Excerpt from Adam Zagoria-Moffet’s paper:
The Communist Kabbalist: The Political Theology of Rav Yehuda Ashlag
May 11, 2017
As we will see, Rav Ashlag continues his thinking into this same domain, advocating for an understanding of the people Israel as the vanguard of spiritual development, willing to lead the way despite the fact that the vast majority of humanity chooses to remain “mired in self-love.”
III. ‘Chosen People’ as a Vanguard Party
Rav Ashlag’s version of the “vanguard” comes in his understanding of the idea of am hasegulah (the chosen/designated people). As we saw earlier, he seems to have an immediate negative reaction to the suggestion that this doctrine implies any nationalistic sentiment. Instead, he understands it, through the lens of the vanguard party, in a fairly universalistic manner. He writes:
It is not sufficient that all the people of Israel be guarantors for one another but that the whole world be included in this mutual obligation. Everyone admits that at the start it is enough for one nation to fulfill the Torah, that is, only in order to begin the correction of the world, since it would be impossible to begin with all the nations of the world at once.134
The impossibility of “global revolution” requires the participation of select cadre of vanguard revolutionaries who will begin the fight, hoping to stir the hearts of others. Likewise, we can see
(Marx initiated the idea that there needed to be a ‘vanguard’ of the proletarian revolution. This was the basis of the formation of “communist” parties. The party was to become the intellectual and organizational leadership of the much broader and poorly-defined ץproletariat.צ See for instance, Chapter 2 of The Communist Manifesto contains the following section:
“The Communists, therefore, are, on the one hand, practically the most advanced and resolute section of the working-class parties of every country, that section which pushes forward all others; on the other hand, theoretically, they have over the great mass of the proletariat the advantage of clearly understanding the lines of march, the conditions, and the ultimate general results of the proletarian movement. The immediate aim of the Communists is the same as that of all other proletarian parties: formation of the proletariat into a class, overthrow of the bourgeois supremacy, conquest of political power by the proletariat.”)
that the role of Israel vis-á-vis the world is similar– they are to “begin the correction of the world,” as the “one nation [which] fulfill[s] the Torah.” This is necessary not because the people Israel have an exclusive right to the Torah; the “whole world” is included in this “mutual obligation” to love one another. Instead, the necessity of the Jewish people’s special status comes from their role as leaders and initiators of the revolution in giving which Ashlag calls for.
To analogize this, Rav Ashlag makes the following comparison:
The role of the people of Israel toward the whole world resembles the role of our ancestors toward the people of Israel. That is, just as the merit of our ancestors sustained us in our development and refinement until we were worthy of receiving the Torah … similarly it is incumbent on the nation of Israel, by being occupied with the Torah and the commandments for their own sake, to prepare themselves and the people of the whole world, until they advance and undertake this exalted labor of loving others, which is ladder to the ultimate purpose of creation, that is, fusion with God.135
Thus, Patriarchs : Israel :: Israel : World. The patriarchs, although not given the Torah themselves due to their small number, paved the way for the Torah to be given at Mt. Sinai generations later. Similarly, it is incumbent upon Israel to act as an agitator, paving the path towards universal love and mutuality. If Israel can manage to observe the Torah and mitsvot in their fullness, they have the opportunity to spread the spiritual-evolutionary paradigm to all people of Earth. It is “this exalted labor of loving others” which sparks the process, providing a ladder to the ultimate purpose of Creation, that is, devekut with God.
This may seem like a radical reading, but for Rav Ashlag, it is a natural extension, once again, of certain rabbinic ideas. It’s possible to understand the idea of Israel as a “light unto the nations136,” serving a particular role but with a universal purpose, as animating the vanguard-party notion of “chosenness” we see here. The impact of mitsvot, the theurgical potential inherent in them, carries with it the seed of universalredemption, not just national salvation. As Rav Ashlag puts it:
Each and every commandment performed by any individual of the people of Israel for the sake of pleasing the Creator, and not for any recompense or self-love, contributes somewhat to the advancement of all the people of the world. For this is something that is not achieved all at once, but develops gradually, little by little, until accruing to such a degree that all the people of the world are affected favorably by our refinement.137
Mitsvot, when done with the right intention (to please God and not ourselves), have the possibility of engendering the “advancement of all the people of the world.” The key to this concept is the evolutionary paradigm repeated here. The universal salvation of which Rav Ashlag calls us to work toward is “not achieved all at once.” Rather, it is a slow, gradual, and tedious process. Yet, the more we refine ourselves through Torah and mitsvot, the more benefit is gained by all people in their journey towards Divinity. This power is not only present in the community however, it also lies in the small mitsvot done by an individual:
An individual therefore makes a certain amount of progress for everyone in the world, inclusively, on the ladder of love for others, since the level that this individual has obtained by their actions, whether great or small, will have a part in determining the worldצs merit and contributing to its outcome.138
Like most models of theurgy, this concept implies both a great deal of power and a considerable responsibility. Not only is Israel responsible for maintaining the mitsvot for their own sake, they must do it for God’s sake, and moreover, they must do it in order to bring about the redemption of the entire world. Just as the vanguard party acts on behalf of the proletariat to secure their redemption, so too Israel must act on behalf of all people, leading the charge against self-love and bringing about universal salvation.
