Rectifying the State of Israel : A Political Platform Based on Kabbalah

The profound and ancient teachings of Jewish mysticism - Kabbalah - speak of the urgent need to rectify the world, instructing us how to pick up the pieces of our shattered dreams and mend the tattered fabric of our lives, both as individuals and as active contributors to humanity's destiny. Today, the need for rectification is felt most acutely in Israel, where the dream of Jewish security and cultural revival seems to be threatened as never before. The Kabbalistic model that helps us understand what is happening in Israel is known as the "breaking of the vessels". Secular Zionism has succeeded in creating material vessels - constructing buildings and roads, developing industry, and creating institutions of higher, secular education. But it has willfully neglected or even rejected the inner, spiritual dimension of the vessels themselves - the conscious intention that they serve God's puropose in creation. Every day, the vessels that have been created by the secular Zionist dream of the Jewish people returning to the land of Israel and establishing a safe haven from the perils of the diaspora in the form of a secular Jewish state, whose ultimate goal is to live in peace and harmony with its Arab neighbors, are shattering before our eyes. In this book, Rabbi Ginsburgh presents a conceptual and practical program for healing the ills of the state of Israel. These proposals are borne of intimate acquaintance with the pulse of the people as well as the failings of Isralei politics, and permeated with Chassidic optimism and love for the Jewish people and all of humanity.

Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh is one of the foremost expositors of Kabbalah and Chassidism in our time. He heads educational centers in Jerusalem, Hebron and other cities in Israel. He has written over 30 books in Hebrew and English. He lectures widely in Israel and around the world.

Rabbi Ginsburgh was born in Missouri, in 1944. With an MA in Mathematics, he moved to Israel in 1965. After studying in Yeshivas in New York and Jerusalem, he began teaching in 1970 and was soon well-known for his clarity in elucidating even the most abstract concepts in Jewish mysticism and relating them to contemporary issues in science, psychology, politics and the arts. Tying together a wide range of topics, his insights open a window into a higher dimension of reality and reveal the Divine unity underlying all of creation.

Rabbi Ginsburgh lives in Kfar Chabad, outside of Tel Aviv, with his family.