Before we dive in, introduce yourself and share your thoughts on the topic: Why does such a small fraction of the human family draws so much attention? Why do so many people have such a gut level reaction to “The Jews”?

[Lio Spiegler- KabU Instructor]

Before we dive in, introduce yourself and share your thoughts on the topic: Why does such a small fraction of the human family draws so much attention? Why do so many people have such a gut level reaction to “The Jews”?

[Ralitza]

Hi, my name is Ralitza and I live in Vienna.

People like to be with other people, who are similar to them. I am now learning that Kabbalah explains this process as a desire to reach “equivalence of form”. But when I am not at all aware of any spirituality, when I am still in my little box, this desire is expressed through a wish to see that others are suffering too. I don’t want to see them happy, connected and successful because it only makes my own misery more obvious.

“Jews” have something I desire but that I don’t know how to reach. They don’t share it with me. I have a feeling that they could help me, but they don’t. So I hate them. Just as a I hate the rich, who are not sharing their riches with me. Just as I hate the person, who don’t reciprocate my love. Just as I hate the happy people who dance in the Pride parade. Why are they happy and free, while I am miserable?

I am OK with being miserable, as long as my neighbour is just as miserable as me. Otherwise I hate him.

That is what “Jews” represent for the shattered pieces of Adam HaRishon.

At least that is my gut feeling. I am here in this course to explore if there is any truth to that.

[David]

My name is David and I am living in Cambridge in England.

Why does antisemitism exist? Hitler said he was freeing man from the chimera of conscience and morality and personally taking on the burden of free thought that few people could bear.

The Jewish message to the world is one of responsibility, each to the other. And who wouldn’t resent being told there is a correct way to behave, when it is at some cost to oneself?

And when the Jews themselves seem to be getting ahead, that’s another cause for resentment. It encourages a belief that something else is going on, and that the Jews aren’t telling the whole story.

At a deeper level, the Jews have to ‘get ahead’ otherwise they would not come to the notice of the world throughout the ages.

And when some among the Jews seem neither moral nor considerate, then there is a perfect storm of resentment.

What would the world of today be like for the Jews if there was no antisemitism?

If the Jews were to forget the whole thing and go to the beach, or if they were to decide to forget the desire to uncover that which is hidden in Creation, then antisemitism is there to remind them.

[Jan Koons]

I am Janet and I also want to learn why.

[Rivka]

My name is Rivka.The small fraction of the human family draws so much attention is due to the influence this small group of people have in the world. The gut-level reaction seems like one of far and envy but it is because using the words, “The Jews”, can induce feelings of fear.

[zohreh]

Hello, I am Zohreh , difference and power make a difference and are more visible

[Esther]

My parents are Holocaust survivors, so in my youth, being Jewish meant being a victim and somehow morally superior.  Since then, I’ve learned that when Jacob got the name Israel in the Old Testament, it signified someone who struggles with .god, i.e., a seeker, and that when the Jews left Egypt it was a mixed multitude.  So Jews are truth seekers, which explains why they’re hated

[Author]

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