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Shaking an Extremist

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Photo: From The Chef! on Flicker

Hysteria is one thing. But to violently shake and interrogate “extremists”?

I’ve learned over the years to pick up on signals… signposts laden within the greater story that point the way as to the core issue behind the headlines.

What is clear is that the recent draconian arrests are a PR stunt.

What is also clear is that the act of “shaking an extremist” during interrogation is the most “marketable” aspect of the story.

To be arrested for an ideology means that thoughts are now seen as actions. That the most ‘active thing’ a person could do is write an op-ed piece and publish it.

Why does the government want to be able to shake (and otherwise forcibly interrogate) in an effort to reveal “truth”? Truth not as they see it, but truth as the Torah sees it.

Because to reveal truth takes the ability to balance two opposite states. What is called in Quantum Mechanics the ability to observe a wave function without collapsing it.

As explained previously, the ability to reconcile two extremes (e.g., the polarization of political camps ) under one tent comes only through Torah.

It is therefore easy to see why any “poke” or “jab” at the establishment will be viewed as an existential threat. Because again, according to Quantum Mechanics, conscious observation alone scatters two opposite states; a wave and particle; left and right.

There was an intriguing article published several weeks back on Wired.com about QBism. I encourage anyone interested in this topic to read it but the short version, according to Christopher Fuchs, is that Quantum reality is a personal experience. I am in my own world (literally!) and you in yours; which then leads to the remarkable question:  If my wave function doesn’t have to align with yours, do we live in the same universe?

How do we respond? That truth is meant to be revealed in the world; and when it does, then the property of interinclusion will also be fully revealed. As long as there is falsehood, there is separation. Until that happens, one person could mistakenly think that they inhabit a completely different universe from the person sitting opposite him (a daily occurrence in politics).

But in matters of holiness, even though there was maximal disagreement between the House of Shammai on the left, and the House of Hillel on the right, they allowed their followers to marry each other.

The desire to shake during interrogation comes from the polarization of political camps within the establishment itself. So what then is the tikkun, rectification?

Each and every day, followers of Chabad read a short selection from a book called Hayom Yom. Compiled by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1942, upon the instructions of his father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe, Hayom Yom is an anthology of Chasidic aphorisms and customs arranged according to the days of the year.

The following is the excerpt for 26 Adar I, which this year coincided with March 17, 2015 (Election Day):

With three instruments of service – love of God, love of Torah and love of Israel – must young students of Torah approach their Divine service in the vineyard of the God of Hosts, to bring the hearts of their brothers closer to observing practical mitzvot and to designating regular time for Torah study. They must do this without paying any attention to the affliction of parties. The absolute truth is that the heart of Israel is a wellspring, a source of living waters, and there is a “covenant” with effort and publicity – that they shall never be fruitless.

 

For those interested, here is a wonderful “election day” explanation of this Hayom Yom from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh.

What is the message? That if there is an affliction of parties, a wave collapse between two extremes, a lacking in the three instruments of Divine service–love of God, love of Torah and love of Israel–is causing it. We should all turn within, acknowledge the friction within our own Divine service, and seek to reveal that one universe, that one reality that we all inhabit.

The one reality filled with the knowledge of God.


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