Complementing the power implied by this idea, the notion of avérah (transgression) is even more acute. Paralleling the empowering aspect of redemption, our failures also have universal impact:
When a person commits a misdeed, meaning they were unable to prevail and conquer the pollution of self-love, and as a result breaks in somewhere to steal, etc., they consequently cause themselves, and the whole world, a deficit. By disclosing the filth of self-love, the base nature of creation is reinforced. Thus, one deducts a certain quantity from the ultimate determination of worthiness, as though someone came and took a single sesame seed off the scale which someone else had put there, which amounts to the scale rising on the side of demerit, and consequently causes the world to regress. As they said, ץone sinner may ruin a great deal of goodness.צ Since they couldnצt overcome their small desire, they have caused a setback in the spirituality of the whole world.139
This notion of sin is certainly frightening, if only for the implication of its effect on all people. Even the smallest transgressions add to the “demerit” side of the universal scale and drag all of humanity back down the ladder away from spiritual completeness. The question may remain though: if our observance (or lack thereof) of the mitsvotcan alter the progress of all humanity, why not simply instruct all of humanity in the Torah? Why is a vanguard party in the nation of Israel even necessary? Rav Ashlag provides his reasoning in the next section of his essay:
This is certain, and there is no disagreement about it, that the issue of the ultimate purpose of creation is incumbent on all of humankind together; all nations and races with no essential difference whatsoever. Nevertheless, because of humanityצs descent to the lowest levels of self-love, which rules humankind limitlessly, there was no path of negotiating with them or explaining to them that they should choose to take it upon themselves to quit their narrow framework in favor of the expansive world of love for others. That is, except for the nation of Israel, since they had been subjected to the brutal rule of Egypt for four hundred years with great and terrible suffering. The suffering and its consequent purification of our ancestors gave them an advantage over other people.140
Why was the nation of Israel ץchosenצ to lead the revolution in love-of-others? Rav Ashlag tells us that it’s due to their suffering in Egypt. It is only once they have suffered the greatest extremes of othersצ self-love (enslavement) that they are prepared to take on the great and mighty task of leading humanity away from this orientation. Rav Ashlag’s insistence that “the purpose of creation is incumbent on all of humankind together; all nations and races without any essential differences whatsoever” is paired with the understanding that although everyone is tasked with putting out the fire of self-love, it is the nation of Israel who are uniquely equipped to do so.
In some ways, this idea also introduces a novel Jewish theodicy into the equation. Why do the Jewish people suffer so greatly? Why have they been persecuted and enslaved and slaughtered throughout history (by, it would seem, the very people whose redemption they work toward)? Rav Ashlag argues that all of that suffering serves an ultimate purpose: continually accommodating the people Israel toward the task of loving others. The pain, the darkness of their history, enables them to serve humanity broadly in a way that no other people are quite as equipped to do. Thus:
The nation of Israel has become like a conduit through which sparks of purification can flow to the entire human race all over the world. In this way, these sparks of purification increase day by day, like adding to a treasury. Once the desired quantity is achieved, that is, until they develop to the point where they can understand the peace at the core of loving others, then they will tip the scales to the side of merit and erase all demerit from the world.141
Israel’s suffering conditions them to their essential task: to carry the “sparks of purification” from Divinity to the entire human race. In doing this work, in observing the Torah and mitsvot, Israel can alter the spiritual status of the very people responsible for their worldly suffering. Not only are they instructed not to seek vengeance on their enemies– they are tasked with redeeming the very people who have deprived them of the same! This concept of Israel’s special mission certainly carries with is a special resonance to the Marxist vanguard party. Just as the communists fight, die, and stage revolutions on behalf of the proletariat (whom are rarely as sympathetic to the cause as the communists would like), so, too, Israel is tasked with redeeming their oppressors, utilizing their suffering for the sake of universal spiritual progress.
In a full articulation of this idea, Rav Ashlag interprets the most pertinent verse regarding Israel’s chosenness (“You shall be a special nation for Me from among all the nations.”) thus:
…That is, [says God:] that you will be especially for Me, for the sparks of purification and the refinement of the body will pass through you to all the nations of the world. Whereas the nations of the world are not at all ready for this matter yet, in any case, I need one nation to begin this now, who will therefore be appointed from among the rest.
Israel’s “appointment” to this special role thus serves a universal purpose. Israel is chosen to step forward, leading the way out of the swamp of self-love in which the entire world is trapped. To do so, Israel is called on to partake in a special mission, serving God not only to redeem themselves but in fact, to redeem the entire world. This vanguard party of the spiritual revolution which Rav Ashlag calls for naturally must be held to a separate standard, a higher degree of love-of-others. To achieve this, Rav Ashlag interprets another key idea about the people Israel in line with the Marxist rejection of private property, as we shall see.