The Love that Science Cannot Explain

When acclaimed conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who became known as “The Elephant Whisperer,” passed away in 2012, something amazing happened: After being out in the wild for a long time, the elephants that Anthony had saved years before marched 12 hours back to his house to grieve his passing. According to BBC One, the elephants “stayed there silent for two days.” Even more remarkably, “Exactly one year after his death, to the day, the herd marched to his house again. It is something that science cannot explain.”

The world we live in is connected in ways we do not understand, but we are slowly learning. Our self-absorption wants us to focus only on ourselves, but reality is forcing us to look outside, and teaches us that there is so much more out there to be found.

As Anthony’s elephants demonstrate, all of nature senses its connectedness and lives according to its dictates. Humans, however, are devoid of that feeling and therefore act as if they are alone in the world.

There are two ways we can achieve our life’s purpose: The first is to let nature take its course. We can let it drown us in floods, burn us in fires, crush us under the ruins of earthquakes, or pit us against each other to the death. Another way is to take upon ourselves to learn the ways of nature, how everything operates in connectedness and harmony, and start changing our relationships according to what we learn from nature. As we “practice” kindness, we will become kinder and develop deeper feelings for the people and the world around us.

However, civilization is becoming increasingly connected, in accordance with all of reality, and forces us to recognize that we, too, are dependent on each other and connected to each other. Today, we are learning that beyond the physical connection there is the virtual connection. Tomorrow, we will learn that we are emotionally connected, too, that we share and project not only actions or bits of data, but also thoughts and desires, even without verbalizing them.

Eventually, we will discover that our connection is even deeper than emotions: It is spiritual. We are all one being, whose organs and cells are all of us, all of creation. This is why the elephants knew when to come to pay their respects for their savior, and to return there the following year, to the day.

Eventually, we will discover that our connection is even deeper than emotions: It is spiritual. We are all one being, whose organs and cells are all of us, all of creation. This is why the elephants knew when to come to pay their respects for their savior, and to return there the following year, to the day.

When we all feel one another, it allows us to work harmoniously, in a manner that benefits everyone. If we sensed our true reality, we would never make mistakes, never hurt anyone, and no one would ever hurt us since we would feel as one. Why then are we denied such vital knowledge, which all of nature but us seems to possess?

All of nature acts on instincts. Humans lack most instincts that animals have. Instead, we must learn everything from scratch through our own efforts and the teaching of our parents and teachers. There is a reason for it: When we learn through our own efforts, we acquire a deeper understanding of our world and of reality.

The same goes for the knowledge of our interconnectedness and what it entails. We are devoid of the sense of our interconnection so we may develop it through our own efforts. What elephants sense naturally, we must develop laboriously. However, in doing so, we understand how everything works and gain a profound perception of our existence. In other words, our ignorance allows us to achieve the purpose of our lives, but until we achieve it, we are a menace to the world.

There are two ways we can achieve our life’s purpose: The first is to let nature take its course. We can let it drown us in floods, burn us in fires, crush us under the ruins of earthquakes, or pit us against each other to the death. Another way is to take upon ourselves to learn the ways of nature, how everything operates in connectedness and harmony, and start changing our relationships according to what we learn from nature. As we “practice” kindness, we will become kinder and develop deeper feelings for the people and the world around us.

Practice really does make perfect. We can build social structures, such as small groups, where we will “practice” interconnectedness and mutual concern. As we develop these skills in our psyches, we will begin to feel each other on deeper and deeper levels.

If we do this, we will discover what allows elephants to know so well how others feel, as we, too, will become sensitive and aware. In addition, we will understand the “thinking,” the “logic” behind making creation so complex yet so inexorably connected, and what great knowledge and power it awards those who grasp it.

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Anne Frank’s Betrayal and Human Nature?

“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart,” wrote Anne Frank, the Dutch-Jewish girl who kept a diary while she and her family were in hiding for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

My conclusion is simple: even if the results of the new investigation are true and indeed it was a Jew who betrayed Anne Frank and her family, we cannot judge people who are under heavy duress.

In relation to the Holocaust she questioned, “Who has inflicted this upon us? Who has made us Jews different from all other people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly up till now?” Anne and seven other family members were discovered by the Nazis on August 4, 1944 in a secret annex above a warehouse in Amsterdam. After all were discovered and deported separately to concentration camps, Anne became ill and died when she was only 15 years old.

The question of who could have alerted the Nazis about the Frank’s family location has puzzled multiple researchers for almost eight decades. Following a six-year investigation, an international team of historians and other experts, disclosed the identity of the man who they believe betrayed Anne Frank's family during World War II.

The main suspect is a Jewish notary and businessman named Arnold van den Bergh, a member of the Judenrat in the Netherlands, who presumably disclosed the Franks’ hiding place to protect his own family from deportation.

The presumption that a Jew betrayed another Jew elicited contrasting reactions; there are those who are outraged by the claim and those who say they are not surprised by this expression of Jewish self-hatred. But I choose to look at the humane side of things: never judge someone until I have walked in their shoes.

Many years ago I watched a documentary film about two Jews – one of them a prisoner put to torturous forced labor at a Nazi concentration camp, and the other, his strict supervisor who did everything he could to oppress him. Today they are good friends. And when the oppressed Jew was asked how he could look his former, cruel boss in the eyes, he answered simply: “I understand him. If I had been in his place I would have done exactly the same.”

