Parashat Shoftim
„And with respect to the whole collective, there is no evil in existence; God has made everything beautiful in its time.”From Ein Ayah, Berachot II, section 182
It is natural for a person to see reality through himself: if it is good for him, it is good, and if it is bad for him, it is bad. But in this week's portion we are commanded, 'Be wholehearted with the Lord your God,' and Rav Kook explains that this wholeheartedness is not a surrender of humanity, but an ascent to a more complete level. When a person manages to see life from a collective perspective, he discovers that even what seems to be a personal evil is part of a divine process of a broad good. This understanding is not meant only to justify reality but also to heal his soul: it gives meaning to pain, expands his sense of belonging, and brings his life into the treasury of the collective in which happiness and joy are found. Precisely in this way his private life too becomes fuller, because he is connected to a good greater than himself.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.