Tzipiyah.com

I recently discussed the power of sudden change to provoke introspection and reveal the latent.

The pigua that occured last week at Merkaz HaRav poinantly exemplifies this ability. It has demanded that we think. It has demanded that we realize. It has demanded that we act, once again, as a We.

The murder was attrocious. It is perhaps, though, more powerful to leave the illustration and description to the sensitivity of the mind as words can only convey certain meaning.

This video is a subtle yet sharply powerful interview with Rabbi Yerachmiel Weiss, head of the of the yeshiva of the mourning Merkaz HaRav.

It is imtimate and important. It is emotional and difficult.

Just like life here in Israel.

Please watch.

http://www.keshet-tv.com/vod/vod.aspx?id=4745&article=172147&GroupID=4803

When it’s “too easy” to be Jewish

I have a rabbi which often says: You know, Israel is the only country without any Jews! In Morocco, you have Jews. In America, you have Jews. In Canada, you have Jews. In Poland, you have Jews. In South Africa, you have Jews. In India, you have Jews. In Israel, you don’t have any Jews. You have Americans, Canadians, Poles and South Africans.

In the video of the first episode of the Jewish Reconnection Project, almost all of the speakers spoke negatively of the fact that Jewish Identity in Israel is too simple. “It’s too easy”. Of course, the idea was that once it’s too easy, you do not fight to become Jewish which ends up making easier to drift away from traditional practices.

What these people spoke of negatively, I feel is the greatest miracle of recent history!

During 2000 years of exile, our Judaism had morphed from a national practice of Judaism full a meaning, to a Judaism whose main concern was of keeping ourselves closed off from the world in order to survive assimilation. Rav Kook explains that there are two types of Shemas (the prayer in which we accept the yoke of heaven). At night, the Shema is one we say to ourselves. When it is night, we don’t really see anyone around us. We are alone. We need to work on our own personal self. The outside world is dangerous. In the morning, however, the Shma is not only to us. We call out to the world. Our universal mission comes into play and we act as an example to the world on how to be a moral Godly nation. Of course, Night symbolizes the time of Galut, a time in which our Judaism is limited to the ability to survive as a nation until a better time, a time where our focus is solely on ourselves because we do not have any influence in the world. In the time of gueoula, the day starts to come and we can once again act as a Light unto the nations.

When people start feeling that Judaism is “too easy”, it means that the time of the lower level of Judaism from Galut is now over. We can see it clearly in the past 300 years with so many Jews rejecting that form of Judaism. Of course, I do not believe they were right when rejecting it. They should have looked deeper, found the deeper truth of Judaism which is not limited to “the survival of our faith”. However, I understand their choice. They were looking for more. Their souls were thirsty, and since many still did not meet the special Torah of Eretz Israel, their souls are still thirsty.

Some people in the video seemed to imply that the facility of Judaism in the land of Israel caused the Jews to assimilate. Let’s make one thing clear: There is less assimilation in the clubs of Tel Aviv then in the Yeshivot of Monsey. Once you are in Israel, even though you are not religious, you are very unlikely to assimilate. That is why the Judaism of the past 2000 years is not enough anymore. People are thirsty for authentic Judaism of the Land of Israel.

In Israel, there are no Jews because everyone is Jewish. It’s easy to be Jewish. We need to look deeper for our Judaism. The fact that we are looking for the deeper, more authentic Judaism, is probably the greatest miracle in recent history. We are bringing back Judaism to its true glory.

You heard what they said. You heard what I had to say. Now it is your turn to further comment.

I was once sitting in a meeting with my Rav, HaRav Mordechai Elon Shli”ta, and we started speaking about different organizations working together for the purpose of Jewish Education. We spoke about the problems which arise when you work with an organization which disagrees on key issues with you: be it a non-zionist orthodox organization, or a secular zionist organization. His answer (which he had said many other times in yeshiva) was clear: Communication between Jews is ALWAYS good! This is the first premise.
So what about our disagreements?

Rav Elon said that we should never budge from our positions. Always say what we think and believe and when we disagree with the people we work with, there is no problem in making clear what our position is. However, that being said, why should that stop us from working on what we have in common?
If me and Chabad both provide programming for Jewish Students, why not make an event? Is their Non-Zionism a good enough reason? What does a Channukah Candle Lighting event for students have to do with being Zionist or not ?

I think this perspective is a very clear one: We believe what we believe. We believe it strongly. But we are willing to listen. We are willing to talk with people who disagree with us. We are willing to discuss, argue, disagree etc… This should be even more true when “the other” is our Jewish Brother.

The truth is: History has shown us that anyone who needs to censor someone else is not holding the truth. If you need to censor someone else, it means your truth cannot stand against their arguments.

There is a new Project online which I think bases itself on this perspective.

5 young Jews from New York speak to 4 young Jews in Jerusalem. Some are from the Left, others from the right. Some are Orthodox, others go to “temple”. Some are Religious, Others are secular. Yet, they communicate. They talk! No one is trying to convince anyone. Each of them are just giving their own perspectives.

I plan on starting a series over here where I will take each episode which is about 3 minutes long and comment on it. My comment will sometimes be analyzing their opinions on the issue, sometimes giving my own opinion, sometimes just expressing the feelings I got when watching the episodes. I encourage everyone to posts comments with their own opinions, their own comments and their own thoughts.

If we learn to communicate, we will learn to be united. True Unity is not Uniformity. True Unity is only possible when we recognize that our peers are different, and yet respect their difference. Even the lowest level of respect includes an open ear, a willingness to listen. Let’s prepare the building blocks of our national unity.

Hopefully, as I comment on each episode from my perspective, you will post your comments from your perspective.