When our holy zeal and great desire for redemption are gone, and our natural, human and national desire to live honorably as a nation are no longer present; and when it is no longer possible to legitimately blow the Shofar (horn) of redemption, our enemies come to us and blow it in our ears, “reminding us of our purpose.” They force us to hear the sound of the Shofar by blowing it into our ears and giving us no rest, like Amalek, Hitler and others did, to wake us up to our redemption.

… This type of nationalism, meaning ‘the sorrows of the Jews’ is a whip, and it too is a form of redemption, namely, “sorrows all around us awaken us and unite us,” however, for this Shofar sound, there is no blessing.

The Writings of Rav Kook, Vol 1, Article “Shofarot” (“The Horns”)

Rav Kook tells us that if awakening comes from externality and not the internality of the system of creation, then it does not come on account of the correction of creation, but it is an awakening from above, where out of no choice, we are awakened as such, because we cannot awaken ourselves.

Therefore, what we will do, through all these blows that come to us through “in due time,” through all situations and external, unpleasant causes, all our actions are then not out of correction, but because we run away from blows, from a bad place to a place that’s “a little better.” Therefore, it is not considered as being correction, but that we are in that in the animate level, like animals escape from blows, from sorrows that come to them from nature, e.g. a brushfire, so it is with us.

However, correction needs to be at the human level, where a person arranges his own deficiency. Other than the deficiency for the purpose of creation, he needs to become equipped with yearning. Then, when he has deficiency and yearning for the correct state, Hafetz Hesed (delighting in mercy) and active bestowal to the others, if there are such inclinations that he gathered and united through all kinds of activities among all the friends, then these actions can be received as actions of MAN, of request, of efforts for correction.

However, actions that come via external blows, all kinds of unpleasant events, that is only escaping toward good from blows. It is not that one yearns for bestowal. Then, when we see that people gather and want to be together, help each other out, and collaborate. There is nothing to be proud of in such a situation. These actions are similar to animals escaping from bad, and there is no correction in that.

Therefore, in our educational program, we need to respond to what the people are used to, but the main thing is to continue running activities in the times when some blow isn’t the reason for the activities, where we can explain the matter of connection, urgency, what we attain by that, and to what state we elevate ourselves, because the whole correction is in stabilizing the desire, the yearning for bestowal, not in that it is urgent for our ego to escape from bad, but because we appreciate the quality of bestowal as something exalted and special, and work out of goodness. We thus need to feel that difference between those two tendencies, and try to work from the corporeal good, to the spiritual good, where nothing urges me in my life to add exertion, other than the revelation of the Creator, the quality of bestowal and love, and by that we come close to the act of bestowal.

Based on the “Preparation” part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson of June 20, 2014. It can be downloaded from the Kabbalah Media Archive.

What is the spiritual definition of “nation” and “Jew” and how do they not relate at all to the corporeal definitions of these terms? What is MAN? What is Hafetz Hesed? What is an act of bestowal? How can an act of bestowal be made, and what are the benefits of reaching bestowal instead of remaining in reception? Learn the answers to these questions and more by learning the fundamental principles of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the Free Kabbalah Course: 20 lessons that will transform your life in 10 weeks. Click the banner below to sign up…