A scientific research based on experience regarding the imperative of service to God

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall be left, from Ashur, and from Egypt, from Patros, and from Kush, and from Elam, and from Shin’ar, and from Hamat, and from the islands of the sea” (Ibid. 11). “Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta said: the Holy One, blessed be He, found no vessel that could contain blessing for Israel save that of peace, as it is written, ‘The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace’ (Psalms 29:11)” (Mishna, Oktzin 3:12).

1. I have explained the general form of God’s service in previous articles. Its essence is neither more nor less than the love for one another, which, from a practical perspective, can be defined as “giving to one another.” That is to mean, when considering the practical aspect of love for one another, we can only imagine it as bestowing good on others. It is therefore appropriate to define the love for one another as giving to one another. This is a better description of its content, which aims at ensuring we do not forget its intent. After we correctly know the form of God’s service, we need to investigate whether we accept upon ourselves this service by faith alone without any experimental scientific basis, or whether we have an experiential basis for it as well, as I plan to prove in this article.

I first need to fully prove the subject itself, that is, the recipient of our service. I am not an enthusiast of formative philosophy as I hate all kinds of studies built on theoretical basis. Most of my contemporaries agree with me, since we are too well versed in such bases that are rickety foundations: once the foundation is shaken the entire structure collapses. Every word I utter derives solely from a review of acquired understanding, beginning with simple uncontroversial awareness, and continuing with analytical methods until we agree on the ultimate subject. When examining this, using synthetic methods, we shall again arrive at how God’s service is confirmed and validated by this simple recognition from a practical standpoint.

Contrast and contradiction with regard to God’s Providence 2. Every knowledgeable person who observes the reality laid before our eyes finds in it two extreme opposites. When looking at the orders of Creation, with respect to its existence and layout, it becomes obvious that the leadership is wonderfully blessed with deep wisdom and great competency both in terms of the formative process of the parts of reality and of insuring its existence in general.

Let us take for example the sequence of events deciding a person’s existence. Parental love and pleasure are the basis for a person’s origin, a very safe and trusted method of ensuring their task. And when the foundational drop of semen leaves the father’s marrow, Providence provides it with a safe place that is prepared with great wisdom that enables it to receive the spirit of life. Providence gives it its daily bread there precisely measured, and wonderful lining in its mother’s womb, so that nothing foreign will harm it.

It also tends to all its needs like an experienced wetnurse that will not leave it for a moment until it acquires the strength and ability to see the light of day. Providence then lends it strength and power for a short duration, enough to allow it to break through the walls that surround it. Like an experienced armed mighty man accustomed to it, it forces its way out and is born into the world. Even then, Providence does not leave it but cares for it like a merciful mother, to bring it to such sure trusted friends, called father and mother. They will help it as long as it is weak until it grows and able to fend for itself.

Like humans, animals, plants, and inanimate objects are all cared for with understanding and mercy, until they are able to ensure their own existence and the continuation of their species after them.

To those who observe the maintenance and support of that reality, disorder and great confusion are apparent, as if there is no leader or providence and each person does as he pleases, each builds on his neighbor’s ruins, the wicked become successful while the righteous are pitilessly trampled, and so on.

3. Know that this contradiction laid before every feeling and intelligent person bothered humanity from the earliest days. They employed many systems to explain these two opposites that are seen in God’s Providence and function in the same world.

First system: nature According to this very ancient system, there is no way or path to reconcile these two extremes that seem to stand out so much. They reached a supposition that the creator who founded all these things and who uses strong force to preserve its reality so none of it will be lost is without intellect or feeling.

Therefore, even though it produces and preserves the existence of reality with amazing wisdom, it is still unknowing and does all this unknowingly. If it did have the knowledge and the feeling it would surely not allow such flaws in the ways reality is maintained without any pity or mercy on the sufferers. They therefore call it “nature,” meaning it is an unknowing and unfeeling provider. In their opinions, there is nobody to complain to, pray to, or justify oneself before.

