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The Defining of a NationRabbi Shlomo AvinerSome people think of a nation as a group of individuals with common financial, cultural, political and strategic goals – who have established a social contract, a type of partnership. This is a mistake. A nation is not an assortment of individuals; on the contrary, each individual within a nation is a component through which the value of the nation as a whole shines forth. Just as every individual has a soul, so does the nation have a soul, the individual's soul being a spark thereof. Carl Gustav Jung who delved into the depths of the psyche a few generations ago has touched upon these topics. He belonged to a psychological school of thought that emphasized a then new concept: the subconscious. Freud, the founder of the method, claimed that the outer-visible reality of the self is but a blurred shadow of its inner reality. He claimed the psyche is like a huge iceberg floating in deep waters, with only a small part visible, while all the rest of its parts are submerged. A ship, unaware of this, may slam into the iceberg and sink. Naturally, we cannot know the subconscious, as it is SUB – underlying - that which is conscious. Some psychological schools of thought disagree that the subconscious is a significant psychological factor. For instance, the behavioristic approach claims that what we see is what exists, and that the way one behaves discloses his inner essence. However, in our day the existence of the subconscious, which reveals itself among other things in dreams, is clear to everyone. The subconscious is rich, strong and full of energy, much more so than the conscious-visible part. And what does the subconscious contain? According to Freud, it is mainly the sexual drive. This is a wild exaggeration! Of course this drive exists, neither is it negative, because after all it motivates people to marry. But we cannot reduce the subconscious to one small package of existence, pleasure and sex instincts. Freud's student, Adler, claimed that his teacher overemphasized the sex drive at the expense of the drive to be respected and highly esteemed ('inferiority complex' in modern terms, and by Chazal, our sages, 'Envy and honor'). In other words: since man is inferior, he wishes to escape his inferiority, which motivates him in life. Adler's view is exaggerated as well. Along came Frued's third disciple, Carl Gustav Jung, and claimed that the subconscious is not necessarily a personal, private issue. There is wide consent that the subconscious is a psychic reality which is more real, so to speak, than the conscious, and that it is the source of human energy and motivation. But in Jung's view the subconscious is transpersonal, a universal collective, a residue of humanity's thousands of years of experience throughout the generations. However, in every nation the universal elements become crystallized in a unique national form which brings about differences and even oppositions between nations. Every nation has a national subconscious. This doesn't mean that its individuals are identical, but rather that each of them carries a personal variation or nuance of the national subconscious. It is very important to recognize the inner dispositions hidden in the depths of the individual psyche. How can we do the same with the national subconscious? According to Jung, a nation's religion manifests its subconscious. A specific nation will practice a specific religion due to the unique form and contents of its national subconscious. Its encounter with G-d is channeled through a religion that is suitable to it. Deep inside the subconscious there lives an aspiration to meet the Creator, and every people, in accordance with its collective psyche, has a unique type of encounter with Him. A nation's subconscious can be discerned from its religion, myths and legends. We say that every nation has its own typical character, its national temperament which is transmitted to its members. This character reveals itself mainly in the people's approach to faith in the Creator. The typical ethical codes are derived from the public stance on faith. The national subconscious, the national psyche and temperament, are discovered by its unique faith and knowledge of G-d. Three hundred years ago discussions were held regarding the following question: does a nation create its own history or does its history create it (in our sources the question is formulated as 'the generation according to the leader, or the leader according to the generation?' – Arachin 17A). Those claiming that history molds the nation stated facts to prove that financial, geographic and historical forces molded the various national images. Their conclusion, however, is inexact We see nations that were exposed to similar objective conditions and still reacted to them differently, which points to the conclusion that nations do mold their own history. For example, during the Second World War there was a shortage of energy, leading to rationing it to a few hours a day. The English, who have a developed sense of citizenship and responsibility – reduced their use of electricity. As opposed to them, the typical Frenchman said: how can my private consumption influence the world energy situation? Indeed, a nation creates its history. Under the same objective conditions different nations react differently. One nation tends to be orderly, disciplined, industriousness, etc. In Daniel (10,13, 20-21) we encounter the term 'Sar shel Bavel' meaning 'angel of Babylon'. Daniel sees in his vision the angel of Babylon rising, as well as other nations' angels. The concept of angel is used here to manifest the inner spiritual energies of the nation, its genius. If so, a nation is not a collection of individuals but rather a single national being. We must incorporate this deep understanding into our general vision of the world. Individual terms are easier to comprehend; it is indeed easier to understand that a table is such than to understand the concept of a table, but the concept of a table is no less real than the table itself. So, too, a nation is not individuals grouped together but rather a unique national entity.
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