Three steps to personal, hence global redemption
By zevi770 · July 30, 2016
In life we exist within frameworks / paradigms / operating systems
If we have security, our natural tendency is to fulfill our desires (though subconsciously, the reason we have a desire is because we imagine it will make us happy.)
Now of course ironically in the countries that have the security and the social freedom (for in the past, societies usually dictated their standards, hence people couldn’t do what they wanted) that we have found, as the Talmudic statement, “A constant pleasure loses its pleasure” – in other words, there is no consistent pleasure from getting your desires.
This of course is good because it allows us to have an existential crises which promotes a search for truth
However system number two is the exact opposite, and this is when we live in fear – This fear can come from any number of factors – it can be societal – so a society, like the German one, which is harsh, demeans and bullies its children – hence people are rigid – A society in which there is simply the rule of jungle, as in much of Africa and Arab countries.
Now when God forbid we live in fear we become evil
The reason for this is twofold: firstly we have a need to protect ourselves and the best defense is offence – Secondly by nature we become jealous of the good another has, hence when another’s good is simply serenity, we do all in our power to cause that person to likewise have anxiety – this is the truth behind bullying, anti-Semitism and terrorism, which as its name suggests, is merely to create terror.
However redemption lies in the following mechanism which bypasses both previous:
Our sages teach that man is compared to a tree;
A tree to survive must have deep roots (otherwise it easily topples)
Similarly, for man to live and thrive amidst the winds of people, we must be firmly rooted in the soil of faith, trust and knowledge, that God loves us!
When we can feel one-hundred-percent cared for, we then have no need to fear; as the verse states, “God is with me, no man shall I fear.”
Furthermore, we must realize, that the only desire worth having, is the desire to fulfil God’s desires! which boils down to goodness and kindness