Second system: two powers Some grew wiser. They found it difficult to accept the supposition of natural providence since they observed Providence over the existing reality that assured its preservation by means of deep wisdom that surpasses any human pinnacle. They could not therefore accept that the provider of all these will itself be unknowing. For how can something give that which is not in it? And can a person instruct and teach another while he himself is a fool? How can it be said of one who presents before us actions performed with wonderfully amazing wisdom that he knows not what he is doing but acts according to chance, when it is obvious to everyone that chance cannot arrange any wisely organized act and, moreover, insure its eternal orderly existence.

They thus reached a second supposition that there are two supervisors and providers, one who creates and preserves good and one who creates and preserves evil. They expanded this method using similar evidence and examples.

Third system: pantheism This system was born out of the system upholding two powers. They divided each of the general actions into categories, that is, power, wealth, government, beauty, famine, death, riots, and so on. They appointed a specific provider and supervisor for each of them and expanded it as they saw fit.

Fourth system: he has ceased to act Lately, as knowledge accumulated and they saw the strong connection among all the parts of the Creation’s existence, they acknowledged that pantheism is completely unacceptable. The question of oppositionality seen in Providence arose again. This made them form a new supposition that the provider and supervisor that maintains the existence of reality is wise and feeling. But due to his inestimable loftiness, our world is like a mustard seed and like nothing in his eyes. It is therefore not worth his while to deal with our minute affairs. Our sustenance suffer as a consequence, so that every man does whatever is right in his own eyes.

Simultaneously with these methods, there were popular religious systems regarding divine unity; this is not the place to discuss them. I merely wanted to mention the sources where these damaged methods and strange suppositions that had power and were widely spread during certain times and different places originate in.

4. We have learned of the foundation all these methods were built on. It is the product of the opposition and contradiction between the two types of methods of supervision perceived in the world. The purpose of all these systems is to heal this sizable breach.

Yet the world follows its course, and the great and terrible breach not only is not mended but on the contrary, it continues to widen before our eyes into a most terrible chasm without the hope of a way out in sight. When I look at all these experiments that humanity has undertaken for thousands of years to no avail, I ask myself whether the bulk of mending the breach should not be required of the supervisor but is found in our own hands.

The solution

The imperative of caution with regard to natural laws 5. We all see, out of basic awareness, that the human species requires a communal life, that is, a person cannot exist and support himself without help from the community. Now, imagine the following event. If, for example, an individual retires from society to a secluded place, he will lead a life of sorrow and great suffering since he is too weak to support himself. He should not complain against Providence or his own fate. If he does that, that is, complain and curse his bitter fate, he simply proclaims and announces his own folly; for when Providence gave him a comfortable and acceptable place in society, he has no right to withdraw from it to a deserted place. Such a person must not be pitied since he goes against the nature of Creation, having the choice to live as Providence decreed. It is therefore he who is merciless. This law is accepted by all members of humanity and none disagrees.

I can add and stress the issue from a religious angle and rephrase it as the following rule: Providence over Creation derives from the Creator, who, undoubtedly, has a purpose in his actions; for no one acts purposelessly. Thus, whoever acts against one of the natural law that God imprinted on us, of necessity blemishes the ultimate aim, which is undoubtedly based on all natural laws together, not one is missing. It is fitting for a smart worker to neither diminish nor add even hairbreadth to the actions that the goal necessitates. Thus, whoever violates a single law, his violation damages and harms the ultimate aim that blessed God has set. Nature will therefore punish him. We, God’s creatures, must therefore have no pity on him, because he desecrates natural laws and shows contempt against God’s aim. This, in my opinion, is the order of the sentence.

I think that it is not worthwhile to anyone to disagree with the form I gave the sentence since the wording is the same. Where lies the difference if they say that the supervisor is called nature, that is, unknowing and aimless, or that the supervisor is amazingly wise, knowing, and feeling, and that his actions are purposeful? Eventually, we all agree and accept that we have the duty to observe Providence’s commandments, that is, natural laws. And we all agree that whoever transgresses Providence’s commandments, that is, natural laws, is worthy and deserving of the punishment meted out by nature, and no one should have mercy on him. Thus, the law has a cohesive character and the only disagreement is about motive. In their opinion, a motive is necessary; and in my opinion, it relates to the aim.

To spare me the need to mention both terms – nature and Providence – seeing that there is no disagreement regarding the upholding of the laws as I have proven, it is best that we compromise and accept the words of the Kabbalists that “the nature (hateva)” is numerically “God (Elohim),” that is, eighty-six. I can then call God’s laws by the name nature’s commandments or the other way round because they are the same, and there is no need for a lengthy, futile discussion.

