Mesillas Yesharim - The Future Unity

מסילת ישרים ח"א – הקדמה – עמ' קלו - קלט

In our current generation, the highest level of love we can reach toward others is Ahavas Yisrael (to love other Jews). However, in the future, it will be revealed how “Esav is a brother to Yaakov.” It will be revealed that Yaakov (the Jews) and Esav (the non-Jews) really love each other!

It is written, “I love Yaakov, and Esav I hate.” This is only referring to the current generation, in which there is a disparity between Yaakov and Esav. But at the root, Esav is really Yaakov’s brother, and thus there will eventually be love between Yaakov and Esav.

“There is a halacha: It is well-known that Esav hates Yaakov.” This is only true regarding our current times. But in the future, Chazal say that all the mitzvos will disappear [which does not simply mean it will disappear, because we know that the Torah can never change; rather, it means that there will be a more inner revelation of the Torah, and in that sense, there will be a bittul\nullification to the current level of Torah], and therefore this “halachah” will also disappear. It will be revealed that Yaakov and Esav are really one.

And since this is so, the same goes for Yitzchok and Yishmael – it will be revealed that they are both one.

In the future, all of the nations will serve Hashem. This does not simply mean that they will all randomly serve Hashem and remain apart from us. Rather, it means that because the entire world will be one – all of the nations unified – they will all be able to join together in unison and serve Hashem. It will be revealed that the nations of the world are really one with the Jewish people.

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This concept is contained in understanding what went on before the sin of Adam, and what happened afterwards due to the sin. Before Adam sinned, there was no separation between the Jewish people and the other nations. (Although there were still different soul levels, this is a deep matter that is beyond the current scope of this discussion). After Adam sinned, there became a need for a chosen nation in Creation. This chosen nation would become the Jewish people, and it began with Avraham Avinu. This still continues until today.

But in the future, when the sin of Adam is completely fixed, all of the souls will go back to Adam’s soul and become integrated in one unit. The sefer “Leshem” speaks about this topic at length, where he writes that all of the disparity and hatred which we see going on today within the Jewish people are all a result of Adam’s sin. In the ideal state of Creation, there is no such thing as hatred.

When the hatred and disparity is removed from within the Jewish people in the future, it will not only disappear from the Jewish people, but it will disappear entirely from the world. This will allow the Jewish people and the other nations to return to being one again with each other. There will be nothing but universal love, and it will be the total level of unity.

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People hear about this concept, and they find it hard to accept. Usually, the more a person has Ahavas Yisrael, the more he hates the nations of the world. If such a person hears that it says in our sefarim hakedoshim that there will be a universal unity with the other nations in the future, he’s not prepared to accept such a thing. How can it be that the other nations of the world - who have done so many bad things to us for all this time – how can it be that they will become unified with us?!

But, the purpose of Creation is to reveal how Hashem is One. In order for this to happen, His creations must become a receptacle to contain His Oneness, and therefore, all the Creations of the world must become one. Upon that, the Oneness of Hashem will settle upon them, and the purpose of Creation will be fulfilled.

Thus, if there is any hatred among the Jewish people chas v’shalom, Hashem cannot settle upon us.

Hashem destroyed the Beis HaMikdash because of our sinas chinam (baseless hatred). The question is: Why did the Beis HaMikdash have to get destroyed because of this? Why is it that the sin of baseless hatred cannot co-exist at the same time that there is a Beis HaMikdash?

The answer is very simple. In order for Hashem to let His Presence be on this world, there must be unity already here on this world. When there is disparity amongst our ranks, the oneness is gone, and then Hashem cannot allow His presence to be here. When there is no presence of Hashem, naturally, the Beis HaMikdash gets destroyed.

Although Hashem still is present in the Jewish people, it is an incomplete level of unity, because the Jewish people and other nations are separated, for now. This disparity affects our own unity as well. But in the future, when there will be only oneness in the world – when both the Jewish people and the other nations will be united – will there be a total Presence of Hashem on us. Then, it will be revealed Who the true “One” of the world is, as we say in the Shema: “Hear, Yisrael, Hashem Our G-d, Hashem is One.”