The Purpose of Exile Every exile is an existential test whose successful survival automatically corrects a basic flaw in the Jewish sense of identity and self-awareness. If there were no such character flaw, or if it were corrected by Jews themselves without the need of any outside pressure, the exile would be superfluous. The object of the suffering that is endured in exile is always positive. But whereas suffering that is a consequence of retribution and punishment is essentially negative, the object of the suffering that is endured in exile is always positive. The correct way to regard exile is to perceive it as a very powerful existential corrective tool. Jews necessarily correct a major national character flaw by simply enduring the suffering associated with exile. Thus, even in the absence of sin, exile can be employed as the most effective method available to correct some fault in the character of the Jewish nation. According to Rabbi Dessler, the Torah view of the very first exile, the 210-year sojourn in Egypt, is that it came to correct the character flaw of lack of faith in God. The faith in God that resides in the hearts of the Jewish nation is an inheritance from the patriarchs. God Himself stated: Shall I conceal from Abraham what I do now that Abraham is surely to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him? For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of God, doing charity and justice, in order that God might then bring upon Abraham that which he had spoken of him. (Genesis 18:17-19) Abraham grows into a great and mighty nation because God loves him, and this love is extended to Abraham because he knows how to pass on his belief in God and his adherence to His ways to his children. Thus, the tiniest flaw in Abrahams faith is bound to appear in his children in magnified form, just as a tiny flaw in the roots of a plant will appear magnified in its shoots and branches.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 15:45:00 +0000
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