6. It is very important now to observe nature’s commandment, to understand what it demands of us lest it punish us mercilessly, as we know.

We have said that nature requires the human species to lead a communal life. This is simple; yet we need to observe the commandments that nature requires us to observe from that angle, that is, that of communal life. When we look at it as a whole, we need to discuss just two social commandments. They can be defined as “receiving,” and “giving,” meaning that each member must, according to nature, receive his needs from the community; he is also beholden to benefit the community through his work. If he transgresses one of these two commandments, he will be mercilessly punished, as said.

With regard to the command to receive, we do not need to scrutinize it at length since punishment is meted out immediately. For that reason, it will not be neglected. But regarding the second commandment, which is “giving to the community,” punishment is not meted out immediately. Furthermore, we are not punished proportionately.

Therefore, this commandment is not properly observed, and so humanity is fried over the fire in a terrible pan; and the sword, famine, and their consequences have not ceased to this day. It is a wonder that nature judges us like a professional judge, considering our stage of evolution; for, as we see, the more humanity evolves, the more suffering and pain we undergo to attain our support and sustenance.

A scientific, experimental basis is presented before you, showing that we are commanded by his Providence to observe, with our very being, the commandment of “giving to one another” with the utmost precision. This way, none of the members will work less than the full measure that assures a thriving, happy community. As long as we are too lazy to uphold this to its full extent, nature will not stop punishing us and take its revenge upon us. According to the plagues we are struck with at this time, we also have to consider the drawn sword before our eyes and must reach the correct conclusions, for eventually nature will have the upper hand and we will all have to come together to observe its commandments to the fullest extent required of us.

Proving his service by experience 7. One criticizing my work can still argue that I have only proved that people must work, but where is the practical proof that we should observe a certain commandment for the sake of God?

History itself accomplished the task for us and prepared for us a full case, enough for us to have a full evaluation and reach irrefutable conclusions. Everyone sees how a large community, such as Russia, with a population of hundreds of millions, with lands at its disposal larger than those of the whole of Europe, with assets of raw material almost unparalleled in the entire world, agreed to live a cooperative life and practically abolished all personal possessions. No one has any other care but for the good of the community. They seemingly acquired the good quality of “giving to one another” in its fullest sense, as much as the human mind can encompass.

Yet, regardless, see what befell them. Instead of rising and progressing above bourgeois countries, they kept deteriorating to the point that not only they are incapable of ameliorating workers’ lives even a little bit beyond those of workers in bourgeois countries, but they are also unable to ensure them their daily bread and cover their nakedness. This fact is very confusing. Judging by the wealth of this country and its large population, it should not have reached that point based the human thinking.

8. But this nation has committed the single sin that God will not forgive them for; it is that this precious and lofty work of “giving to one another,” which they started practicing, must be for the sake of blessed God, not for humanity’s sake. Not working for God’s sake, they have no right to exist from nature’s point of view.

Try to imagine every single person in that community careful to observe God’s commandment to the extent of the verse, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and to the same extent take care to fulfill his neighbor’s needs and wishes to the same extent inherent in the person’s nature to fulfill his own wishes, as said, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Had God himself been the aim of every worker while working toward social welfare, that is, had the worker expected that by his work for the sake of the community he would attain cleaving to God, to the source of all that is true and good and blissful and soft, there would be no doubt that in very few years they would have risen above all the world’s countries combined, because they would be then able to utilize all the troves of raw materials in their rich soil and would truly be a miraculous example to all countries and would be called “blessed of the Lord” (Isaiah 65:23).

But now, when the whole amount of work of “giving to one another” is based solely on the community alone, it is a rickety foundation since who and what will oblige the individual to do more and make efforts in the name of society? There is no hope for the world in this dry and lifeless principle, to motivate even evolved people, not to mention unevolved ones. The question was therefore raised what would motivate the worker or farmer and induce him to work? His daily bread would be neither more nor less if he would spend his strength without any goal or reward set before him. Biologists know that a person would not make even the smallest movement without motivation, that is, without self-benefit. For example, when someone moves his hand from the chair to the table it is because he thinks that placing his hand on the table will be more beneficial. Without thinking this way, he would keep his hand on the chair and not move it until ripe old age. This applies even more to great effort.

