Entries in the 'Unity' Category

“Don’t Fall for Egoistic Unity” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Don’t Fall for Egoistic Unity

The recent tragic events of the Israel-Hamas war have made much clearer that our greatest vulnerability to terrorists is not in external threats but in our internal divisions. Our own very demonstrations, protests and vitriol that we spread among each other weakens us and emboldens those who wish to attack us. While the importance of unity is widely acknowledged, what remains less clear is that unity is merely the initial step in a more profound mission.

The story of the Tower of Babel serves as a poignant illustration of the consequences of misusing unity. The Babylonians, united in purpose, harnessed the power of unity to build a tower fueled by a group egoism. Due to their self-serving misuse of the unifying force, the tower eventually collapsed, scattered them and confused their language. Similarly, the history of communism reveals how a seemingly noble pursuit of equality and friendship, rooted in unity, can devolve into greed and oppression, resulting in the loss of millions of lives.

Unity, when constructed upon the flawed foundations of selfish motives, risks undermining its potential for positive change. It is not enough to proclaim, “together we will win.” Mere unity might ward off external foes, but it fails to address the persistent internal battle against our divisive egoistic drives that surface inside us at every moment. Without a higher guiding principle, the ego will resurface, perpetuating a cycle of conflict and drawing external threats.

What distinguishes this higher guiding principle is not a distant, cloud-dwelling grandfather figure but a positive unifying force that manifests in connections that we build above our divisive egoistic tendencies. This force is rooted in the fundamental laws of nature that reveal themselves through the intentions of those who unite in a common aspiration to project the very base qualities of nature—qualities of love, bestowal and connection—to one another and who wish for these qualities to spread to the world at large. Then, the unity that these people establish is based on the fundamental unity that exists in nature, which likewise attracts the harmony and peace that dwells in nature.

To build a society that endures, we must rise above mere unity and establish a society founded on the laws of nature. Without such an alignment, any social construct risks collapse, endangering its members. Recognizing the need to match our unity with nature’s eternal and perfect form of unity is essential for breaking the cycle of internal strife and external threats. We thus need to cultivate unity in society that is built on the benefit of all, a unity made of attitudes of its members that align with nature’s quality of love, bestowal and connection.
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Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

“Bring Back the Pioneer Spirit” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Bring Back the Pioneer Spirit

When I came to Israel in 1974, I was sent to a hotel that accommodated new olim (Jews who had just immigrated to Israel). Each family was given a room and we slept, dined, and learned Hebrew there. One day, I found out that one of the waiters serving us in the dining hall was actually the owner of the hotel. He had donated his hotel for several years to help new olim in their first steps. I was amazed to discover that there were people with such spirit. That man was a true pioneer, and it was the pioneer spirit that drove him to do what he did. That spirit did not let him sit by, but galvanized him to do something meaningful in his life. Today, this spirit is a rarity, and we desperately need to find a way to bring it back to life.

The pioneer spirit exists in the heart of every Jew. After all, every Jew is a descendant of pioneers who paved the way for a new social model of mutual responsibility and solidarity, which was unheard of at the time. Until Abraham began to spread his ideas about mercy and love of others, and until Moses had turned the descendants of Abraham’s group into a nation, the idea of a nation fashioned by transcending one’s ego was unthinkable. The prevailing conduct was that the strong rules and subjugates or annihilates the weak, both among nations and among individuals. Here, however, was a new concept, embodied in the words of King Solomon (Prov. 10:12): “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes.”

The Golden Rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” represents the core of being Jewish. It is not a commandment to do something or say something. Nor is it a commandment to praise a deity or worship it. It is simply a commandment to love others as much as you love yourself.

The pioneers who established the State of Israel did a great job at founding a sovereign country in a land that was largely swamp and desert when they came here, and against six charging armies that sought to annihilate the Jewish presence in the Middle East. However, they did not finish the job. They established a state, but now it is up to us to nurture the soul and spirit of that state so as to merit the name the “State of Israel,” a country that hallows one and only law, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If we take the next step and fill the heart of the Israeli people with the Israeli spirit of solidarity, mutual responsibility, and above all, love of others, it will be our final triumph. No one will challenge our presence here because everyone will realize that we are not here for ourselves, but for the world, to carry out our calling and be a light to the nations, spreading the light of unity and friendship above all differences and conflicts. If we rise above our internal divisions toward unity and love, we will complete our ancestors’ task, and their pioneering spirit of caring for others will spread around the world.

