The Chosen People are not a physical nation or race, but people who have been granted a special desire to unite in common love for one another beyond all boundaries.
“We must first understand why the Torah was given to the Israeli nation and not to all the peoples of the world. Is there, God forbid, nationalism involved here? Of course only an insane person would think that.”
~Baal HaSulam in “The Revelation of Godliness” (Matan Torah)
Where the Torah writes of Israel as “the chosen people,” it is not talking about a nation or a race, or any form of superiority.
Who Are the Chosen People?
“The chosen people” means that the function of the people of Israel is to serve humanity. How should the people of Israel serve humanity? The wisdom of Kabbalah states that the duty of the people of Israel is to unite on the basis of the spiritual law “love thy neighbor as thyself,” and based on this unity, be an example for humanity in how to implement correct relationships between people.
Moreover, if we are not talking about a physical nation or race of people, then who are these “people of Israel” whose duty is to serve humanity the example of how to live life correctly?
Israel – its Definition According to Kabbalah
Israel is a combination of two Hebrew words: “Yashar” (straight) and “El” (Creator), and stands for one who has a sincere desire to discover the existence of the Creator (Israel = straight to the Creator). One can belong to any culture and have this desire, because it is independent from all of our inborn traits and environmental nurturing.
This spiritual desire exceeds all physical boundaries. One who has such a desire feels that there is a much more fundamental basis than national or cultural borders, upon which all people should equally connect and unite.
Thus, anyone who receives this urge to connect to others beyond all our created boundaries is called one who received a spiritual desire—the desire that is called “Israel.” Such a person is one of the “chosen ones” and has the opportunity to work on himself in order to rise above the boundaries of this world, and discover the love between us that exists in our spiritual connection to one another.
The Mission of the People of Israel
Making this connection a livable reality for humanity at large is the mission of the people of Israel, and the method which was given to this people—the wisdom of Kabbalah—was designed as the guide for how we can unite beyond our physical boundaries, and reach common love between us.
Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself – The Purpose of Creation
Kabbalah states that reaching “love thy neighbor as thyself” is the purpose for which humanity and everything we perceive in existence was created. In evolving to the state of “love thy neighbor as thyself,” humanity had to go through many generations of increasing separation and individualization. This evolving separatedness would reach a tipping point, where we would start recognizing how flawed our state of life is, and at the same time, start to feel the need to unite beyond our separatedness, and fix our state of life. The Book of Zohar stated that time would begin in the year 1995, and that it would begin in a small group of people who would take upon themselves the work of reaching the level of unity as described in the words “love thy neighbor as thyself,” and then disseminate this unity to humanity at large.
Further Reading:
- Kabbalah.info – This article is based on concepts taught at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute. Bnei Baruch is the largest group of Kabbalists in Israel, sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah with the world. Study materials in over 25 languages are based on authentic Kabbalah texts that were passed down from generation to generation. For more info: www.kabbalah.info