If you suggest solving it by placing supervisors so that if someone drags his feet while working, he would be punished and his sustenance would be taken from him, let me ask you, tell me, what will motivate the supervisors themselves to work? Standing in one place and supervising people to direct them to exert themselves also involves a great effort, possibly greater than the work itself.

9. It therefore seems like someone who tries to start a machine without fueling it. They are destined by nature to fail since natural laws will punish them for not being able to carry out its commands themselves and perform these acts of giving to one another as God’s service in order to observe it and reach through it Creation’s ultimate aim of cleaving to God, as explained in the article The Giving of the Torah (section 6). This state of cleaving reaches the observing person like the measure of his pleasant and blissful abundance that gradually increases until it attains the desirable amount that allows him to be elevated by recognizing God’s truth, growing until he acquires the highest state alluded to in the verse, “neither has the eye seen… god, beside you” (Isaiah 64:3).

Imagine to yourself that if the farmer and the worker would have before them this aim while working for social happiness, they would certainly need no supervisors over them because they would already be motivated to be completely content making great efforts to raise the community to the pinnacle of happiness. The truth is that understanding matters this way requires great care and reliable organization, but everyone sees that only the tenacious and uncompromising nature grants them the right to exist. This is what I wanted to prove here.

10. I have clearly proven to you, based on experiential understanding, from historical events that unfold before our eyes, that the only remedy in the world for humanity is that they should accept upon themselves Providence’s command to give to one another in order to give satisfaction to God, based on two verses. The one is “love your neighbor as yourself,” which characterizes the service itself. It means that the degree of the effort in giving to another for social benefit should be no less than the degree impressed on each individual to care for his own needs. Furthermore, they need to give others’ needs precedence over their own; as explained in the article The Giving of the Torah, section 4. The second verse is “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” This is the aim that must be envisioned by everyone while toiling to fulfill the needs of others. It instructs us that people should act and strive only to find favor in the eyes of God, who said of those who perform his bidding.

“…if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19), “For the poor shall cease out of the land” (v. Deuteronomy 15:11) and there will be no one who is tortured or exploited throughout the land. Each one’s happiness will increase beyond any estimation. But as long as you are reluctant and do not wish to enter the covenant of the service of God to the extent mentioned before, nature and its laws are ready to take their revenge on us and will not let go, as we have clearly proven, until it will vanquish us and we will accept its authority and anything that it will command us, as explained.

I have presented you with a scientific, practical study based on the analysis of practical knowledge, that all people are under absolute obligation to accept upon themselves God’s work with their whole heart, soul, and being.

Interpretation of the Mishna “Everything is placed in pledge, and a net is spread over all the living”

11. Having known all that was said, we can now gain understanding of this unclear Mishna in tractate Avot. This is what it says,

“He (Rabbi Akiva) would also say: Everything is placed in pledge, and a net is spread over all the living. The store is open, the storekeeper extends credit, the account-book lies open, the hand writes, and all who wish to borrow may come and borrow. The collection-officers make their rounds every day and exact payment from man, with his knowledge and without his knowledge. Their case is well founded, the judgment is a judgment of truth, and ultimately, all is prepared for the feast” (tractate Avot 3:16).

This Mishna has not remained unclear without a reason, an allegory without any allusion as to its significance. This indicates that there is great depth to fathom here. It is well explained based on the knowledge we have acquired so far.

The wheel of the transformation of form

12. I shall first offer the opinion of our sages regarding the devolution of the world’s generations. Even though we see that bodies change with the passage of generations, this applies only to bodies. Souls, which are the main part of the body’s essence, are never absent as temporary objects must be. Those souls present during the generation of the Flood were transported into the generation of the Tower of Babel, then into the exile in Egypt, to those who left Egypt, and so on, to this generation and the end of the perfecting process. This way, there are no new souls as there are bodies but only an exact number of souls that reincarnate on the wheel the transformation of form1 since each time the soul is newly enclothed in a new body and in a new generation.

