. From a Christian point of view, man,by definition, is a sinner. He is damned from birth, born into purgatory, and can only be saved in the life to come. This teaching dooms mankind from the start and lays the foundation for the moral decadence and corruption rampant throughout the Christian world. Just as a gloom and darkness fills Christianity’sfamous cathedrals and Notre Dames, the doctrine of original sin has hung a suffocating cloud of guilt and repression over human existence.

In contrast, Judaism teaches that original sin is not original.T’shuva came first. Before sin appeared in the world, a remedy had already been prepared. This means that a man is born, not into a prison of sin, but into a condition of t’shuva, into a world of hope, of improvement, and progress. Man is not doomed to despair. Should he fall, t’shuva is there to raise him and to restore his connection to G-d.

This is one of the lights that Israel will bring to the nations. The light of t’shuva. The example of Israel will offer hope for the world, salvation from Christian doctrines of purgatory, and a truly, purifying, living connection to G-d here on earth.

We have learned that the t’shuva of the Jewish people is certain. Furthermore, it is the t’shuva of Israel which will lead the world to universal perfection. But how will this greatt’shuva come about? What causes the scattered, exiled Jewish nation to return to the glorious days of our past? Rabbi Kook cites two interrelated paths: first, the nation’s return to the Land of Israel, and secondly, our mass return to Torah.

The Art of T'shuva