If the premise is wrong, well nothing is right – so what’s the right and what’s the wrong premise??

The most important question is, how we see reality.

Reality of course includes most importantly how we see ourselves.

When societies have no respect for the individual, the individual obviously has low self-esteem, with low self-esteem, so then naturally the entire individual or society is simply seeking – as many societies unfortunately – better self-esteem (which as the easiest way to temporarily feel better about oneself, is stepping on others; hence the Arabs seek nothing more and nothing less than as the Germans did, to have the egotistical pleasure of annihilating another nation)

So what’s the right premise?

Of course, only by looking through the eyes of our Creator as explained in the Torah and Kabbalah/Chassidus can we understand both ourselves and reality!

It goes like this:

Number one: God is in charge – and though we don’t understand why things happen, there is a principle that everything that happens is either a revealed good or a concealed good, and ironically, concealed goods are so great, that like say an operation, it is worth all the pain in order to have the benefit of the subsequent blessing!

Secondly, we must realize, in essence we are God, the love, the compassion that we ourselves hold in our hearts, is the very same love, compassion that God holds in his!

Simultaneously, God wants to reward us, and as in essence the greatest reward is the very good deed itself; as our sagas teach, schar mitzvah, mitzvah, the reward for the mitzvah is the good deeds itself – but in order for it to be our efforts, he needed to create an equally strong opposing force to our love and compassion, and only by conquering this force, which is our Yetzer Hara, narcissistic and self-orientated tendencies (which is why doing good is actually a sacrifice, for we are stepping out of our selfish desires, which are by nature stronger than our selfless desires) can we do good!
rochi