Therefore, the only war we need to wage is against our egos. The only victory we need is the victory of unity over division.
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“The Curse of Re-elections” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Curse of Re-elections

“As long as the laws of society are not satisfactory to each and every individual in the state, and ‎leave a minority that is dissatisfied with the government of the state, that minority conspires ‎under the government of the state and seeks to overthrow it,” wrote Baal HaSulam back in the 1930s in his essay, “Peace in the World.” To this he added that if the power of the losing faction “is not sufficient to fight the government of the state face to face, it will seek to ‎overthrow it indirectly, such as by inciting countries against each other and bringing them to ‎war, for it is natural that at wartime there will be many more dissatisfied people with whom they ‎will have hope to achieve the critical mass to overthrow the government of the state and ‎establish a new leadership that is convenient for them.”

It seems as though these words were written yesterday, not ninety years ago. What is worse, the pertinence of Baal HaSulam’s words proves that we have not learned much.

We established the Jewish state based on laws we borrowed from the British Mandate that ruled here before us, with some leftovers from the rules of the Ottoman Empire that ruled here before the British. These are not the laws of the Israeli nation, but laws of the nations of the world. This incongruity wore down the legitimacy of the judicial structure to such an extent that lawmakers and laypeople alike are leaning increasingly toward following their own interpretations of the law.

Without a common goal and a collectively adopted constitution, we will never have a stable government and a solid Jewish state. Our common law should be the law that was the basis of Jewish peoplehood: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Even when the people of Israel could not practice it, they always strove for it. If they do not, they are not regarded as Israel.

Currently, because no effort, or even aspiration to unite exists within the people of Israel living in the State of Israel, we are not Israel. What are we then? We are a collective of persecuted migrants and refugees, many of whom feel that the country they live in does not belong to them and dream of the moment they can return to the country from which they or their parents were chased away.

Herzl’s vision of forming a safe haven for Jews is not enough. If this is the only reason for our gathering here, we will not be able to form a cohesive and stable society. The obstinate, opinionated nature of our people will soon take over, and division and hostility will develop. This is what is happening to Israel today. As a result, the political parties have splintered and become fragmented, and a succession of elections ensued.

If we want to stabilize the Israeli society and prevent its disintegration, we need to fall in line behind a single goal that we value more than our own opinion. Also, the goal of our country should not be to save the Jews, but to save the world from division and conflict.

The reason Israel is always at the center of attention, especially in times of conflict, is that the world looks to Israel for example. Since the inception of our people, we have been tasked with serving as a model of unity. Our ancestors assembled from numerous tribes, clans, and countries, and pledged to love each other more than themselves. This is unheard of by today’s ostensibly civilized standards. In the ancient world, this was utterly inconceivable.

Nevertheless, our ancestors attempted it and succeeded. Moreover, they proved that when they unite, they triumph and overpower any nation that challenges them. They proved that military and economic success depend, in the case of the people of Israel, solely on their unity.

Alternatively, when they became divided and hostile toward each other, they demonstrated weakness, and foreign nations overpowered them and exiled them. Our unique nation, therefore, became the first nation that could choose its own fate. When it chose unity, it succeeded; when it chose division, it failed. In a sense, our nation was a proof of concept, a “pilot,” as historian Paul Johnson called us. We proved that foreigners can bond in peace and love if they value unity more than their own culture and tradition.

The modern-day curse of endless elections reflects a decline in the level of the unity of our people in the State of Israel. Instead of lining up around the tenet of unity above all other considerations, each party promotes its own agenda and claims that it will lead Israel to success. Yet, they are all wrong because if their ideas do not require national unity as a precondition, it makes no difference what agenda they support; it is condemned to failure.

Only when we realize our unity, above all differences, will the curse of perpetual elections be removed. Moreover, only when we realize this will the danger of another cataclysm to the Jewish people be averted, as Israel becomes what Israel is meant to be: “a light [of unity] to the nations.”

“At Highland Park, the Murderer Went for Jews” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “At Highland Park, the Murderer Went for Jews

Four of the seven victims of the Highland Park mass shooting were Jewish, and probably many of the dozens who were injured. According to a JTA report, “Although local authorities have not yet said whether they believe the shooter’s motivation was antisemitic, [a] Highland Park rabbi reported that the suspect, whom authorities said had pre-planned his attack for weeks, had previously visited a synagogue: his own.” Moreover, “Yosef Schanowitz, the rabbi of the Highland Park Chabad, told the Orthodox news site Anash that he recognized the alleged shooter, who … had been turned away from Chabad by its armed security guard during a Passover Seder this year.” About half of Highland Park’s residents are Jewish; this mass murder did not aim at random victims; the murderer went for Jews.

I have said it more times than I can count, but no one seems to listen: The Jews in the US are in danger, mortal danger. The danger is only increasing, and at some point, these warning signs will explode, as has always happened to the Jews throughout the bloody history of our people.

Nothing will change that trajectory unless American Jews do what they must. They will suffer such excruciating torments that will force them to change their ways. Currently, if you speak with American Jews, they still feel on the top of the world. They feel entitled and superior. It is bound to hurt them; pride is the bane that has always hurt the Jews, in the end.

If American Jewry wants to avoid appearing in Simon Rawidowicz’s next edition of Israel—The Ever-Dying People, they must reevaluate everything. First and foremost, they must realign themselves with the basic Jewish tenets of unity and solidarity.

By unity, I am not referring to sympathy with Israel’s enemies, thereby displaying their aversion toward the State of Israel. What I mean is placing unity among Jews above all other values and establishing it among all factions, views, denominations, and opinions in our nation.

Jewish unity is the cure for antisemitism and the road to safety not because it makes Jews strong, but because it is the calling of our people to show the world that it is possible to unite without encroaching on people who think or feel differently, but simply by placing the value of unity above all other values. This is what the world expects from all Jews, whether or not it articulates it in explicit words.

Our nation was born when our ancestors gave up their pride and united “as one man with one heart.” Since then, it has been our duty to repeat our ancestors’ feat in every generation. When we succeed, we thrive. When we fail, we suffer.

Currently, American Jews are failing miserably in the test of unity. Admittedly, Israelis are failing, too, but in this piece, I am referring to the situation in America.

Either way, both communities will pay heavily for their division, and will have to choose between unity and success or division and destruction. This, in fact, has been our choice throughout the generations.*

* For more on the link between Jewish unity and antisemitism, read my publications The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord, and Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.
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“Where in Europe Is Good for Jews?” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Where in Europe Is Good for Jews?

The answer to the question of what are the best places to be Jewish should be an unequivocal “anywhere.” Unfortunately, that is not the case. The fact that such a question was the main topic in a recent study by the European Jewish Association reveals the heightened prevalence of antisemitism. According to that research, Belgium and Poland are the worst countries for Jews while Italy and Hungary are the best.

The survey examined the lives of Jews in the 12 European countries with the largest Jewish communities. The parameters studied were governmental measures against antisemitism, security of the Jewish community, freedom of religion, promotion of Jewish culture and the country’s voting record in favor or against Israel at the United Nations.

There is nothing new under the antisemitic sun. Belgium and Poland are known as countries that despise Jews, while Italy and Hungary hate us a little less. I have traveled to Europe many times, both for work and family vacations, and every time I step on European soil, I feel an antisemitic atmosphere that makes me uncomfortable and like I have no country other than Israel.

The situation has worsened over time. In the first decades after the Holocaust the atmosphere in Europe was still stable; today hatred of the Jews raises its head proudly and fearlessly. Are the Jews seeing the warning lights in the increased openly displayed acts of antisemitism? Not really.

In Belgium, for example, the government has significantly reduced security around the Jewish communities, banned kosher slaughter and is considering banning circumcision. But for the Jews of Belgium “it is good to be a Jew in the country,” in their own words. As it has usually happened throughout history, Jews bury their heads in the sand and are prepared to get used to any situation instead of exerting their strength through Jewish unity.

The phenomenon of antisemitism is not revealed to ultimately destroy some local Jews, but it is a natural response designed to remind Jews why we exist in the world. We have no possibility of defending ourselves against hatred, except temporarily and insufficiently. The only protection against antisemitism is the realization of our original destiny as the people of Israel.

Jews must unite against the crystallizing hatred, not as a frightened flock of sheep encircled by a snarling pack of wolves, but because it is our call to action to become “a light unto nations” through Jewish unity. In a state of cohesion, a supreme power emerges as a positive force that radiates to all humanity.

Conversely, as long as we, Jews, abandon our spiritual role, we slowly disengage from the very feeling of being Jews and instinctively understand that we have no right to knock hard on the table of the nations and say, “Yes, we live here too! We have been here for generations and this is our place too!” In the absence of unification, the Jews bend and compromise until the wave of hatred passes, momentarily, because it never really goes away.

Although Israel is the Jewish state, our national home, I do not expect European Jews to immigrate here. Their mass emigration is neither a solution for them nor for us. Of course, there is no objection or prohibition, but it does not strengthen us in any way if it is not done with the full conviction of the true meaning of Israel in our lives.

Israel is a place for those who feel they cannot live anywhere else in the world and are willing to accept the laws of true Zionism: to transcend our selfish nature, mobilize for the good of others, connect internally and externally with other Jews to build a unique network, the abode of the Upper Force. This spiritual space is and will always be the safest place for every Jew.
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“The Root of Israel’s Political Chaos” (Times of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Root of Israel’s Political Chaos

The past several years have seen a growing political chaos in Israel. Four elections in just two years are too much for any country. But even after the fourth election, there is no stable government, it is torn from within, threatened from without, and the prevailing sentiment is that everyone disagrees with everyone else and detests everyone else. There is only one solution to the impasse: stop imposing incompatible modes of government that are good for other nations, but not for Israel, and adapt the political system that suits the nature of the people.

Israel’s multiple-party political system is not the right structure for the people of Israel. We have always had multiple opinions in the nation; it is in our nature to disagree, and we laugh at ourselves that between every two Jews you will find three opinions. However, the DNA of our people is to unite above these divisions and use the tensions they create to form a bond that is stronger than any bond can form.

This mode of work is the reason behind King Solomon’s verse (Prov. 10:12), “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes.” This approach is also behind many other texts that our sages and thinkers have written throughout history.

In Education and World, Martin Buber wrote, “We are demanded ‎not to blur the boundaries between the fellowships, but rather recognize the common ‎reality and sharing of the test of mutual responsibility. The separation of the hearts is an ‎illness that afflicts the nations of our time … there is no cure for this except for people from different circles of views ‎who need each other with a pure heart to exert together to reveal the common basis.”

In a similar spirit, the book Likutey Halachot states, “The vitality and sustenance and correction of the whole of creation is by people of ‎differing views becoming included together in love, unity, and peace.” The book Assorted Counsels elaborates even more: “The essence of peace is to connect two opposites. Hence, do not be alarmed if you see ‎a person whose opinion is completely opposite from yours and you think that you will ‎never be able to make peace with him. Or, when you see two people who are completely ‎opposite to each other, do not say it is impossible to make peace between them. On the ‎contrary, the essence of peace is to try to make peace between two opposites.”

In other words, the correct way for our people to work is to have multiple opinions within the same party, the same governing body, but at the same time understand that no single view is right, and only a decision reached when people unite after their differences have been revealed is correct because it has emerged from the point of unity that is above any personal opinion.

Only if Israel works in this way will it have a solid government and a nation that stands behind it. Moreover, when Israel governs itself in this way, it will have the world’s support, contrary to the current situation where the world can barely keep from telling us outright to get out of the land it granted us on November 29, 1947.

While it may seem impossible to find unity above our differences, we must remember that we are not doing this for ourselves, but for the world. This will be the fuel that can give us the sufficient impetus to carry out this seemingly impossible task.

Our sages have taught us that if we unite among ourselves, we unite the world. Accordingly, The Book of Zohar writes (Aharei Mot), “‘How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to also dwell together.’ These are the friends, ‎as they sit together inseparably. At first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then ‎they return to being in brotherly love.‎ …And you, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, you will not part henceforth … and by your merit there will be peace ‎in the world.”‎

Echoing it, Raaiah Kook wrote, “If we were ruined and the world was ruined with us through unfounded hatred, we will be rebuilt and the world will be rebuilt with us through unfounded love.”

Therefore, in times of great division and dislike, it is our duty more than ever to unite above our differences and set an example of unity. This is the only remedy to our inability to establish a solid government, a solid society, and a peaceful life.
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“No Safe Place For Jews, Unless We Create It” (Times Of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “No Safe Place for Jews, Unless We Create It

As the State of Israel marked Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), thousands of Muslims gathered at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and chanted slogans calling for the massacre of Jews. It raises the harsh question of whether Israel can still be considered a shelter for Jews at a time when multiple reports find record-high numbers of antisemitic incidents globally.

An estimated 150,000 Muslim worshipers took part in mass prayers on the Temple Mount by the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on May 1. Some used the occasion to march and shoutKhyber, Khyber al-Yahud”—a call for the annihilation of Jews, like the mass murder that occurred in the Khyber battle of 629 CE.

It is bitterly ironic that this happens after decades of immense efforts to curb antisemitism following the Holocaust, and in Jerusalem no less, the capital of the Jewish state, the same state conceived as the homeland and safe haven for those escaping hatred and persecution for no other reason than being Jews.

This should remind us that it’s useless to look for a place where there are no Jew haters because we will find no such place, including Israel. Instead, we should be looking for the way to transform the hatred between Jews into love, and to build a common place of connection between us. By doing so, all the evil and rejection against us from the nations of the world and from our neighbors would be replaced by good.

We need to understand that if not for the hatred of the nations of the world towards us, we would have ceased to be a distinct people long ago. That is to say Jews, the smallest of minorities, and the most prominent, would have vanished among the nations. Unfortunately, we behave like brothers primarily in times of trouble. Only when pressured by hatred against us are we forced to be close to each other.

This is so because, according to our roots, we were not founded on the common denominators of residential area, family relations, origin or color, but as a conglomeration of different peoples. Therefore, there is no natural inclination and closeness between us; we need to work on it consciously. No less important, we must not wait for others to compel us.

As Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, Baal HaSulam warned back in 1940 in his writings, “Even the little we have left of the national love is not instilled in us positively, as it is in all the nations. Rather, it exists within us on a negative basis: It is the common suffering that each of us suffers being a member of the nation. This has imprinted within us a national awareness and proximity, as with fellow-sufferers.” And added, “Its measure of warmth suffices only to an ephemeral excitement, but without the power and strength with which we can be rebuilt as a nation that carries itself. This is because a union that exists due to an outside cause is not at all a national union.”

We have no alternative but to rise above our differences and unite. The phenomenon of antisemitism is revealed in the world as a natural response to remind the people of Israel why it exists in the world. Our only option and shield for defending ourselves against hatred is the implementation of our role as “a light unto the nations,” which can only be achieved through our unity. Plain and simple—only to the extent that we connect with one another above the rejection and hatred between us will we be able to enjoy peace and quiet.
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“What Is The Significance Of The Third Temple Of Jews?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What is the significance of the third temple of Jews?

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the Temple is a symbol of the corrected Kli (vessel/tool/receptacle), the human soul, which is a desire with an intention to bestow upon the Creator, and which has full contact with the upper force of love and bestowal.

The construction of the First Temple represented the unification of the twelve tribes. This structure was then destroyed and the Second Temple became a symbol of the unity of only two of the tribes.

The Third Temple is humanity’s full unification, which comes about when our every quality will be aimed in the direction of bestowal.

Based on KabTV’s “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Michael Sanilevich on February 22, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

“Peace With Israel’s Enemies Begins And Ends Within” (Times Of Israel)

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Peace with Israel’s Enemies Begins and Ends Within

Every so often, news of the rabid antisemitism that fills the pages of K-12 Palestinian textbooks remind us that nothing has grown milder on the other side. On the contrary, the Palestinians are openly teaching their children that killing Jews and Israelis is their sacred duty. Even the EU, not exactly the most pro-Israel body in the world, “passed a motion condemning the Palestinian Authority for drafting and teaching new violent and hatful materials using EU funding.” The motion “Deplores that problematic and hateful material in Palestinian school textbooks has still not been removed and is concerned about the continued failure to act effectively against hate speech and violence in school textbooks and especially in the newly created study cards.”

Recently, matters have deteriorated to the point where Gazan 4th graders are taught arithmetic by counting shahids—Muslims who died killing or attempting to kill infidels, namely Jews. To 10th graders, Gazan schools teach that Jihad (holy war) is every Muslim’s personal duty. I have no hope for any moderation on the part of the Palestinians.

However, I have complete confidence in our ability to change the situation regardless of the Palestinians’ intentions. Israel should work on two levels. On the material level, we should withhold funds from them and limit food supply. The “arithmetic” should be simple: If you teach your children to murder us, we will treat you like the enemy that you are.

However, this alone will not work, perhaps only in the very short term. What will work is what we do among ourselves.

The way that Palestinians relate to us reflects our relation to each other. It has always been this way, and it will always be this way. Israel prospers only when it is united. When it is divided, foes attack it and destroy the country. If we were united, the Palestinians would not even contemplate including anti-Israel materials into their textbooks since they would not harbor anti-Israel sentiments.

Therefore, on the spiritual level, we must unite our ranks. The dozens of political parties that fight against each other in the current Israeli political system reflect our internal division. We cannot have twenty parties fighting one another for the throne and groveling before our enemies in order to get their support. It only emboldens them and adds contempt to their loathing.

If we want Palestinians to stop antisemitic incitement in their schools, we must teach our own children and ourselves only to love one another. No excuses will help us.

We may not see the connection between how we relate to one another and how they relate to us, but the two are nevertheless directly connected. When we stop reasoning in order to excuse ourselves from caring about each other, and try to come closer above our differences, we will see a revolutionary change in the entire world toward us.

Loving others, especially if they are different from us, is the basic tenet of our nation, the bedrock of our peoplehood. Until we exercise it, we will not know peace.

You will find more on this topic in my books Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord.
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“Israel’s Defense Against Terrorism” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Israel’s Defense Against Terrorism

Terrorist attacks are not just another headline in the news, it is the shattering of people’s lives cut short, and it is the panic and chaos that rip through an area in their wake. Fear ripples through and takes up residence in the psyche of the people who live through it. For two weeks terrorists have targeted a series of brutal attacks in Israeli cities, and again just last night in a popular nightlife spot in Tel Aviv that claimed the lives of three young men.

Anxiety has overpowered people’s mindsets. Everyone walks down the street with caution, suspicion, alertness, and looks automatically for a place to escape if another terrorist motivated by Islamic fundamentalism strikes again. Every ambulance howl evokes thoughts of despair and concern.

As Israelis, there is no need to pretend like nothing is happening and act as if everything is normal. We all need to take care of ourselves and take care of each other and be vigilant. We also need to open our eyes to what is happening on a more internal level, and open our hearts to what Israel’s sages wrote: “The prime defense against calamity is love and unity. When there are love, unity, and friendship between each other in Israel, no calamity can come over them” (Maor vaShemesh – Light and Sun).

Likewise, The Book of Consciousness writes, “We are commanded at each generation to strengthen the unity among us so our enemies do not rule over us.”

All of Israel is an amalgamation in which everyone is connected to each other, but we do not see it and certainly do not feel it. But the spiritual connection is direct: the connection of our hearts radiates favorably to the whole of society. Therefore, along with the phenomenon of terrorists who need to be uprooted, we must act with all our might to unite and be guarantors of each other.

Only if we can support each other wholeheartedly can we gain a sense of security on our streets. But as long as we prefer to live in our own bubble, caring only about our personal well-being, then this cold snowball of indifference forms between us, it rolls down a slope picking up more layers of coldness and alienation, and wraps each in an icy shroud that keeps us apart, until the next disaster forces us to briefly ward off peril.

Our Torah is all about love. It includes the greatest rule, “love your neighbor as yourself.” We must apply it in moments of peace, not just in times of terrorist attacks, but always because, like our ancient wisdom tells us, awakening to the love between us will awaken a supreme power, and it is He who will protect us from all evil.
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