What Does It Mean for Israel to Be a Light to the Nations?

Parents do not need someone to obligate them to do good things for their children or to provide them with a list of rules. Love leads them to constantly seek ways to benefit, help, and support their children. It was on the basis of a similar feeling that the people of Israel was formed, in its most ancient roots.

Abraham taught us that the great truth of life is found in kindness, love, and unity among all created beings. Such a form of connection corresponds to the unity of nature, the parts of which are all interconnected, and therefore it leads to the revelation of the general, single force in nature, God.

At Mount Sinai, we committed ourselves to being “as one man with one heart,” with “all of Israel responsible for one another.” After entering the Land of Israel, we built a society characterized by mutual aid and acts of kindness. A unique educational system cultivated in the younger generation a desire to live according to the principle, "Love your neighbor as yourself," and defined being human as being connected with everyone through complementary mutuality.

Society encouraged connections between those who had and those who lacked. This was reflected in all areas of life, including the gathering of agricultural produce. The practices of gleanings, forgotten sheaves, the corners of the field, fallen grapes, and all the gifts designated for the poor cultivated a social awareness that we all complement one another. The rich person provides food for the poor, while the poor person gives the rich an opportunity to develop the quality of kindness, to become truly human. Without that opportunity, he is merely a sack full of coins.

Incidentally, today there is tremendous abundance in the world, yet there are also very many hungry people, for the simple reason that we do not feel connected to one another. We will find no solution, and no amount of money or budgeting will help, until love for others enters the human heart.

The practice of visiting the sick also reflects the connection between people in different circumstances. Naturally, each person is different, whether in health, wealth, personality, intellectual ability, mental capacity, and in other ways, and only together can we form a beautiful puzzle. The protrusions of one person fit precisely into the deficiencies of another, and in this way we all complement each other.

The sources teach that "the world stands on three things: on Torah, on service, and on acts of kindness" (Pirkei Avot 1:2). "Torah" refers to a special force that can transform human nature from narrow egoism, i.e., the desire to enjoy for self-benefit alone at the expense of others, into love for others. This force comes after we perform "service" upon ourselves, i.e., until we develop a desire to rise to such a level. The culmination of the process is "acts of kindness," which emerge from a broad heart, a heart capable of feeling another person's joy and pain as its own.

These were the ideals of ancient Israeli society. Over time, we passed through a series of states, experiencing rises and falls in our relationships. At times we were more connected, and at other times more divided. When unfounded hatred destroyed the bonds between us, we entered a long exile among the nations.

Traces of that original Israeli mutuality could still be seen in the communities of the Diaspora. The standard was that anyone who did not help others was not considered part of the community. Living as a persecuted minority left us with no choice but to unite like a family.

With the establishment of the State of Israel, a fundamentally new era began. Those remnants of mutual concern that had sustained us for 2,000 years were transferred to public institutions such as the National Insurance Institute, health funds, and similar organizations. The emotional thread connecting people was nearly severed. Even in places where acts of kindness still exist, they are carried out through associations and organizations. Direct relationships between individuals are becoming increasingly rare.

If we wish to improve the situation in our country, i.e., to increase sensitivity, consideration, and concern for others, we need to revive that fundamental point of love. Good behavior is only the result, the expression of an inner feeling of connection with all members of the nation.

To achieve this, we need a profound educational, cultural, and social process, a genuine revolution in our perception of the relationship between the individual and society.

From a global perspective, we are living in a historical period in which the world has become like one village. Everyone affects everyone else and depends on everyone else. We are all stuck together in the same boat, and the growing ego within each person creates great danger.

Humanity has no future on this planet unless we begin to develop a feeling of closeness. Just as all of nature is unified, and just as the organs of a single body function in harmony, human beings must learn to function accordingly if we are to rise to the next stage of development.

An example of optimal connection between people must first be built within the people of Israel, because we carry within us an inner imprint of life based on connection and love. In addition, we possess Abraham's wisdom of connection, the method for bringing a corrective force to the egoistic nature within human beings.

Today this method is explained in detail primarily through the Kabbalistic teachings of Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, who is known as “Baal HaSulam,” which translates to “Master of the Ladder,” which he received for his “Sulam” (“Ladder”) commentary to The Book of Zohar. If we implement this method among the people of Israel, we will have something valuable to offer the world, and we will bear witness to the upper force of love and bestowal flowing from person to person throughout the world. Such a force will complete everything for everyone. That is what it means for Israel to be a light to the nations.

Based on “New Life 174 – Mutual Help And Benevolence” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.