Therefore, from the soul’s point of view, all generations from the time of Creation until the end of the perfecting process, are considered a single generation that extended its life by several thousand years until it evolved and reached its perfected, proper state. It is of no importance, from this point of view, that in the meantime each soul changes bodies several thousand times; the body’s essence, called the soul, did not undergo any of these changes.

There are a lot of proof and extraordinary wisdom that is called the mystery of reincarnation, though this is not the place to discuss it. However, due to the immense scope of the issue that one who is not knowledgeable in this wisdom faces, it should be mentioned that reincarnation applies to every detail of tangible reality. Everything leads an eternal life in its own way, and even though we perceive through our senses that everything exists and then deteriorates, this is merely what meets the eye. In truth, these are merely phases of reincarnation. No individual detail rests or remains still even for a single moment but reincarnates over the wheel of the transformation of form, losing nothing of its essence while it moves on; physicists have discussed this at length by.

13. We now arrive at the interpretation of the Mishnaic verse, which states, “Everything is placed in pledge.” The matter was likened to a person who lent another a sum of money to start a business so he would be his partner and split the profit with him. To be assured that he would not lose his money, he gave it to him with a pledge and was thus free of worry. Such is the creation and maintenance of the world. God prepared it for people to engage in and eventually attain through it the exalted aim of cleaving to God, as explained in the article The Giving of the Torah (section 6; read there well). But can we even conceive someone forcing humanity to engage in God’s service so they will reach this exalted and lofty aim at the end? Rabbi Akiva therefore says, “Everything is placed in pledge,” meaning that nothing that the Creator presented at the Creation and has given to people was for free. He insured himself with a pledge.

And what pledge, might you ask, was given to him? He answers that with “a net is spread over all the living”; meaning that God acted wisely and cast such a miraculous net over the entire humanity that none can escape, but all the living must be trapped in that net and accept upon themselves God’s service until they attain their lofty goal. This is God’s pledge with which he ascertained that he would not be troubled by the act of Creation.

14. He then explains the subject in detail, saying that “The store is open,” meaning that even though this world seems to us as an open store without owners, and any passerby can take merchandise and goods as he wishes for free and without account, Rabbi Akiva warns us that “the storekeeper extends credit,” meaning that even though you do not see any storekeeper here, know that there is a storekeeper. He does not demand payment since he extends credit.

And if you ask, how does he track his accounts, he answers that “the account-book lies open, the hand writes,” meaning that there is a general account book where each and every deed is written, so none of it is lost. This refers to the law of evolution that the Holy One, blessed be He, imprinted on humanity, which urges us always onward.

It means that detrimental behaviors present during human stages themselves cause and create good stages; and each good stage is no more than the fruit of the labor of the evil stage that preceded it. The values of good and evil do not refer to the state in itself but to the general goal. Each state that brings humanity closer to the goal is called good; and that which draws them further from the goal is called evil.

The law of evolution is based solely on this value. Deterioration and evil formed during a certain state are considered the cause and produce the good state in such a way that each state lasts just enough time to increase evil within it to such a degree that the public cannot tolerate it. The public must then gather against it, destroy it, and settle into a better state to improve that generation. Similarly, the new state lasts until the sparks of evil in it grow and mature to an unbearable extent and must then be destroyed to construct an easier state in its stead. Those states improve, one after the other, level by level, until they reach a state so perfected that it is wholly devoid of evil sparks.

You will find that the seeds and kernels out of which the good states emerge are none other than the evil actions themselves, that is, all evil produced at the hands of the generation’s wicked people combine and multiply until they assume such weight that the public cannot withstand so they rise to destroy it and create a more favorable state. Thus, you see that each individual wickedness becomes a requirement to the force that urges the right state to evolve from it.

In the words of Rabbi Akiva, “the account-book lies open” since each state that a certain generation is in resembles an account book, and all evil doers resemble writing hands; for every evil deed is engraved and written down in the account book until they add up to a number that the public can no longer tolerate. They then destroy this evil state and settle into a more favorable state, as explained. Thus, each action becomes part of the account and they are written down in a book, that is, in the said state.

