Exile and suffering.
Let’s now look at the second verse of Genesis, and discover something difficult and yet comforting about the inevitability of our Jewish past history.
Genesis 1:2-4
The earth was desolate and astonishingly void, with darkness on the face of the depths, but God's spirit moved on face of the waters.
God said, 'There shall be light,' and light came into existence.
God saw that the light was good, and God divided between the light and the darkness.
Midrash Breishis Rabbah 2:4
R. Shimon ben Lakeish interpreted the verses as exiles.
(Thus) “The earth was desolate” refers to the Babylonian exile1, as it says I have seen the land and behold it was desolate”;
“and bewilderingly empty” this is the Median (and Persian) exile, as it says they rushed to bring Haman”;
“with darkness” this is the Greek exile, as they (the Greeks) darkened the eyes of Israel with their decrees, as they would say (to the Jews) ‘Write on the horn of an bull that you have no portion in the God of Israel’;
“on the face of the depths” is the exile of the wicked kingdom (Edom/Rome) which has no discernible bottom, just like a void. Just as the bottom of a void cannot be discerned (understood) so too the wicked cannot be fathomed.
“But God’s spirit moved upon the face of the waters” this is the spirit of Melech HaMoshiach (King Messiah), just as it says: “And rested upon him the spirit of God.” And with what merit does it hasten to come? “[God’s spirit] hovered on the face of the waters” in the merit of repentance which is compared to water, as it says: “Pour out your heart like water [towards God].”
Four exiles? How? Why? Who says?
God says. Because the dynamic of four-fold darkness before light is integral to creation, right from the beginning. R. Shimon ben Lakeish teaches that if there is to be a great light, let’s call it Israel, that it will first be preceded by a four-fold darkness. Each of them adding a layer to the experience that would make Israel what it is today.
Because each of the four exiles would challenge the Jews in a different way, forcing them to cling to God against the might of Babylon, Persian decadence, Greek art and intellectualism, and Roman barbarity, culminating of course in the worst of the descendants of Esav, the Nazi Amalek.
Suffering through exile, with all of the evils that we Jews have been victim of, somehow, somewhere, is integral to who we are today. Those sufferings were the worst evils and no one should ever have to suffer them. But Jews did. And in the end, an amazing race/religion... people have been created.
How do we account for humanoids like Adolf? Is there no bottom to depths to which a human can sink? The answer to that, as R. Shimon teaches, is no. There is no bottom. And therefore it becomes the very real obligation of every thinking person to make darn sure that humanity at large, or at least the humanity he or she is around, is somehow involved in that "baptism" by water the Midrash spoke about there at the end. “Pour out your heart like water toward the Face of God.” But that is the topic of the “bow,” so let’s let it go, for now.
To sum up: Struggle is a necessary aspect of self-actualisation, and on a national level it has been a necessary aspect of the Jewish battle against evil.
Genesis 1:2-4
The earth was desolate and astonishingly void, with darkness on the face of the depths, but God's spirit moved on face of the waters.
God said, 'There shall be light,' and light came into existence.
God saw that the light was good, and God divided between the light and the darkness.
Midrash Breishis Rabbah 2:4
R. Shimon ben Lakeish interpreted the verses as exiles.
(Thus) “The earth was desolate” refers to the Babylonian exile1, as it says I have seen the land and behold it was desolate”;
“and bewilderingly empty” this is the Median (and Persian) exile, as it says they rushed to bring Haman”;
“with darkness” this is the Greek exile, as they (the Greeks) darkened the eyes of Israel with their decrees, as they would say (to the Jews) ‘Write on the horn of an bull that you have no portion in the God of Israel’;
“on the face of the depths” is the exile of the wicked kingdom (Edom/Rome) which has no discernible bottom, just like a void. Just as the bottom of a void cannot be discerned (understood) so too the wicked cannot be fathomed.
“But God’s spirit moved upon the face of the waters” this is the spirit of Melech HaMoshiach (King Messiah), just as it says: “And rested upon him the spirit of God.” And with what merit does it hasten to come? “[God’s spirit] hovered on the face of the waters” in the merit of repentance which is compared to water, as it says: “Pour out your heart like water [towards God].”
Four exiles? How? Why? Who says?
God says. Because the dynamic of four-fold darkness before light is integral to creation, right from the beginning. R. Shimon ben Lakeish teaches that if there is to be a great light, let’s call it Israel, that it will first be preceded by a four-fold darkness. Each of them adding a layer to the experience that would make Israel what it is today.
Because each of the four exiles would challenge the Jews in a different way, forcing them to cling to God against the might of Babylon, Persian decadence, Greek art and intellectualism, and Roman barbarity, culminating of course in the worst of the descendants of Esav, the Nazi Amalek.
Suffering through exile, with all of the evils that we Jews have been victim of, somehow, somewhere, is integral to who we are today. Those sufferings were the worst evils and no one should ever have to suffer them. But Jews did. And in the end, an amazing race/religion... people have been created.
How do we account for humanoids like Adolf? Is there no bottom to depths to which a human can sink? The answer to that, as R. Shimon teaches, is no. There is no bottom. And therefore it becomes the very real obligation of every thinking person to make darn sure that humanity at large, or at least the humanity he or she is around, is somehow involved in that "baptism" by water the Midrash spoke about there at the end. “Pour out your heart like water toward the Face of God.” But that is the topic of the “bow,” so let’s let it go, for now.
To sum up: Struggle is a necessary aspect of self-actualisation, and on a national level it has been a necessary aspect of the Jewish battle against evil.