My conclusion is simple: even if the results of the new investigation are true and indeed it was a Jew who betrayed Anne Frank and her family, we cannot judge people who are under heavy duress. We can talk about the importance of democracy, express ourselves creatively on an enlightened world, play in life like on a theater stage, but once we experience extreme circumstances in our lives and are in a situation where we are trapped, then we discover that psychology takes on a new form: fear and threat can bring us to a new way of thinking. It may even encourage deeds, which in normal conditions would be considered cruel and unthinkable. So is human nature.

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Where Fundamentalism Is Leading Us

People are attracted to the powerful because in each of us, there is a child who seeks protection and a sense of belonging. Fundamentalists understand this very well and capitalize on it. By growing more violent, they appear more powerful, which increases their appeal. In this way, they succeed in attracting new recruits into their ranks.

Once fundamentalism exposes its futility, people will find the true meaning of the term religion. In The Writings of the Last Generation, Baal HaSulam writes, “The religious form of all the nations should first obligate its members to bestowal upon each other … as in ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ …This will be the collective religion of all the nations.”

In western countries, fundamentalist Islamists find fertile ground for amassing followers since people have no direction, spirit, or purpose in life. This makes it easy for them to win them over to their ideas. By offering them membership in a powerful club, and even to God, they give them a sense of meaning and purpose and make them feel that their lives have value. This is the case not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Russia, India, and even China.

Where does this lead us? First, it will lead to bloody conflicts. Eventually, it will expose the emptiness behind the promises of radical religious dogmas.

Once fundamentalism exposes its futility, people will find the true meaning of the term religion. In The Writings of the Last Generation, Baal HaSulam writes, “The religious form of all the nations should first obligate its members to bestowal upon each other … as in ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ …This will be the collective religion of all the nations.”

What, you may ask, will become of our traditional religions? Baal HaSulam continues and writes that besides following the tenet of loving others as ourselves, “each nation may follow its own religion and tradition, and one must not interfere in the other.” In other words, as long as we care for one another, each of us will live according to our own way and tradition, and our different ways of life will not disrupt the harmony and union we will have achieved having developed love for one another.

The evolutionary process just described is not just for a few of us; it is the future of humanity. We are all destined to achieve unity and mutual concern by following the law of loving others as ourselves. This is the meaning of the ancient prophecy, “And all the nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2).

Abraham the Patriarch, the Babylonian trailblazer who broke the news of our collective unity to humanity, was the first teacher. He taught how to unite on the basis of mercy and kindness. His progeny, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and so on, polished and adapted the method of connection to their times. Moses did the same with his book of laws, which we call Torah, and so did Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai with The Book of Zohar.

Now we, too, must find our way to apply the law of love of others to our time. Especially today, when hatred and self-absorption are corrupting and destroying human civilization, it is time to rise above our petty selves and find a common union that is higher than all of us and unites all of us. Only in that higher realm will we find a way to make our world livable, and our lives with one another pleasant, safe, and with a true sense of belonging.

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Why Some Great Artists Are Nasty People

They compose masterpieces that light up our lives, paint pictures that capture the spirit of their time, and chisel out vibrant icons from lifeless stone. Great artists enrich our lives and fill them with emotion and wonder. Yet, some great artists were (and are) nasty individuals. Composer Richard Wagner was a rabid antisemite. Of the seven main women in Pablo Picasso’s life, two went mad and two killed themselves. Gustave Flaubert, author of Madame Bovary, paid for sex with boys, and novelist Norman Mailer once tried to kill one of his wives. In fact, there are enough examples of obnoxious artists to make us expect them to be nasty rather than the contrary.

Creative people, who are exceptional by their very nature, are even more prone to moral flaws than the rest of us. Their highs are higher than ours, and their lows are lower than ours. They move between extremes but in the end, they are the same as all of us: self-centered individuals.

Indeed, there is no reason why creative people should be more “righteous” than the rest of us. Art and morality have nothing to do with each other, and if we expect them to be, it is our mistake.

Creative people, who are exceptional by their very nature, are even more prone to moral flaws than the rest of us. Their highs are higher than ours, and their lows are lower than ours. They move between extremes but in the end, they are the same as all of us: self-centered individuals.

We all contain both the highest, most noble feelings and thoughts, and the lowest, most despicable ones. Only when we recognize what we have within us can we grow. If we have only one side of the scale, we will never know the other side and will not be able to choose between them. We will be robots and not human beings.

King Solomon said about this, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and did not sin” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). In other words, only when we discover our true nature can we make a conscious choice to be good, and that is what makes us righteous people rather than robots.

Until we are corrected, everything we do is for ourselves. Artists are no exception, yet this does not diminish the greatness of their works. Because they go to extremes, when they are high, they create truly glorious works that we can all enjoy. Nevertheless, we should not expect them to be corrected in their personal lives because they, too, will have to go through the same process of realizing the wickedness of human nature and resolving to rise above it.

At some point, we will all have to reckon with our nature and acknowledge the harm we are inflicting on each other and on all of nature. We will realize that in order to survive, we must become more of the righteous and less of the wicked that we tend to be. But in the meantime, we can benefit from the works of great artists, and if they make us reflect on life and its meaning, it is all the better.