You Are What You Hate
By Sarah Yehudit Schneider. Chapter Upsidedown Soulmates Pg 237
Debrief: The fact that Moses had enemies is proof that he was not yet entirely perfected, that there were sparks of his soul that were still not integrated into his enlightened self. This is true for Moses the person as well as Moses the archetype (a synonym for the Jewish people). Moses’ still unrectified condition is the greatest (and only) obstacle to Messianic Redemption.
Now we have the pieces to explain the justice of the in- justice of enemies. When a person, who feels himself to be innocent, is slandered by a vicious adversary, the mechanism is as follows:
(1) Soul-sparks belonging to the righteous and (relatively) innocent victim are enmeshed with his enemy’s soul. This un- conscious bond causes the enemy to choose him as its object of hatred.
(2) The less enlightened the person, the less accurate his perceptions about the world, and the more he projects his own flaws onto others. This dynamic plays itself out in nearly every conflict. The enemy accuses his victim of indecencies that are really just projections of his own corrupted self.
(3) And yet, the enemy’s false and slanderous claims do also contain a sliver of truth since a spark of the victim’s soul is present and participating in all that the enemy does. In the most subtle and mysterious way, the victim is liable by proxy.
(4) The ordeal of being harassed by an enemy lets the victim know without a doubt that a spark of his own soul is trapped inside the very one who is causing him such harm.
(5) The mission is to rescue that kidnapped spark by praying for the enemy’s spiritual redemption. This has three benefits:
a) The interpretation of reality that underlies the decision to pray for an enemy’s teshuva implies an awareness of unity that is itself a tikun.
b) By recovering a previously estranged spark of his soul, the victim becomes more whole which brings him deep satisfaction.
c) The enemy may also respond by turning toward the light but, if not, he is weakened by losing a spark, an increment of life-force, which hastens his demise.
Redemption will finally come when enemies cease either because they transform into allies or self-destruct.