| Man was meant to live forever. We were
originally created and designed to be a spiritual /physical unity
that has an infinite connection with our Creator, and does not
die. This is hard to fathom given the biological reality we live
with. Death is the one thing that all mortals consider inevitable.
How did the plan for humanity get changed so drastically? Rabbi
Luzzatto explains: The first creation made a fundamental mistake
and ate the fruit that God said not to. That mistake changed him
from a pure being into a mixture of purity and impurity. That
mixture cannot be perfected unless it undergoes disintegration
and renewal. This mistake affected all of us because we are all
pieces of him. You might say - we die for his sin. If we were
to collectively rectify the blemish Adam created we could once
again reach a perfection that denies the inevitability of death.
This is an example of a major principle that runs through Kabbalah
- that mankind, as an extension of the first man, is one.
Our collective purpose of connecting to the Infinite is thwarted
by any one individual's transgression. Therefore we bear the negative
consequences of other's mistakes. We find this expressed in the
Yom Kippur liturgy. The formal confession, that is repeated a
number of times during the prayers, is expressed in the plural:
"We have betrayed. We have stolen. We have slandered, etc."
Upon reading this the first time everyone asks, "Why am I
confessing to things I haven't done?" The answer is we are
all responsible for each other's mistakes because we are one.
Don't worry though; it works in our favor as well. Your fellow
man benefits you with his mitzvahs. We can elevate each other
or bring each other down. How can it be fair that I'm held accountable
for someone else's transgression? The sages tell us that it's
not possible for one person to transgress unless the desire for
that transgression lies in the heart of us all.
The Torah enjoins us to study all the commandments, even if you
don't think you personally will violate all of them. We are also
commanded to educate each other, and point out (in a kind, loving,
and sensitive way) the violations that we see in each other. It's
expected that we protest wrongdoing, and try to convince others
of their mistakes. Commandments like, "Don't stand idly be
when someone's life is in danger" (Leviticus 19:16), underline
the communal responsibility that permeates the Torah. These are
not merely moral injunctions but expressions of the spiritual
reality that we are all connected. If the essence of man is the
soul, and the soul is connected to the Infinite, then all souls
are connected and therefore one.
It may seem schizophrenic but many of us may not be only who
we think we are. We may be carrying around an extra soul from
someone else. We may be here for the second or third time. We
may be a reincarnation of someone else, a piece of someone else,
or we may share a soul with someone else who is living. It's even
said that there is a piece of Moses in every one of us. These
are not aspects of our idea of all humanity being connected, yet
they accentuate the interconnectedness of the spiritual realm.
Our interdependence connects us throughout our entire history.
From the time of the first human until the time of the intended
perfection of all humanity. We see this in the kabbalistic teaching
that the name Adam hints to this by being an acronym of the first
letters of Adam, David, and Messiah in Hebrew. It seems that the
DNA of the three major eras of mankind were inscribed in the first
creation. It just might be that when mankind realizes how tied
to one another we really are the ultimate perfection and purpose
of creation will be at hand. And then we will live forever.See
more of these essays on kabbalahmadeeasy.com
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