15. He adds, “and all who wish to borrow may come and borrow,” referring to those who do not believe that this world resembles an abandoned, ownerless open store. Instead, there is a storekeeper here in this world standing by his store and demanding that each person who takes something will pay the quoted price for the merchandise he takes from it, that is, he should strive to serve God while he is supported by that store in the best and surest way that will enable him to reach the aim of Creation, as God wishes. It is considered that such a person “wishes to borrow,” that is, before he extends his hand to take something from this world, which is the store, it is as if he takes a loan to pay its asking price; that is, he takes it upon himself to work and reach God’s aim while he is supported by the store, by faithfully promising to pay his debt by reaching the intended result. He is therefore called one who “wishes to borrow,” which means he is indebted to pay off the debt.

Rabbi Akiva paints for us two types of people. The first type is those that relate to “The store is open.” They think of this world as an open store without an owner storekeeper. He says of them, “the account-book lies open, the hand writes,” meaning that even though they do not see any account, still “all their deeds are written in a book” (v. Tractate Avot 2:1). As explained above, this is facilitated by the evolutionary law that is embedded in Creation in spite of humanity since the wicked people’s actions themselves of necessity produce good deeds, as explained above.

The other category of humanity is called those who wish to borrow; they are considerate with the owner and when they take something from the store, they only take it as a loan and promise the storekeeper to pay him the allotted price, namely, to attain through it the ultimate aim. He says of them, “and all who wish to borrow may come and borrow.”

16. What is the difference, you might ask, between the first category of people who reach the ultimate aim that is forced on them through the law of evolution, and the second category for whom the ultimate aim is attained when they submit themselves to God’s service? After all, both are equal in attaining the goal. He therefore continues, “The collection-officers make their rounds every day and exact payment from man, with his knowledge and without his knowledge,” that is, it is true that both equally pay their debt by instalments daily. And just as the special powers that appear with the engagement in God’s service are considered the faithful collection officers that exact payment by instalments daily until the debt is fully repaid, the strong forces embedded in the evolutionary law are equally considered faithful collection officers that exact payment by instalments daily until the debt is fully paid; as said, “The collection-officers make their rounds every day and exact payment from man.”

Still, there is a great difference and distance between them, which is, “with his knowledge and without his knowledge.” The debt of those in the first category is collected by the collection officers of evolution. They collect their debt “without their knowledge.” Instead, the stormy waves that are flung on them by the strong evolutionary wind push them from behind and force people to move forward. The debt is collected against their will with the great suffering of the manifestation of the forces of evil that push them from behind.

But those in the second category willingly pay their debt, which is attaining the aim “with their knowledge.” They do so when they repeat the special actions that accelerate the evolution of the sense of the recognition of evil in the way explained in the article The Essence and Purpose of Religion (section 6; study there well). With this service their gain is twofold.

The first benefit is that the forces that manifest with God’s service are present before them as an attracting force, pulling from the front like magnetic attraction. They run towards it, attracted by it willingly, moved by yearning based on the spirit of love. Needless to say, they are devoid of any sorrow or suffering that the first category undergoes. The second benefit is that they hurry toward the desired outcome, because they are the righteous and the prophets that attain the aim in every generation, as explained in the article The****essence of the wisdom of Kabbalah (section 2)?

As you can see, the distance between those who pay knowingly and those who pay unknowingly is as great as the light of bliss and pleasure excels over the darkness of suffering and vicious pain.

17. He further says, “Their case is well founded, the judgment is a judgment of truth,” that is, he promises all those who pay willingly and knowingly that “Their case is well founded,” as great power lies in the ability of God’s service to draw them to the lofty aim, and it is worth their while to submit to God’s yoke.

Of those who pay without their knowledge, he says “the judgment is a judgment of truth.” It is seemingly astonishing that God’s Providence allows and permits all the misdeeds and suffering to manifest in the world, in which humanity is boiled mercilessly.

He therefore says that “the judgment is a judgment of truth,” since “all is prepared for the feast,” that is, for the true ultimate aim and the celestial bliss that will be revealed with the manifestation of God’s purpose for Creation, according to which all the effort and toil and suffering that keep coming throughout generations and eras resemble a host who works hard and labors to prepare a large banquet to invited guests. The predicted goal that will eventually manifest itself is likened to the banquet in which the guests are seated and enjoy themselves. He therefore says, “the judgment is a judgment of truth, and ultimately, all is prepared for the feast,” as explained.

