The victory of anti-Israel leftist candidate Gabriel Boric over far-right candidate Jose Antonio Cast in Chile’s presidential election comes as no surprise to me. The rifts over the nation’s leadership, direction and vision have deepened, leading to a societal split into two opposing camps in different countries around the world. And this is related to the role of the Jewish people.
The polarization that arises today stems from the ambiguous state of humanity. Human egoism is growing and dividing people, and humanity does not know in which direction to move. It is moving either in the direction of a left communist movement or in the direction of a right fascist movement.
Chile is the most developed country in Latin America. It is also an economic success story: it is rich in resources, has a thriving fishing and agricultural industry, and ranks among the best South American countries in the UN Human Development Index. It is a
country closer in character to Europe, so it is only natural that an anti-Israel wind blows.
Even if the far right had come to power in Chile, anti-Israel sentiment would have been no different. The far right or the far left are two extremes that harbor a mutual hatred of Jews. From every body or party, from every circle and movement, they will eventually blame and criticize the State of Israel for every little problem.
The fact that we are being blamed for evil in the world already points to an interesting phenomenon: The nations of the world feel that there is a special power in the people of Israel, and in their own way they blame us for not passing it on. In their subconscious, they are more sensitive than we are to our role as “light unto the nations,” and their way of expressing this dissatisfaction is verbal or practical antisemitism.
“The Israeli nation had been constructed as a sort of gateway by which the sparks of purity would shine upon the whole of the human race the world over,” Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam,) wrote in his article The Arvut, (Mutual Guarantee), “until they are filled sufficiently, that is, until they develop to such an extent that they can understand the pleasantness and tranquility that are found in the kernel of love of others.” Once we are connected as one man in one heart, we flow a positive spiritual force through the inner network of communication that embraces the entire human race.
But instead of loving and uniting, we hate and hurt each other. Instead of acting in friendship, we treat each other badly. The failure to fulfill our spiritual role is felt in the countries of the world as they do not receive the sparks of love for others that should flow through us. This is the root cause of antisemitism.
If we do not connect with each other and fulfill the role assigned to us, the nations of the world will turn against us, as has happened throughout history. The leaders of the world are a kind of marker for the relationship between us and the world. They are controlled by the supreme power of nature, as it is written, “Like streams of water, the heart of the king is in the hand of God. He directs it anywhere He wishes.” (The Book of Proverbs, 21:1), so that by their positions we can examine our condition to some extent. Our situation, as always, requires the choice of a mutual guarantee and the application of the rule “and love thy neighbor as thyself” if we are to turn hostility toward us into appreciation.
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