The Message in Matan Torah

In the three essays, “Matan Torah” (The Giving of the Torah), “The Arvut” (The Mutual Guarantee), and “The Peace,” Baal HaSulam teaches us of the necessity for a large society to achieve the purpose of Creation. He demonstrates why a single person cannot achieve one’s goals without the rest of the people in the world, and that only the right combination between social unity and the work of God will reward humanity with peace, prosperity, and the realization of our human potential.

In “Matan Torah,” Item 14, he explicitly writes that the part of the Torah that concerns man and man is the most capable of bringing us to the desirable goal. At the end of the essay, he stresses and further expands upon the meaning of the reciprocal connection to a level of an entire nation when he says, “We have proven that each of the 613 Mitzvot in the Torah revolves around the single Mitzva, ‘Love thy friend as thyself.’” He also says that this point is not feasible except when done by a whole nation whose every member is ready and willing for it.

In the essay, “The Arvut,” Item 20, Baal HaSulam explains that the end of the world’s correction will be when all the people in the world join in His work. But the first to enter God’s work and lead the whole world after them are the children of Israel. “Israel’s role with respect to the rest of the world is similar to the role of the Holy Patriarchs with respect to the Israeli nation… Also, the Israeli nation must… qualify itself and the rest of the peoples in the world to develop until they assume this sublime work of love of man, which is the ladder to the purpose of Creation. …Thus, each Mitzva that an individual from Israel performs in order to bring contentment to one’s Maker, and for no other reward and self-love, affects—to some extent—the evolution of the rest of the people of the world.”

Further down the essay (Item 28) he defines the role of the children of Israel as the ones that should be the remedy through which the sparks of purity and cleansing of the body will pass on to all the nations of the world. This is because the rest of the nations of the world are not yet ready for it, and the Creator needs at least one nation to start with, so it will be chosen from among all nations.

All the nations of the world belong to Me [the Creator], as do you, and will eventually cleave to Me. But while they are still incapable of this task, I need a virtuous people. If you agree to be the chosen people, then I will command you to be unto Me a kingdom of priests, which is the ultimate form of love of others: “love thy friend as thyself.”

In the essay, “The Peace,” Baal HaSulam teaches us the real reason for the suffering of people in general, and the people of Israel in particular. He writes that the harsh, egoistic resistance to one another, which causes tension in relations among the members of the nation, will not cease by any human tactics. We can clearly see that we are already like a sick person turning from side to side in immeasurable pain, as humanity has already thrown itself to the extreme right, as with Germany, or to the extreme left, as with Russia. And not only did they not ease the situation, they only aggravated the pain, and the cries rise up to the heavens, as we all know.

From here he leads to the inevitable conclusion that people will have no other choice but to accept His burden, to know the Creator, and to aim their actions towards God’s contentment and towards His goal, as He had planned for them prior to Creation. And when they do, it is evident that along with serving Him, any shred of envy or hatred will vanish from humanity, since then all members of humanity will unite into a single body and one heart, filled with the knowledge of God. Thus, world peace and the knowledge of God are one and the same thing.

To summarize his words in the three essays, we can point out a number of distinct messages:

1. The purpose of the whole Creation is for all creatures to cleave to their Maker. Thus, they will be rewarded with eternal delight and wholeness through their own doing.
2. It is possible to achieve this goal only through realizing the law: “Love thy friend as thyself.”
3. This rule will be realized gradually, beginning with the unity of a few people, through a gradually growing group, up to a whole nation, which will eventually lead all the nations of the world to the work of God and the love of man.
4. The first nation that should carry out its role of realizing this idea is the Israeli nation.
5. The people of Israel are to set an example for all the nations and lead them to the same concepts.
6. Any individual, group, or nation that will refuse to tread this path will inflict terrible torment on themselves, which will direct them back to the right path—towards the end of correction.
7. Any individual, group, or nation that will dedicate itself to this goal will affect and accelerate the whole process and will be rewarded with the desired wholeness.

The following are the principles leading the group of Kabbalists, Bnei Baruch.

The members of this group lead a life of sharing and unity on a day to day basis, learning the writings of the great Kabbalists who have implemented these principles, and teaching what they learn throughout Israel and the world over. This is done through their many study groups, active all year long, dissemination of books of Kabbalists, and through live and archived Kabbalah lessons over the internet and TV. Their Internet site, www.kabbalah.info , is the leading Kabbalah site on the web, and to date, features content in thirty-two languages. There are also Kabbalah papers and magazines published on a monthly basis in eight languages.

Bnei Baruch’s primary goal is to present the complex Kabbalistic material in as simple terms as possible, so every person looking for life’s purpose will be able to relate to them. Additionally, following Baal HaSulam’s teachings, Bnei Baruch tries, with all the means at their disposal, to teach the whole of the people of Israel its historic role.

They teach the only message that can prevent suffering, pain, and war: the message called “There is none else besides Him.”

It is clear to the members of Bnei Baruch that the political, economic, and global situation depends solely upon teaching this simple message. The only reason for the suffering in the world is to develop people and teach them to turn to the Creator and contact Him. The various attempts to avoid this mission of leading the world towards this conclusion inflict tremendous pain upon the Jews.

Human evolution is mandatory; it cannot be stopped. All we can do is understand the message and hurry its realization. Regrettably, the bloody history of the people of Israel teaches us where the obstinate refusal to carry out this mission leads.

The only thing we should keep in mind is that there is only one cause in the whole of reality. This cause appears to us in various ways, outside of us and within us. It contacts us through our feelings, thoughts, desires, and actions, and it appears in the same way to the rest of the people in the world. It is important to remember that only with its help will we be able to carry out the rule, “Love thy friend as thyself.” All this can be achieved by simply changing our attitude towards reality; there is no need to make any external changes whatsoever.

If we succeed in teaching as many people as possible to relate to life in this manner, we will quickly find ourselves in a much more tranquil and peaceful world. The deep connection with the Creator will help each of us understand the purpose of our lives, the root of our souls, and how we can obtain endless enjoyment. By achieving that, we will be achieving the purpose of Creation and we will receive all the delight and pleasure that has been prepared for each of us.