The Land I Will Show You, sec. 5, chapter 9

The Secret of Exile and Redemption

(For the previous chapter of “The Land I Will Show You, click here. For the ToC, click here.)

9: The Secret of Exile and Redemption

Why indeed is it important for the Children of Israel to return to Eretz Yisrael? Once upon a time, a single nation in the land knew Hashem; this approach has ceased. Why should we act according to the old template? Formulated this way, the point of the question is clear: Has the approach of "knowing" been nullified forever, or will it return? What will the end of history look like?

The answer is clear, though it depends on deep and hidden matters: The ultimate purpose is the knowledge of Hashem. The end is like the beginning; the knowledge of Hashem has always been sought after, except that the knowledge of Hashem at the end of days differs from the knowledge of Hashem at the beginning of days. Here, we delve into profound waters. A full clarification of this matter would require a book of its own. We have dedicated only one chapter to it. If it were necessary for the specific question to which our book is dedicated, I would elaborate as much as needed, but indeed, there is no need to expand here on this obscure issue. So, we will suffice with brief and concise chapter headings, without buttressing the fundamental ideas with sources; we will give to the wise who will become wiser, we will inform the righteous and they will increase in learning.

Initially, with the Exodus from Egypt, Hashem became known to the Children of Israel. They were brought to know Hashem, meaning to recognize Him and His attributes, to feel the presence of God in the Land. The acts of Hashem during the Exodus from Egypt served as an accurate depiction of what He is, essentially: The experience was an experience of God. But this process led to idolatry, to an incomplete recognition of God. Since the first step towards approaching God is rooted in human consciousness, that consciousness distorted the concept of God and reduced it. Anthropomorphizing God corrupted the concept. After the nullification of the inclination towards idolatry, a period of a theoretical approach to God began, understanding Him through abstract wisdom. This wisdom dictates that human knowledge is limited and flawed, that all knowledge is but a handle to something beyond it. All paths of knowledge are partial and limited. There are seventy paths to knowledge, and seventy national experiences – this is the secret of the seventy languages – and all of them can only serve as hints pointing to a certain truth found beyond knowledge.

At the end of days, all these many hints will merge. All nations will unite from the understanding that their unique experiences are but different paths leading to the one Hashem, to one unique and special root that generates everything. Thus, a new consciousness of Hashem will develop: consciousness of what was once beyond knowledge, the knowledge of Hashem without any anthropomorphizing of God. This knowledge that develops in a person from the recognition that his knowledge deceives him in its essence – that is the complete and true knowledge.

Then Hashem will be known – not in an entirely new form, but in a form that matches the beginning of His revelation; with the same attributes, but without any trace of anthropomorphizing. "Hear, O Israel: Hashem our God, Hashem is one" [Deuteronomy 6:4]. Rashi explains: " Hashem, who is now our God and not the God of the nations, is destined to be the one Hashem, as it is said, 'For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Hashem, [to serve Him with one consent]' [Zephaniah 3:9], and it is said, 'In that day shall Hashem be one, and His name one' [Zechariah 14:9]." For now, Hashem is our God alone, because only the people of Israel have experienced His deeds, while other nations have experienced incomplete deities, mere fragments of divinity. But in the future, the same Hashem, who is now our God, will be the God of the entire world. The first revelation of the Exodus from Egypt was true and complete, except that it was initially limited to a specific human experience; this led to idolatry, to the nullification of its inclination, and back to the starting point, but this time with purity and full abstraction.

This is the secret of the divine plan, in brief.[1] The idea is expressed deeply and wonderfully in the book "Sha'arei Orah"; before we quote his words, we note that with the understanding of this secret, we know the answer to the question with which we began: Why must the Children of Israel return to their private Land? The answer is that indeed, the worship of Hashem will become the inheritance of the whole world, but only through the Children of Israel and their unique story. With the story of the Children of Israel the divine revelation began, and the end of the revelation is the confirmation of this ancient revelation – and the Children of Israel have a central role in the plan and a special place in the final revelation. They are the ones who will unite the whole world around the perfection of knowing the One Hashem, the same Hashem who was initially revealed as "Hashem our God," unique to us. They are the ones who recognized Hashem and know how to find Him again, and they will teach all the nations of the world how they too can come to know Him. The special story of the Children of Israel will never be thrown into the trash heap of history. It stands as a banner for the nations, and to it nations will rally.

We will conclude the discussion with the words of "Sha'arei Orah". The matters are deep and hidden, and we did not consider it proper to elaborate here on the explanation of his words and their connection to what has been explained; We will only quote his words verbatim and rely on the discerning to understand his holy words and how our words are included in his: