The Jerusalem Post published my new article “The Israeli Camfire“

Lag Ba’omer celebrates the emergence of the immense light of unity through ‘The Book of Zohar.’ It is a calling for us to begin this journey toward being “as one man with one heart.”

Once a year, children and youth all over Israel collect any piece of wood they can lay their hands on and pile them up into huge heaps, which they set on fire on Lag Ba’omer night, the 33rd day of the omer count, which begins on the first day of Passover and ends on Shavuot. On that day, tens of thousands of people flock to the grave of the author of The Book of Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, to pray and to celebrate the writing of this seminal book of the wisdom of truth, also known as “the wisdom of Kabbalah.”

Lag Ba’omer is not regarded among the most fundamental festivals in Judaism, but like all Jewish festive days, it marks a profound point in our evolution as a nation and in the spiritual development of each and every one of us.
Lag Ba’omer in a Nutshell

Some 20 centuries ago, precisely at this time of the year, between Passover and Shavuot, Rabbi Akiva was teaching his 24,000 students. But according to the Talmud (Yevamot 62b), because these students did not follow Rabbi Akiva’s most fundamental law, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” they all died in a plague that struck them. Only five students remained because they followed their teacher’s guidance and stuck to the principle of love of others.

Of these five students, two in particular passed on their teacher’s tenet—Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah, and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), author of The Book of Zohar.

Hidden in a Cave

In the period following the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire (circa 132–136 CE), Rashbi was among the most prominent dissidents against the Roman rule in the Land of Israel. The Roman emperor, Hadrian, sent men in search of Rashbi to find and execute him.

According to legend, Rashbi and his son Rabbi Elazar fled to the Galilee where they hid in a cave for 13 years eating only carobs from a nearby tree and drinking the water of a nearby spring. During that time, they delved into the wisdom of the hidden, the wisdom of Kabbalah, and revealed the secrets of creation. Their efforts granted them the understanding of nature’s deepest levels and the understanding of the underlying unity at the basis of existence.

After 13 years, Rashbi heard about the death of Emperor Hadrian and came out of the cave. He gathered eight more students, in addition to his son, and taught them the secrets of Torah he had revealed. With his students, Rashbi went into another cave, and with their help he wrote The Book of Zohar, which is an interpretation of the Pentateuch, parts of the Prophets and the Writings (Hagiographa), and is the seminal book in the wisdom of Kabbalah.

The Book of Zohar describes the natural relationships that exist among all people. Contrary to popular belief, it does not talk about mystical creatures and esoteric powers, but rather writes about us—the process we go through as we develop our spirituality through our relations with other people.

Through his insinuations and intimations, Rashbi explains how we should construct our relationships correctly through love of others, and how love of others will bring peace to the entire world. In the portion, Aharei Mot, the book writes, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers sit together. These are the friends as they sit together, at first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then, they return to being in brotherly love. Henceforth, you will also not part … and by your merit there will be peace in the world.”

These brothers and friends that The Zohar mentions are people just like you and me, who have decided to connect for one and only purpose: to attain that underlying unity at the basis of existence that we mentioned earlier. By acknowledging their mutual hatred and subsequent exertion to rise above it and unite, they connect to that force of unity and establish such profound love among them, such true brotherly love, that even The Zohar fails to describe and simply refers to it as “a burning flame of love” or “the light of The Zohar.”

The Connection between The Zohar and Lag BaOmer

Lag Ba’omer, the 33^rd day of the omer count is the day when Rashbi passed away. It is also the day when the wisdom of Kabbalah was given to the world through the sealing of The Book of Zohar.

The tradition of lighting fires on Lag Ba’omer symbolizes the great light that appeared in our dark world when The Zohar was signed, sealed, and delivered to humanity—a light that can establish among us connections of love.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

The darkness of the deadlock that our world has fallen into over the last decades stems from our unrestrained egoism. This is the exact same ailment that consumed Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students. Just as the Temple was ruined and the students of Rabbi Akiva died only because of unfounded hatred, today’s alienation and atmosphere of animosity in society are bound to wreak havoc in the world in general, and on Israel in particular.

The way out of the labyrinth requires that we use the same method of connection and unity that our ancestors used 20 centuries ago. If we implement it among us and connect above the internal rejection we feel toward each other, we will light up the same great flame that burned before and the light of The Zohar will be revealed.

My teacher, Rav Baruch Shalom Ashlag (RABASH), wrote, “In each one there is a spark of love of others. However, the spark cannot ignite the light of love. Therefore, by bonding together, the sparks becomes a big flame” (The Writings of RABASH, vol. 2, “What Is the Degree One Should Achieve”).

Establishing a Lasting Solution among Us

Today, it is becoming clear that our society requires a fundamental, long-lasting, and sustainable solution to the problems we face. The great rule of the Torah, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” is within our power to perform, if we choose together to install it among us. We are indeed selfish to the core and our “inclination is evil from our youth,” as the Torah tells us. Yet, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step, and now we must take that step and begin to march on a new path: the path of unity, connection, and brotherhood.

Lag Ba’omer symbolizes the appearance of the immense light of unity in our world through The Book of Zohar. It is a great opportunity for us to begin this journey toward mutual responsibility, toward being “as one man with one heart,” toward being what the nation of Israel is all about—love of others—and toward sharing that light with the nations, just as we have been commanded to be, “a light unto nations.”
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In my regular column in Haaretz, my new article: “Independence Means Independence From Mutual Hatred“

The only form of independence for Israel is when we lay down our arms against each other. Then we can truly celebrate.

Every Independence Day, I remember that special Shabbat knife that my teacher’s father, Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, kept in his cabinet. The knife had a special inscription on its handle that read, Medinat Ysrael (The State of Israel), and Baal HaSulam used it only to slice the challah as he blessed Hamotzi on the eve of Shabbat. He cherished Israel not because of what it is, but because of what he prayed for it to become.

69 years ago, Israel started as a poor, tiny country, and highly dependent on its allies. Today’s Israel, however, has a strong army, a robust economy, advanced technology, and modern medicine. Yet, for all its progress, one question remains, “Has Israel become independent?”

Far from Independent

According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, being independent means that we are “not subject to control by others,” and are not “requiring or relying on something else.” By this definition, we are far from independent. As recent decisions in the UN General Assembly indicated, we are dependent on the positive view of the world in every aspect of our lives: economic, diplomatic, academic, cultural, and even in defense of our borders.

Israel is not the only country that is dependent on others for its survival. In truth, no country on the planet can claim independence. In an era of globalization, self-sufficiency is a fabrication of politicians and power-hungry rulers who flaunt the word before the crowd during mass festivities. They call out, “We will maintain our independence and our sovereignty today, tomorrow, and hereafter,” when in truth, no country can survive alone, especially not Israel whose very right to exist is questioned daily.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2334 states that Israel’s settlement activity constitutes a “flagrant violation” of international law and has “no legal validity.” The resolution, which opens the door to economic, academic, and other forms of sanctions against Israel, indicates that Israel is not as independent as it sometimes claims it is. Were it not for the election of Donald Trump as President, Israel would be in a far worse international position than it is today. For the moment, Israel has been given a hiatus from international pressure, but unless it moves in the right direction, the pressure will return with vigor.

Unity as a Condition to Sovereignty

When I speak of moving in the right direction, I am referring to pursuing the role for which we have been given sovereignty. If we connect ourselves to our vocation, we will truly become the world’s favorite nation. Connecting ourselves to our vocation means living as is required of the Israeli nation.

Despite the constant threats against Israel, it is the only country in the world whose future is in its own hands. We were established as a nation on the basis of mutual responsibility and love of others. We were declared a nation only after we committed to unite “as one man with one heart.” Unity was our motto, and as long as we were able to maintain even a trace of it, we were able to maintain sovereignty over the land. Once we lost our union, we were exiled from the land.

Throughout the ages, our sages were keenly aware of the importance of unity. The Midrash (Tanhuma, Nitzavim) writes about Israel: “When it is dark for you, the everlasting light is destined to shine for you, as it was said (Isaiah 60), ‘And it shall be to you an everlasting light.’ When? When you are all one bundle, as it was said (Deuteronomy 4), ‘You are alive every one of you this day.’ Clearly, if a person takes a bundle of reeds, can he break them at once? But if taken one at a time, even an infant can break them. Thus, you find that Israel are not redeemed until they are all one bundle.”

The first leaders of the State of Israel were also keenly aware of the paramount importance of unity to the young country. David Ben Gurion wrote, “‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Leviticus, 19:18) is the superior commandment in Judaism. With these three words the eternal, human law of Judaism has been formed… The state of Israel will be worthy of its name only if its social, economic, political, and judicial structure are based upon these three eternal words.”

A.D. Gordon echoed Ben Gurion’s words when he wrote, “‘All of Israel are responsible for one another’ … [and] only where people are responsible for one another there is Israel.” And finally, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, reviver of the Hebrew language, added, “We have yet to open our eyes and see that only unity can save us. Only if we all unite … to work in favor of the entire nation, our labor will not be in vain.”

The Only Thing We Need to Do

Israel’s unity is not a goal in and of itself. We were intended to be the avant-garde, the bellwether, leading all of humanity toward unity. The commandment to be “a light unto nations” means that we must show the world the way to unity. The Book of Zohar writes (Aharei Mot), “‘How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to also sit together.’ …You, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, henceforth you will also not part … and by your merit there will be peace in the world.”

This sense of Jewish purpose to correct the world has pervaded the Jewish mindset throughout the ages. German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre: “Every Jew, no matter how insignificant, is engaged in some decisive and immediate pursuit of a goal.”

Regarding the pursuit of that goal, Martin Buber wrote about the State of Israel: “We want the State of Israel not for the Jews; we want it for humanity. The construction of the new humanity will not take place without the special power of Judaism.” And Rav Kook adds likewise: “Israel’s purpose is to unite the entire world into a single family.”

Today, wherever we turn the world is blaming us for some wrongdoing. The only thing we need to do about it is unite. Our sages and our scriptures were right; world peace depends on our unity, as Sefat Emet writes, “The children of Israel became responsible to correct the entire world.”

It turns out that our strength and independence, and the world’s strength and independence, depend entirely on our willingness to unite. If we choose unity, in order to convey it to the world, we will see a dramatic change for the better. This will be the beginning of our being “a light unto nations.”

If we unite, the burdensome interdependence we call “globalization” will turn into mutual support. We do not need to teach the nations how to unite; we simply need to set an example of it.

French pastor Charles Wagner was quoted in A Book of Jewish Thoughts: “Israel has given to mankind the category of holiness. Israel alone has known the thirst for social justice, and that inner saintliness which is the source of justice.” Just as now when we are disunited, the nations reject us, when we become a role model of unity they will embrace us.

So, this Independence Day, let us finally begin to be what we are meant to be. Let us be a country that is united in mutual responsibility, whose people strive to love their neighbors as themselves and wish to pass that unity on to the entire world.

Happy Independence Day to all!
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In my regular column in Haaretz, my new article: “What This Means for Jews When Austria’s President Says All Women Will Wear Headscarves“

When he was elected as Austria’s president, by a margin of less than one percentage point, Mr. Alexander Van Der Bellen declared, “I will be a pro-European president of Austria open to the world.” Last week, Mr. Van Der Bellen stated about Islamophobia: “There will come a day when we have to ask every woman to wear a headscarf. Every woman! Out of solidarity with those who do it for religious reasons.”

On the one hand, we are seeing the realization of a process I have been warning about for years: the capitulation of Europe to Islam. On the other hand, there is a reactionary process where burkas (Muslim headscarf) and burkinis (Muslim full-body swimsuit) are banned in many European countries, particularly those that have suffered most in recent years from Islamic terrorism, such as France.

The tight race in the election in Austria indicates that the Austrian public is split in half. A similar picture unfolded in the UK Brexit vote, and in the US presidential election. By and large, Western countries are growing less politically tolerant, more divided, yet no view seems to have a clear upper hand. This situation makes effective governance almost impossible, guaranteeing that instability will only increase in the coming years. Unless this trend of growing political intolerance and escalating aggression is reversed, Europe will inevitably find itself embroiled in another violent conflict, which could spread to the rest of the world. If a violent eruption takes place, the Jews, as always, will pay the heaviest price.

Forcibly Entangled Narcissists

Like the Chinese curse says, we are living in interesting times. Like never before, two contradictory trajectories are impacting humanity. On one hand, we have become narcissists to the point that our level of odium toward other people has reached pathological levels. On the other hand, we have become so interdependent that we cannot break away from society.

A few generations ago, people were dependent on society for food, shelter, and health. Today, because we are so preoccupied with ourselves, we need constant reassurance of our value. As a result, we desperately need others to like us on social media and approve of the (false) images we put there. In many cases, we are so dependent on it that people who suffer from online bullying resort to suicide.

While social media is still our most common way of reconciling the need for social life with the need for privacy, it is clearly not a sustainable solution. The soaring depression rates and atrocious incidents such as live broadcasts of murders and suicides indicate that the days of social media as our preferred outlet are numbered.

Interdependence and mutual dislike are as apparent in politics as they are in the social process just described. As our narcissism escalates, so do our intolerance and aggression. And since we cannot detach ourselves from society, we turn against it.

All this means one thing: There is no solution to our situation in our current mode of thinking. To prevent the total ruin of society, we will have to rise above our differences and forge a new form of solidarity.

Today, it is common knowledge that a good team requires diversity and that exposure to diversity makes us smarter. Every sports team knows that good teamwork yields more wins than big names on the roster who play for themselves. Even though we know it, it is getting harder and harder to cooperate. Our growing egos are making it increasingly difficult for us to form meaningful bonds, resulting in disintegration on all levels, from the family unit to the whole of society.

The reason for this is simple: Our only goal is our own (usually immediate) pleasure. We want everything now, instant gratification. And if we do connect to other people, it is in order to exploit them, either openly or by seeming to help, when actually, an ulterior motive motivates us to action.

An Untapped Method

Such alienation would have made human society hopeless were it not for the existence of an untapped solution. If we tap into it, we will not only resolve the current crises we are facing, but we will come to view them as necessary, preparatory steps toward a much safer and brighter future. Albert Einstein once said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” If we apply this solution, we will rise to a new level of thinking, for which the current problems will be the foundation.

The first person to think of this solution was Abraham the Patriarch almost four millennia ago. As I wrote in the essay “Why Do People Hate Jews,” and in my book Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why Unity and Mutual Guarantee Are Today’s Call of the Hour, the Midrash (Beresheet Rabbah), Maimonides, and many other sources tell us that similar to what is happening today, the Babylonians in Abraham’s time were growing increasingly alienated. These books tell us that when Abraham reflected on the alienation of the Babylonians, he realized what we are now realizing ourselves: We cannot stop the intensification of egoism, but unless we find some way to deal with the ego, it will destroy us.

In Mishneh Torah (Chapter 1), Maimonides writes that to find a solution to the problem of the growing ego, Abraham observed nature. He realized that in nature, everything is balanced. What maintains stability is the fact that in addition to egoism, there is a balancing force, a desire to connect and build, which matches the desire to disconnect and destroy. This balance, Abraham concluded, enables the opposites that make life possible: hot and cold, connection and separation, creation and destruction, and all the other opposites that make up our universe. In humans, however, Abraham discovered that “The inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen 8:21).

As soon as he realized that he had found the key to social stability, Abraham began to circulate it. In the words of Maimonides, “He began to provide answers to the people of Ur of the Chaldeans [Abraham’s city in Babylon], to converse with them and to tell them that the path on which they were walking was not the path of truth.”

Abraham explained that the only way to overcome the ego that had erupted between them was to strengthen the unity between them. Since nature denied humankind the balance between forces it endowed with the rest of nature, Abraham suggested that they could “compensate” for the lack of the connecting force by creating it themselves. This is why today we know him as a man of mercy and kindness, since he strove to connect people.

As more and more people assembled around Abraham to learn his solution, he became a threat to Nimrod, the King of Babylon, who ultimately expelled Abraham. Outside of Babylon, Abraham continued to gather followers and students who subscribed to the idea that the way to overcome the ego is by increasing unity in sync with the intensification of the ego.

Abraham passed his knowledge on to Isaac, who passed it on to Jacob, who then passed it on to Joseph. After centuries of honing a unique method of connection, the Hebrews obtained such powerful unity that even though they came from different places and ethnicities, they became a nation at the foot of Mt. Sinai, from the Hebrew word sinaa (hatred). As the Hebrews overcame the mountain of hatred and alienation between them by nurturing their unity to a level that matched their separation, they balanced the egoism that was growing in them and created a solid society based on social justice and mutual responsibility that to this day is the basis of what we define as humanism.

Dutch-American sociologist Ernest van den Haag asked in The Jewish Mystique: “In a world where Jews are only a tiny percentage of the population, what is the secret of the disproportionate importance the Jews have had in the history of Western culture?” Similarly, Christian historian Paul Johnson wrote in A History of the Jews: “At a very early stage in their collective existence they believed they had detected a divine scheme for the human race, of which their own society was to be a pilot. They worked out their role in immense detail. They clung to it with heroic persistence in the face of savage suffering. Many of them believe it still. Others transmuted it into Promethean endeavors to raise our condition by purely human means. The Jewish vision became the prototype for many similar grand designs for humanity, both divine and man-made. The Jews, therefore, stand right at the center of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a purpose.”

The way Abraham and his disciples handled the ego was very simple yet effective. The book Likutey Etzot (Assorted Counsels) describes this in the following way: “The essence of peace is to connect two opposites. Hence, do not be alarmed if you see a person whose view is the complete opposite of yours and you think that you will never be able to make peace with him. Also, when you see two people who are completely opposite to each other, do not say that it is impossible to make peace between them. On the contrary, the essence of peace is to try to make peace between two opposites.”

By Your Merit, There Will Be Peace in the World

After the “inauguration ceremony” at the foot of Mt. Sinai and the official commencement of the Jewish people, the young nation experienced countless tests to their unity. They overcame tremendous internal conflicts as they struggled to increase their unity over their growing egos. In so doing, they polished and improved their method of connection. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai described this approach in The Book of Zohar (portion Beshalach): “All the wars in the Torah are for peace and love.”

Immediately after the Jews became a nation, they were commanded to be “a light unto nations,” namely to pass on the method of connection they had built among them to the rest of the world. Abraham intended to spread his method throughout Babylon, and had it not been for King Nimrod’s interference, he would have succeeded. Noah and Moses both intended to complete Abraham’s work but failed, too, because of impediments they had encountered. The great kabbalist, Ramchal, wrote in the book Adir Bamarom (Mighty One on High): “Noah was created to correct the world in the state that it was at that time. At that time there were already the nations, and they will also receive correction from him.” In The Ramchal Commentary on the Torah, the sage writes about Moses: “Moses wished to complete the correction of the world at that time. …However, he did not succeed because of the corruptions that occurred along the way.”

The Book of Zohar connects the work on unity among Jews to their role toward the nations in the portion Aharei Mot: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers sit together. These are the friends as they sit together, at first they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then, they return to being in brotherly love. Henceforth, you will also not part … and by your merit there will be peace in the world.”

Countless Jewish sources connect the world’s problems with Israel not carrying out their task. The Babylonian Talmud (Masechet Yevamot 63a) writes, “No calamity comes to the world but because of Israel.” Rav Kook elaborates on this duty in his book Orot (Lights): “The construction of the world, which is crumbling under the dreadful storms of a blood-filled sword, requires the construction of the Israeli nation. The construction of the nation and the revealing of its spirit are one … with the construction of the world, which is crumbling in anticipation for a force full of unity and sublimity, and all that is in the soul of the Assembly of Israel.”

In his essay “Mutual Guarantee,” Rav Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, writes, “It is upon the Israeli nation to qualify itself and all the people of the world to develop until they take upon themselves that sublime work of the love of others, which is the ladder to the purpose of creation.”

Since the ruin of the Second Temple two millennia ago due to unfounded hatred, the Jews have by and large displayed disunity and a desire to assimilate and abandon their vocation. But the world feels it is their duty to be “a light unto nations,” to bring the light of unity to the world. The more the world falls into divisiveness and inability to resolve its conflicts, the more it will turn its frustration at the Jews. And the more the Jews try to avoid their duty, the harder the world will punish them.

The most satanic detractor of Judaism in history, Adolf Hitler, wrote in his hate-filled composition, Mein Kampf: “When over long periods of human history I scrutinized the activity of the Jewish people, suddenly there arose up in me the fearful question whether inscrutable Destiny, perhaps for reasons unknown to us poor mortals, did not, with eternal and immutable resolve, desire the final victory of this little nation.” Hitler even sensed that the problem with Jews was their separation. Elsewhere in Mein Kampf he wrote, “The Jew is only united when a common danger forces him to be or a common booty entices him; if these two grounds are lacking, the qualities of the crassest egoism come into their own.”

A World Awaiting Our Decision

In a divided world such as we see today, the method of connection that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob developed is imperative to the survival of humanity. The tension around North Korea is an example of how any local conflict could drag the world into a nuclear catastrophe. The ego is becoming deranged, irrational, and very, very dangerous.

Consciously or not, the world blames the Jews for its misfortunes. The more the world plunges into crisis after crisis, the more the Jews will be blamed for all of them. Thomas Lopez-Pierre, bidding for a seat in the NYC council, said recently, “Greedy Jewish Landlords are at the forefront of ethnic cleansing/pushing Black/Hispanic tenants out of their apartments.” As these accusations become increasingly commonplace, they will lead to the natural conclusion that to get rid of the problem we must get rid of the Jews.

Unless Jews serve as an example of unity the way Abraham devised it, where they overcome strife by increasing unity in sync with the growing ego, they will be treated just as they were treated in 20th century Germany. At first, they will be given the option to leave for Israel, just as Hitler tried to persuade the Jews to leave Germany and move to Israel. If the Jews do not leave willingly, then the world will resort to the other option: extermination.

But the Jews need not sit passively and watch as their doom approaches. They can choose to be “a light unto nations.” In the early 1900s, Rav Hillel Zeitlin wrote in Sifran Shel Yehidim: “If Israel is the one true redeemer of the entire world, it must be qualified for this redemption. Israel must first redeem their souls. …But when will this world salvation come? Is it now that this nation, whose majority lost its ancient spiritual form and is immersed in bickering, fighting, and unfounded hatred? Therefore, in this book, I am appealing to establish the unity of Israel. …If this is established, there will be a unification of individuals for the purpose of elevation and correction of all the ills of the nation and the world.”

Indeed, the stagnated world, teetering between left and right, is awaiting our decision to unite and become a role model of solidarity, mutual responsibility, and brotherhood. That decision is the difference between heaven and hell for the Jews, in particular, and for the world in general.
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The Jerusalem Post published my new article “Comment: Is Judaism Racism?“

Through their unity or lack thereof, the Jews determine whether hatred or love of others will prevail the world over, and the world relates to them accordingly.

Just recently,Thomas Lopez-Pierre, who is bidding for a seat in the NYC council, said, “Greedy Jewish Landlords are at the forefront of ethnic cleansing/pushing Black/Hispanic tenants out of their apartments.” Zionism has already been accused of racism, but today we are seeing the argument that Jews favor only their coreligionists gaining more and more turf.

It makes sense to think of Judaism as a racist religion. After all, we are regarded as “a people who dwells apart, and will not be reckoned among the nations” (Numbers 23:9). Throughout the ages, we have been defined as “the chosen people,” “a light unto nations,” and other depictions that set us apart from the rest of humanity. But is Judaism itself racist? Does it aspire to subordinate other nations? Does it demand to convert non-Jews to Judaism? Does Judaism assert that being Jewish grants prerogatives that are not to be given to people of other faiths?

As we will see, the truth is to the contrary. Judaism means more commitment and more demands from its own adherents, and not from anyone else. Instead of requiring the subjugation of others, it requires the commitment of Jews to serve humanity.

Unity that Matches Enmity

Throughout the ages, numerous scholars and people of faith have wondered about the meaning and purpose of Judaism. Cambridge historian T.R. Glover wrote in The Ancient World: “No ancient people have had a stranger history than the Jews. …The history of no ancient people should be so valuable, if we could only recover it and understand it. …Stranger still, the ancient religion of the Jews survives when all the religions of every ancient race have disappeared … Also, it is strange that the living religions of the world all build on religious ideas derived from the Jews. The great matter is not ‘What happened?’ but ‘Why did it happen?’ ‘Why does Judaism live?’”

To understand Judaism, we must go back to its beginning, and connect it to its final purpose. Some 3,800 years ago in the area known as the Fertile Crescent, humanity was taking its baby steps toward becoming a civilization. At that time, Babylon was the ruling empire and governed the lush lands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Even then, problems began to appear. People’s vanity began to take its toll as the Babylonian Empire and its king, Nimrod, tried to build a tower “whose top will reach into heaven” because they wanted to make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). But instead of a tower, writes the book Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer (Chapter 24), the builders grew so hostile that they “wanted to speak to one another but did not know each other’s language. What did they do? Each took up his sword and they fought each other to the death. Indeed, half the world was slaughtered there, and from there they scattered all over the world.”

To counter the Babylonians’ enmity toward each other, the Patriarch Abraham realized that they must cultivate a matching measure of connection and unity. He understood that in creation, everything is united, and the apparent contradictions actually complement one another and form a perfect whole. Abraham also realized that if the Babylonians knew about nature’s wholeness they, would stop hating other people and would, instead, cherish the diversity and benefit from it.

Immediately after his revelation, Abraham began to circulate his concept, or as Maimonides describes it in Mishneh Torah (Chapter 1), “He began to provide answers to the people of Ur of the Chaldeans [Abraham’s city in Babylon], to converse with them and to tell them that the path on which they were walking was not the path of truth.”

Even though King Nimrod confronted Abraham and demanded that he would stop circulating his ideas, Abraham insisted on continuing until finally Nimrod expelled Abraham from Babylon. As the expat wandered toward what was to become the Land of Israel, writes Maimonides in Mishneh Torah (Chapter 1), “Thousands and tens of thousands assembled around him. He planted this tenet [of unity] in their hearts, composed books about it, and taught his son, Isaac. And Isaac sat and taught and warned, and informed Jacob, and appointed him a teacher, to sit and teach… And Jacob our Father taught all his sons.”

These three patriarchs of Judaism gave it its essence: Unity is the remedy for hatred. When hatred increases, do not push it under the carpet, but acknowledge it and nurture unity to match it. In the succinct words of King Solomon (Proverbs 10:12): “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes.”

It follows that Judaism does not derive from geographical or biological affinity, but rather from an ideological perception that unity is the key to solving every problem. The Hebrew word Yehudi [Jew] comes from the word yihudi [united], writes the book Yaarot Devash (Part 2, Drush no. 2). In other words, the only criterion by which one can become Jewish is one’s acceptance of the principle that love must cover all crimes, and unity must be the basis of all human relations. The myriads who joined Abraham came from all over the Fertile Crescent and the Near and Middle East, and they were all welcome as long as they followed the law of unity.

The Antisemites’ Keen Perception

The Hebrews suffered just like everyone else from the intensification of the ego. The only difference between them and the rest of the nations was that they had decided not to fight each other when hostility increased among them, but rather to increase the love between them. While our ancestors often succumbed to fierce and often violent internal conflicts, in the end, they always remembered what they must do and how to achieve peace. This is why The Book of Zohar writes (Beshalach), “All the wars in the Torah are for peace and love.”

When we achieved a sufficient level of unity, we became a nation and were immediately commanded to be “a light unto nations,” to convey what Abraham had wanted to convey to the Babylonians in the first place. The great kabbalist Ramchal wrote that like Abraham, both Noah and Moses wanted to complete the correction of the world in their respective times, but circumstances prevented this from them. In Adir Bamarom (Mighty One on High), Ramchal wrote, “Noah was created to correct the world in the state that it was at that time. At that time there were already the nations, and they will also receive correction from him.” In The Ramchal Commentary on the Torah, the sage writes about Moses: “Moses wished to complete the correction of the world at that time. …However, he did not succeed because of the corruptions that occurred along the way.”

The nations, too, recognized our unique role as bearers of redemption, though very few connected redemption with unity. It was actually the most satanic detractor of Judaism in history, Adolf Hitler, who was among those who did connect Judaism with unity. In his hate-filled composition, Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote both about the unique fate of the Jews and about the importance of their unity. “When over long periods of human history I scrutinized the activity of the Jewish people, suddenly there arose up in me the fearful question whether inscrutable Destiny, perhaps for reasons unknown to us poor mortals, did not, with eternal and immutable resolve, desire the final victory of this little nation.” Concerning Jewish unity or lack thereof, Hitler wrote, “The Jew is only united when a common danger forces him to be or a common booty entices him; if these two grounds are lacking, the qualities of the crassest egoism come into their own.”

Another notorious antisemite who observed the unique quality of the ancient Jewish society was Henry Ford. In The International Jew—the World’s Foremost Problem, Ford wrote, “Modern reformers, who are constructing model social systems, would do well to look into the social system under which the early Jews were organized.” Ford wanted to take an example from the Jews, but since they are apart, he resorted to their ancestors, the “early Jews.”

Since the ruin of the Second Temple due to hatred, the Jews have been immersed in hatred. They have forgotten the principle that love covers all crimes and let hatred govern their hearts. But since they are intended to be “a light unto nations,” the world blames them for every act of hatred that unfolds anywhere in the world. Jews may not know that they have the key to ending hatred, but the world senses it and demands this of them.

The greatest commentator on The Book of Zohar in the 20th century, Rav Yehuda Ashlag, wrote in the essay “Mutual Guarantee”: “The Israeli nation had been constructed as a sort of gateway by which sparks of love of others would shine upon the whole of the human race the world over.”

Rav Hillel Zeitlin also stressed the importance of Jewish unity for the correction of the world. In Sifran Shel Yehidim he wrote, “If Israel is the one true redeemer of the entire world, it must be qualified for this redemption. Israel must first redeem their souls. …But when will this world salvation come? Is it now that this nation is immersed in bickering, fighting, and unfounded hatred? Therefore, in this book, I am appealing to establish the unity of Israel. …If this is established, there will be a unification of individuals for the purpose of elevation and correction of all the ills of the nation and the world.”

Double Standard

One of the criteria to determine whether a person is antisemitic is “double standard.” That is, people are tested as to whether they judge Jews and Israel differently from everyone else. If we are to be honest, we should admit that everyone, even Jews, judge Israel and Jews differently from all other nations. This “double standard” is written in the scriptures, and every person in the world feels that Jews are different.

Jews are different but they are not racists, since authentic Judaism dictates that anyone who subscribes to the idea of unity above hatred is regarded as Jewish. Yet, Jews are definitely unique.

Currently, because Jews are not “a light unto nations,” meaning they are not spreading the light of unity, the world hates them. If the Jews return to being what they were when they became a nation after committing to unite “as one man with one heart,” the world will view them as the most valuable nation on the planet. Through their unity or separation, the Jews determine whether hatred or love of others will prevail the world over, and the world relates to them accordingly.

No other text sums up this message as clearly as this excerpt from The Book of Zohar. In the portion Aharei Mot, the book writes, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers sit together. These are the friends as they sit together, at first they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then, they return to being in brotherly love. Henceforth, you will also not part … and by your merit there will be peace in the world.” Let us do what we must do.
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In my regular column in Haaretz, my new article: “What’s Next for France?“

Rifts in French society are growing harder to overcome. Unless treated as opportunities to boost connection, the growing weight will crush them.

The ever-present threat of terrorism and the rifts in French society concerning immigration, economy, Frexit, and other weighty issues are making the current French elections exceptionally tense. The result of the runoff will impact not only France, but all of Europe as the teetering European Union struggles to survive. Despite the tensions from the EU, in order to succeed, the newly elected president will have to give preference to France’s home affairs and achieve what currently seems impossible: the unity of the French people.

The new president will undoubtedly face fierce opposition, perhaps similar to that which Donald Trump is facing in the US. But even if, unlike in America, the election is decided by a wide majority, the new president will still need to deal with swarms of immigrants inundating France and taking over Paris. Besides posing a major security risk and a political and humanitarian challenge, the question of relations with the immigrants will continue to divide the French people and disrupt their lives.

Albert Einstein once said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Indeed, in order to solve France’s problems, the French president and the French people will have to rise to a new level of thinking: a comprehensive, all-inclusive level where all people matter and all views are included under an umbrella of unity.

The new level of thinking means that people stop trying pointlessly to persuade everyone that only they are right and everyone else is wrong. Instead, people will unite above their differences. In simple terms, uniting above differences means that we accept that we all have different views, but we also accept that the unity of our country (in this case France) is more important than the predominance of my personal view. Therefore, each of us says to him or herself, “I believe what I believe but other people believe differently. Now, let us take all those different views and utilize them for the benefit of the whole of society.”

Just like the different organs in our body, we are different in every way. In the body, this diversity guarantees our health and our existence. For example, the lungs and the liver both deal with the blood that flows through them. Yet, if they dealt with the blood in the same way, we would not have oxygen or we would have blood full of toxins. Either way, we would not survive. It may not be that obvious, but human society functions much like our bodies, and each person in it is like a unique organ. If a person compels another person to act or think the same as another, it stops the oppressed person from performing according to his or her unique role in humanity and inflicts damage on the entire human society.

In his essay, “The Freedom,” the great commentator on The Book of Zohar, Rav Yehuda Ashlag, wrote, “Anyone who eradicates a tendency from an individual and uproots it causes the loss of that sublime and wondrous concept from the world… From this we learn what a terrible wrong inflict those nations that force their reign on minorities, depriving them of freedom without allowing them to live their lives by the tendencies they have inherited from their ancestors. They are regarded as no less than murderers.”

The formidable challenge of the next French president will be to galvanize the starkly different parts of the French society into working for the benefit of the entire nation, just as different organs work for the benefit of the entire body. If successful, France will become a mighty nation, as its diversity will translate into agility, creativity, flexibility, and ultimately prosperity. If the new president fails to unite the French people, the country and its society will collapse. All they need to do is look to their ally on the west shore of the Atlantic to see how hard it is for a president to succeed when half the nation opposes him.

Treat Problems the Way Athletes Treat Weights

The human body is not the only example of complementary differences. All of nature consists of opposites that complement one another: light and dark, hot and cold, male and female, life and death. The same principle should apply to a healthy social life. The book, Likutey Halachot (Assorted Rules) writes, “The essence of vitality, existence, and correction is creation in achieved by people of differing opinions mingling together in love, unity, and peace.” The growing chasms in today’s societies indicate that we must intensify our work on unity accordingly.

Indeed, problems are not meant to be solved; they are meant to be levers for greater social cohesion. In his book Letters of the Raiah, Rav Kook wrote, “The great rule about the war of views, when each view comes to contradict another, is that we need not contradict it, but rather build above it, and thereby ascend.”

The French need not conceal the chasms in the French society. Instead, they should preserve and cherish the various factions in society, and use what each of them has to offer for the benefit of the entire country. The differences among the French people enrich and vitalize the French society and add color to the country.

France’s future leader will have to maintain two opposite levels one atop the other—rifts and differences to the point of hatred, at the bottom, and atop it, a layer of solidarity and mutual responsibility. Social tensions will not vanish. On the contrary, they will grow and thereby enable and compel the French to build stronger bridges among them. In this way, the differences between the factions will not be revoked or suppressed, but rather embraced as contributors to the diversity and strength of a united French society.

In order to build their muscles, athletes force themselves to lift incrementally heavier weights. Likewise, the rifts within the French society are growing incrementally harder to overcome. If the French treat their rifts as opportunities to work harder on their (muscles of) connection, they will have a robust and powerful society. If they give up and do not try to lift the growing weight, it will undoubtedly crush them.
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The Jerusalem Post published my new article “The Second French Revolution”

To avert the risk of a second Revolution, France’s next president will have to do what currently seems impossible: unite the French people

Faced with constant threats of terrorism and sharp divisions concerning immigration, economy, Frexit and other weighty issues, the French public went to the polls this week to determine who will lead their nation.
Whoever wins next month’s runoff will determine far more than the fate of France. At stake is the future of the entire European continent. But in order to succeed, the new president will have to achieve what currently seems impossible: unite the French people.

The French Republic is split in two. The new president will face fierce opposition similar to that which Donald Trump is facing in the US, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is facing in Turkey and Mark Rutte is facing in the Netherlands.
Even if French citizens can agree on a new leader, if the country parts from the European bloc and closes its borders, he or she will still have to cope with swarms of immigrants inundating France and taking over Paris. Besides posing a major political and humanitarian challenge, relations with the immigrants will continue to divide the French people and disrupt their lives.

At the end of the day, there is no solution to these problems, at least not one that everyone agrees on, and can therefore pose a sustainable solution.

Albert Einstein once said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.” From my own heritage I know that problems are not meant to be solved; they are meant to serve as levers for ascending to higher levels.

Rabbi Kook wrote in Letters of the Raiah: “The great rule about the war of views, when each view comes to contradict another, is that we need not contradict it, but rather build above it, and thereby ascend.”

In the coming years, it will become increasingly clear that the most formidable challenge today’s leaders face is maintaining and enhancing the internal solidarity of their nations.

From Individuality to Interconnectivity

The main cause of friction and animosity among people is our self-centeredness. It makes us reject one another, hate one another, and turns us into such narcissists that it ruins our chances of establishing meaningful relationships with other people.

The French, the Turks and every other nation in the world may sign any law they want. They can agree on compromises and establish an apparent stable social order, but experience has proven that agreements are destined to be broken, and countries are destined to disintegrate.

Today, even the United States of America is not immune to fragmentation. The only thing that can reverse our growing alienation is the understanding that we are not meant to settle our disputes; we are meant to rise above them and unite.

It is just as King Solomon said: “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes” (Prov 10:12). When we do this, our differences become strengths, as they force us to enhance our unity to match our intensifying level of disunity. In doing so, we learn to operate like a healthy organism whose various organs perform starkly different, yet complementary tasks.

The sooner we learn to work in this way, the sooner we will change the direction of society from ominous to propitious.

The French need not cover up the chasms in their society. Each faction is unique and has its own traditions that should be preserved and cherished. Instead of trying to make society uniform, the French would do well to treat their differences as varieties, elements that enrich the French society and add color and vitality to the country.

Even if challenging, the very effort will invoke such positivity that it will invert the dismal feeling of uncertainty and insecurity currently prevailing there, and enable the diverse communities to coexist in peace.

France’s future leader will have to maintain the two levels—rifts and differences, even to the point of hatred, and above it a level of mutual responsibility to enhance the unity of the entire French society.

Social tensions will not fade away. On the contrary, they will grow and thereby enable and compel the French to build stronger bridges among them. Again, the idea is not to accept the viewpoint of the other, but for all sides to form a new vision, one in which the unity of French society is primary, and everything else is secondary.
In this way, the differences between the factions will not be dismissed or suppressed, but rather embraced as contributors to the diversity of a united French society.

The Unity-Above-All Principle

If it is to succeed, the new French leadership will have to agree that the unity-above-all principle is its top priority. The cohesion and solidarity of the people depend on adhering to this notion on every level of life.
Unity must be the basis of relationships in society, family, work, schools and universities, and even in politics. There should be a Department of Unity, much as there is a Department of Justice, and it should take precedence over all other federal agencies. Its sole task will be to elevate and exalt the importance of unity above everything else—through social media, news media and every means of advertisement.

Presently, the world is going from bad to worse. Yet, the more hateful we become, the more life is forcing us to connect. As long as we resist this trend, the clash between life’s direction, toward connection, and our desire to separate will become increasingly painful. Unless we learn how to use reality’s tendency to connect for our benefit, by connecting above our hatred, the tension between the two opposite forces will snap, and an all-out war will break out.

When the war is over, a leader will still have to unite everyone above their differences. If leaders around the world understand the principle of connection above hatred and lead their countries toward it, they will translate this into applicable laws that will change all public systems and transform public discourse. These, in turn, will help each person rise above the isolation and find joy in connection and unity.

This year is going to be crucial for Europe as France, Germany, and other countries will decide the identity of their leaders for the coming years. If these elected leaders commit to unity, Europe will prosper. If not, the EU will disintegrate and the chances of war breaking out will increase dramatically.
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In my regular column in Haaretz, my new article: “How Trump Can Drain the Swamp“

So far, Trump’s been a fighter, but draining the swamp and making America great will take a miracle—uniting the “United States.”

To no one’s surprise, even President Trump’s April 7 missile attack on the Syrian air base whose planes apparently dropped sarin gas bombs on civilians just three days prior, was met with criticism from the neoliberal media. Nevertheless, the general feeling is that a military response was in order.

Terror struck Sweden just weeks after Carl Bildt, former Swedish PM, mocked the president following his implication that immigrants perpetrated a terror attack in Sweden, tweeting, “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking?” Now, after an illegal immigrant killed four people and injured 15 in a truck-ramming attack in downtown Stockholm, the current Swedish PM declared that Sweden will “never go back” to the days of mass migration.

Finally, despite months of derision at Trump’s insistence that the Obama Administration spied on him and his advisors prior to the election, Bloomberg’s Eli Lake has revealed that Susan Rice, former national security adviser to Barack Obama, did precisely that.

In conclusion, I agree with former Vice President Joe Biden who said last month that President Trump deserves a chance to lead the country.

Keys to Going Forward

To “drain the swamp,” as the president likes to refer to his intention to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, Trump must first dry up the streams that feed it. In the case of American society, they are divisiveness, mistrust, and alienation. The Obama Administration, which many expected to heal America’s wounds of racism, has produced the exact opposite. It was one of the most divisive periods that the US has seen since the end of World War II, if not before. The election of Donald Trump brought these rifts to the surface, but it did not create them. Throughout the American society, accelerated marginalization is occurring and the center is quickly shrinking on both sides of the political map. To clean it all up, Trump will need to find a way to help American society coalesce into a society with a common agenda, common goals, and common agreement on what is good for the country. Currently, the tensions are so high that if Trump fails, the next president might have to tackle such problems as states declaring political independence from the central government, rampant violent clashes between police and civilians, and other problems more characteristic of Third World countries than of the leader of the free world.

The president has already begun to move toward easing tensions. Steps such as providing historically black colleges and universities a long-awaited boost as he looks to outdo his predecessors (including the nation’s first African-American president) can earn him points, but they will not produce cohesion or solidarity in America unless they are part of an inclusive strategy of connection.

A Businesslike Approach

One of the president’s main assets is his businesslike approach to governance. He is willing to make changes to both policy and personnel. Since he is already looking for ideas for improved governance, I would consider building the cabinet from people who are committed to connecting the entirety of the American people, rather than to promoting a specific political or sectoral agenda.

The cabinet should adopt a positive and proactive approach that regards problems as indicators of social disunity rather than as isolated crises. The mode of work should resemble that of a healthy family: It has to prioritize, yet without leaving any family members behind. If Trump’s Administration comes to view the American people in this way, there is no doubt America will be great again.

The Jewish Angle

As with any administration in the last several decades, Donald Trump’s cabinet is rife with Jews. People often think that Jews use financial power to pave their way to the top. But viewing their success as a mere offshoot of wealth misses the key strength of Jews. Jews are at the top primarily because they are great connectors. Their ability to connect people to people gives them clout in every system. The problem is that political leaders tend to use this unique skill to promote a partisan agenda. Trump will set a precedent if he uses them in order to promote an all-American agenda of unity.

There is a good reason why Jews excel at connecting people. They are the only nation in the world with an official birthday. The Torah writes that on the 6th of the Hebrew month of Sivan, 2488 on the Hebrew calendar (1272 BC), the Jewish people was pronounced. The prerequisite for the declaration of the Jewish people was that they unite “as one man with one heart.” Since that momentous event, the rise and fall of the Jewish people has depended on their level of dedication to the principle of unity.

In the centuries following their inauguration, the Jews endured countless internal conflicts. They overcame them by applying the law that King Solomon succinctly worded, “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes” (Prov 10:12). Around the beginning of the Common Era, they lost their ability to “cover their hatred with love,” and the alienation between them evolved into such hatred that it brought upon them the exile from the Land of Israel and the ruin of the Temple. The Talmud (Masechet Yoma) states this very clearly: “The Second Temple … why was it ruined? Because there was unfounded hatred in it.”

Following the ruin of the Temple and the exile from the Land of Israel, Jews remained experts in connection, but they no longer wanted to connect the nation “as one man with one heart.” Instead, they used the skill they had honed for centuries to promote the interests of their coteries. Political success requires good connections. As a result, politicians have always employed Jewish advisors, usually under the (derogatory) title: “Court Jew.” Just recently, Jonathan Levi of the Forward asked, “Is Jared Kushner the ‘Court Jew’ of Donald Trump’s Realm?”

Making America Great Again

Draining the swamp will require Jews in Donald Trump’s administration to work differently than in all previous administrations. To succeed, America must be a united nation. Trump needs to require that first and foremost, the Jews facilitate connections and rapport among themselves on both sides of the political map. Subsequently, they must extend that amity to the rest of the nation.

If the Jews, who are in key positions in both parties, establish trust and understanding among themselves, it will facilitate a reconciliation process with the Democratic Party and the possibility to establish a government that enjoys the full support of Congress. The longer Trump waits, the harder it will be for him to operate, as divisive forces such as Barack Obama, John McCain, and Bernie Sanders grow stronger through the relentless push of neoliberal news media, which encompass nearly all major networks including, to a degree, Fox News.

Typically, advisors to the president suggest in which direction to lead the country and how to bring it there. But Donald Trump is not your ordinary president. He is a businesslike leader who determines how he wants his advisors to help him. If he is smart, he will tell them to draw up a roadmap leading from the current partisanship to trust, cooperation, and eventual cohesion of the American society and the political establishment. This will make America not only great, but also a role model for all other nations, “a light unto nations,” if you will. Implementing a plan of this nature will drain the swamp for certain, and will guarantee America’s future of safety, peace, and world leadership.
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The Jerusalem Post published my new article “The Key Role Of Jews In The Trump Administration”

If I were Donald Trump, I’d make the Jews see that I expect them to unite, because everything depends on them.

The Trump Administration recently launched a website offering Americans an opportunity to share ideas and suggestions “on how the government can be better organized to work for the American people” and “drain the swamp,” as the site puts it. In my view, this is a mature and welcome approach to governance.

The site asks people, “What agency would you like to reform?” But as I see it, here lies the catch: The problem is not with agencies, but with the people who run them. As is happening throughout society, the people who run the government are becoming so alienated and narcissistic that the system itself is becoming dysfunctional.

Every rule or regulation is established in order to cope with a specific challenge or a group of challenges. The United States Department of Homeland Security, for example, deals with anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management. It was created in response to the September 11 attacks. But it has not solved these problems. All we get are more rules and regulations attempting to deal with these problems—to no avail.

Likewise, in 1970, the US government created the Environmental Protection Agency in order to protect human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations. Yet, despite an annual budget exceeding eight billion dollars, the environment is still growing increasingly polluted, and the quality of our air, water, and food is declining.

As it is with the Homeland Security Department and the EPA, so it is with the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, Department of Education, and every department that the government has ever established. They are all drowning in a swamp of regulations that have rendered them dysfunctional.

When the first Jewish settlers came to settle in the Hula Valley in northern Israel, the area was nothing but a swamp. In order to dry it, they had to unclog the outlet, a section of the Jordan River, which was full of silt. Once they accomplished this, the Hula Swamp was drained out in no time, leaving behind lush fertile soil for cultivation. In much the same way, the cork blocking the government from establishing an effective administration is the alienation and narcissism rooted in human nature. To drain this swamp, US President Donald Trump will have to first deal with the disunity in the American society, and the Jews in his administration are the key to his success or failure.

Why the Jews Matter

On April 14, Trump said in his weekly address, dedicated to Passover and Easter that “the story of exodus … is a story of an incredible people who … raised up the face of humankind. Down through the centuries, the Jewish people have … uplifted the world beyond measure.”

The uniqueness of the Jews has been known for as long as there have been Jews. In his essay, “The Final Resolution,” author Leo Tolstoy wrote of the Jews: “The Jew is the symbol of eternity. He is the one who for so long had guarded the prophetic message and transmitted it to all mankind. The Jew is eternal. He is the embodiment of eternity.”

Similarly, Mark Twain wrote in The Complete Essays of Mark Twain: “If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race” [Actually, it is .2 percent]. Yet, Twain writes that the Jews’ “contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers.”

“The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone,” Twain continues. “The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

A Nation with a Purpose

The Jews exist, despite all the persecutions, because there is a purpose to their existence. They were created in order to be “a light unto nations,” to lead the world from darkness to light—from hatred to love, from separation to connection. For this reason, the Jews were declared a nation only after they committed to be “as one man with one heart.” When a man asked Old Hillel what to do in order to convert, the sage told him “That which you hate, do not do unto your neighbor; this is the whole of the Torah” (Talmud, Masechet Shabbat, 31a).

Even the religions that emerged from Judaism recognize its seminal importance. The New Testament writes, “for salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22), and the Quran states, “O children of Israel, call to mind My favor which I bestowed on you and that I made you excel the nations” (The Cow, 2.47, 2.122).

In the end, there is no escape from the realization that the world expects nothing less from us than Tikkun Olam (the correction of the world). For this reason, the Jews in the Trump Administration and in his family are in the ideal position to at least begin to carry out our nation’s vocation.

Easier Than It Sounds

“When Israel unites, to be all as one, and not as a figure of imagination, but real and true unity, by this we hasten and rush the true redemption, which is also the complete redemption—redemption after which there is no exile,” wrote Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (The Lubavitcher Rebbe) in Torat Menachem. Numerous Jewish references allude to the connection between the unity of Israel and the connection of the world. In the Torah portion Aharei Mot, The Book of Zohar writes, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers sit together. These are the friends as they sit together, and are not separated from each other. At first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then, they return to being in brotherly love. Henceforth, you will also not part … And by your merit there will be peace in the world.” Rav Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, also writes (Orot Hakodesh): “In Israel is the secret to the unity of the world.”

There is a profound reason why Jews have always cultivated unity as the solution to all problems. As I wrote in “Who Are You, People of Israel,” “Why Do People Hate Jews,” and in numerous other places, our nation began in ancient Babylon when Abraham Our Father saw that his people in Ur of the Chaldeans were growing increasingly alienated. As Maimonides describes in Mishneh Torah (Chapter 1) and as the Midrash also details (Beresheet Rabbah), Abraham wanted to help his townspeople overcome their mutual dislike. He pondered and reflected until he realized that hatred could not be overcome because it derives from the human ego, which is ever growing. Centuries later, the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah) summed up the essence of human egoism with the immortal adage: “A man does not leave the world with half his desire in his hand. Rather, if he has one hundred, he wants to have two hundred, and if he has two hundred, he wants to have four hundred.”

While Abraham realized that the ego is continuously growing, he also realized that instead of pointlessly fighting it, people should focus on tightening their unity to match their growing mutual hatred. This realization was key to the uniqueness of the nation that emerged from his descendants: the Jewish people. Abraham’s type of unity was no ordinary unity, but rather one that was forged so as to overcome the fiercest hatred.

Throughout the generations, the Jews experienced numerous internal conflicts and wars, but they were all in order to increase the unity and love of others among them. The Book of Zohar (Beshalach) sums it up: “All the wars in the Torah are for peace and love,” and King Solomon states it poetically (Prov 10:12): “Hate stirs strife, and love covers all crimes.”

Abraham accepted everyone into his group, without any discrimination or preconditions other than the willingness to unite. As a result, the people who became his disciples came from all over Babylon. This makes Judaism a unique nation—fashioned not by tribal affinity but by an ideology of unity above hatred, and consisting of “representatives” of all the nations of the world. Tikkun Olam, therefore, is in our DNA!

When Moses came out of Egypt, he wanted to continue where Abraham had left off. The Ramchal writes in the Ramchal Commentary on the Torah, that Moses “wished to complete the correction of the world. However, he did not succeed because of the corruptions that occurred along the way.” Nevertheless, as soon as the Jews were declared a nation, they were tasked with being “a light unto nations,” specifically, completing the task of uniting the world.

Modern-Day Babylon

In many ways, the United States is modern-day Babylon: a collection of ethnicities, cultures, and races. As was Babylon in the days of Abraham, today’s US is in crisis. The swamp America is drowning in is not the bureaucratic labyrinth that Trump inherited from his predecessor, but the quagmire of hatred and alienation engulfing the American society. The Jews in Trump’s administration have a key role to play in draining it: to start working on their unity and thereby pull out the cork that is damming the drain. If they begin to cultivate “real and true unity,” as the Lubavitcher Rebbe put it, they will unleash the powers of unity that date back to the formation of the Jewish people.

But it must not end there. The unity must encompass the whole of the Jewish people, and subsequently, the whole of American society. Tikkun Olam begins within, but it must not end there. When people utter anti-Semitic tirades such as Mel Gibson’s, “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” it implies that they believe that it is our responsibility to fix it. Even our own sources tell us: “No calamity comes to the world but because of Israel” (Talmud, Masechet Yevamot, 63a). Because people feel this in their guts, whenever and wherever there is a crisis, the Jews will be held responsible. And indeed we are.

If I were Donald Trump, I would pressure the Jews to unite. Not violently, but I would certainly make them see that this is what I expect from them. Even a rabid anti-Semite such as Henry Ford saw the role that Jews should play: “Modern reformers, who are constructing model social systems, would do well to look into the social system under which the early Jews were organized” (The International Jew —The World’s Foremost Problem). If Ford could see this, why can’t we?

When we unite, it will immediately reflect on the entire world. As Ford put it, humanity seeks to take example from the Jews. And since the Jews are separate from one another, they need reminding of their calling.

We must not wait for others to compel us. We must remind ourselves that the separation between us is growing precisely so that our unity will grow, as well, and cover our hatred with love for one another, just as our ancestors did. The sooner we begin, the easier it will be to drain the swamp of hatred spreading through America.
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In my regular column in Jewish Business News, my new article: “Uniting The States For A Great America In Trump’s Era“

Trump’s missile attack on Syria has been largely approved, indicating that America wants to reclaim the international watchdog role. But first, Trump must recover the unity of the United States. The Jews in his administration can help him do just that.

In my perspective, Trump’s time in office has proven that he deserves a chance to lead the country, as former Vice President Joe Biden put it last month.

Just recently, former Swedish PM, Carl Bildt, mocked the president following Trump’s implication that there was a terror attack in Sweden perpetrated by immigrants. Mr. Bildt tweeted, “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking?” Two months later, the current Swedish PM declared that Sweden will “never go back” to the days of mass migration after an illegal immigrant killed four people and injured 15 in a truck-ramming attack in downtown Stockholm.

After months of derision at Trump’s statements that the Obama administration spied on him and his advisors prior to the election, Bloomberg’s Eli Lake has revealed that Susan Rice, former national security adviser to Barack Obama, did precisely that.

Fast Forward

Trump must press forward with his agenda and take America to the next level. It means to consolidate, unite, and fuse the American society into a cohesive whole. As president of the United States, this is his primary obligation to his people.

Despite what seems to be a systematic campaign of liberal media such as CNN and The New York Times to discredit President Trump, the rifts that he exposed by his very election have been in the making for decades. Trump did not create them, but his election brought them to the surface.

The center is quickly shrinking on both sides of the political map. Trump has come to power at the time that the country requires an urgent transformation into a society with a common agenda.

The fact that Trump was elected proves that the American people are largely behind him. However, if his actions are not part of an overarching strategy to unify the nation, they will not produce the desired result.

The government should not regard problems as isolated crises, but rather as indicators of disunity in society. The mode of work should resemble that of a healthy family: It has to prioritize, yet without leaving family members behind. If Trump comes to view the American people the way a healthy family treats all of its members, there is no doubt America will be great again.

The Jewish Role in Trump’s Administration

Just recently, Jonathan Levi of Forward Magazine asked, “Is Jared Kushner the ‘Court Jew’ of Donald Trump’s Realm?” Clearly, it is not Kushner’s money that President Trump needs. The President feels he needs Kushner precisely where he has him, as a “senior advisor.”

As with any administration in the last several decades, that of Donald Trump is rife with Jews in key positions. Jews are at the top primarily because they are great connectors, making them key figures in the functioning of every system. The problem is that every administration uses Jews in order to promote its own agenda. Trump will set a precedent if he uses them in order to promote an all-American agenda of unity. Everyone will benefit from this.

There is a good reason why Jews excel at connecting people. The Jewish people are the only nation in the world that has an official birthday. According to the Torah, on the 6th of the Hebrew month of Sivan, in the year 2488 on the Hebrew calendar (1272 BC), the Jewish people was pronounced, having fulfilled the prerequisite of committing to unite “as one man with one heart.” Henceforth, the rise and fall of the Jewish people would depend on its level of adherence to the principle of unity.

America’s Unity First

If Trump truly wants to deliver on his promise to make America great again, he will need to take a different approach from all his predecessors. This must also require that the Jews in his administration work differently than in all previous administrations. To make America great, it must be a united nation. Trump needs to require that the Jews facilitate connections and rapport among themselves on both sides of the political map, and subsequently extend that amity to the rest of the American people.

If Jewish advisors in key positions establish trust and mutual responsibility among themselves, it will be much easier for the President to reconcile with the Democratic Party and establish a government that enjoys the full support of Congress. The longer Trump waits, the harder it will be for him to operate.

As a smart leader he should ask from his advisors to draw up a roadmap leading from the current partisanship to trust, cooperation, and eventual cohesion of American society and the political establishment.

This will make America not only great, but also a role model for all other nations, “a light unto nations,” if you will. Implementing a plan of this nature will reverse the negative global trajectory and will guarantee a better future for our children, and for the generations to come.
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Democratic values have devolved into a cancer, devouring themselves. Only #UN officials and the like still benefit from them.

#420 tobacco was “weeded out,” but weed is slowly being legalized “in medicinal doses” as a cheap way of keeping people calm…

EU must recognize that peace with immigrants is impossible, then see same is true for #Israel & Palestinians. If antisemitism doesn’t blind.
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From Twitter, 4/23/17

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