18. You will find a similar argument that discusses man’s creation in Bereshit Rabbah, as follows:

The ministering angels asked “the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Master of the universe, ‘what is man, that you are mindful of him? And the son of man, that you visit him?’ (Psalms 8:5). This trouble, why should it come about? He said to them: ‘If so, ‘all sheep, and oxen, and also the beasts of the field’ (Ibid. 8) why were they created? … This is analogous to a king who had a tower filled with all manner of fine things, but he had no guests. What pleasure does the king derive from having filled it? They said before him: ‘Master of the universe, ‘O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth’ (Ibid. 12) – do what pleases you’” (Bereshit Rabbah 8:6-7).

Commentary: the angels saw all the pain and suffering that will be visited upon humanity so they wondered and asked, “This trouble, why should it come about?” The Holy One, blessed be He, responded that he does have a tower filled with fine objects, and no other guests invited except for this humanity. The angels considered the pleasures in this tower that awaits its guests against the suffering and troubles expected to befall humanity. Having seen that it is worthwhile for humanity to suffer for the expected good that awaits us, they agreed to the creation of man, that is, exactly as Rabbi Akiva said, “the judgment is a judgment of truth, and ultimately, all is prepared for the feast.” For ever since the beginning of Creation, all people were marked as guests, whom the Creator’s plan compels to come to the feast knowingly or unknowingly, as explained.

World peace

19. This explanation will reveal to everyone the truth in the words of the prophet in his prophecy of peace that begins with, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid…” (Isaiah 11:6) and the reason he gives is that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). It follows that the prophet made world peace conditional on the whole world being full of the knowledge of the Lord, that is, exactly as we said above. The fierce, egotistical opposition between one person and another, and the acrimonious international relations which it brings, all these will pass from the world not by any form of human device or trick. For we see with our own eyes how the miserable sick patient tosses and turns in human pains that nothing mitigates; humanity has already thrown itself into the extreme right, as did Germany, or into the extreme left, as did Russia. But not only did they not alleviate the situation but they aggravated the disease and the pain, and its sounds reached high heaven, as we all know.

Thus, there is no other stratagem but to come to accept God’s yoke through the knowledge of the Lord, that is, to direct their actions to please the Lord and reach his aim, as he planned for them prior to the Creation. When they do that, it is clear to everyone that every trace of jealousy and hatred will be completely erased from humanity, as I have clearly demonstrated by these words so far. All the members of humanity will merge into a single body with a single heart that is filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Thus, world peace and the knowledge of the Lord amount to the same thing.

Peace is a means for redemption 20. This is immediately followed by the words of the prophet, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people… and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11-12). We learn from this that world peace precedes the gathering of the exiles.

We will now understand the words of the sages at the end of tractate Oktzin, “the Holy One, blessed be He, found no vessel that could contain blessing for Israel save that of peace, as it is written, ‘The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace’ (Psalms 29:11)” (Mishna, Oktzin 3:12).

We are first surprised by the eloquent phrase regarding a “vessel that could contain blessing for Israel.” Also, how can we deduce such an opinion from this verse?

But this verse is interpreted like Isaiah’s prophecy that world peace precedes the gathering of the exiles. The verse therefore says, “The Lord will give strength unto his people” which means that blessed God will give his people Israel strength, that is, eternal revival. Then, “the Lord will bless his people with peace,” meaning that he will bless his people Israel before blessing the entire world with peace. He then adds, “the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people…”

That is how the sages interpreted the verse; blessing of the entire world preceded strength, that is, redemption, since “the Holy One, blessed be He, found no vessel that could contain blessing for Israel save that of peace,” that is, as long as self-love and egoism dwell among the nations, even the children of Israel would be unable to serve the Lord with the purity of giving to one another, as explained in the interpretation of the verse, “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6) in the article Mutual Guarantee. We learn from experience that coming into the land of Israel and constructing the Temple could not last and bring the blessings that God swore to our fathers.

This is what is meant by, “the Holy One, blessed be He, found no vessel that could contain blessing,” meaning that the children of Israel did not yet have a vessel that could contain the blessings of the fathers; therefore, the oath that we will inherit the blessing of the land forever was not yet upheld, because world peace is the only vessel that allows us to receive the blessing of the fathers, as said in Isaiah’s prophecy.