My new article on Linkedin “With All Due Respect”

With all due respect to others’ self-respect, we care about our own respect, and not much else. Disrespect toward others can lead to conflicts, violence, political paralysis (look at the Israeli political system), and even wars. Offending someone’s respect renounces and even invalidates someone’s being. To many people, this can be worse than death. It is an intolerable feeling.

Because we are inescapably connected, we must make our connections work for us, or our mutual hatred will destroy us. We must learn to make room for everyone, so they can make room for us. If we work this way, we will all win. If we don’t, we will all lose tragically.

However, there is a good reason why respect is so important to us. Respect means that I have value, that I am worthy. While people will go a long way to retain their respect, they will also avoid many misdeeds for exactly the same reason. The expression “I will not stoop to your level” means exactly that—that I will not dishonor myself the way you are dishonoring yourself. In other words, maintaining respect not only sends us on wars; it also makes us restrain ourselves and avoid doing harm. In this way, respect can make us correct ourselves, and through our correction, correct society.

There is another advantage to having respect. We cannot truly sympathize with others, except perhaps with those who are truly close to us like family or close friends. However, since we have self-respect, and we know that everyone has it, we can appreciate what others feel if they are hurt or humiliated. This ability to put ourselves in others’ shoes can prevent us from hurting other people’s feelings.

At the same time, it is precisely this point that I can press in order to check my limits in this world. I may, for example, tease people or offend them a little (or more than a little) in order to test my boundaries or test other people’s confidence and strength. If they are weak, I will “expand my territory”; if they are strong, I might consider retreating. Therefore, respect can prevent violence by relinquishing something emotional rather than risking physical injury.

The problem is that over time, we are growing so narcissistic that it is becoming difficult for us to relinquish our pride. People are becoming so sensitive that anything that someone says feels like stepping on someone else’s toes. As a result, we try to stay so polite, and politically correct, that we lose our ability to express our thoughts, even when we have no intention to offend anyone. The exaggerated sensitivity of our egos is paralyzing the world and infests our connections with suspicion. If we continue in this way, we will end up with a violent explosion; war is inevitable unless we escape from the grip of our egos.

The only way to escape from our egos is to consciously make room for others, and they for us. It has to be multilateral. Our egos will still strive to feel that they are kings of the world, but they will only be able to achieve this if they are all kings. Otherwise, it is doom for everyone. Either we are all on top of the world, or we all hit rock bottom.

Inevitably, we are becoming increasingly connected and dependent on each other. Even our growing egos, which strive to feel superior to others, have to feel others, above whom they can feel superior.

Therefore, because we are inescapably connected, we must make our connections work for us, or our mutual hatred will destroy us. We must learn to make room for everyone, so they can make room for us. If we work this way, we will all win. If we don’t, we will all lose tragically.

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My new article on Linkedin “How Long Will Money Make the World Go ’Round?”

Business Insider wrote that an Oxfam International report found that between March 18 and December 30, 2020, the wealth of the ten richest people in the world increased by $3.9 trillion. According to the report, this gain alone, which those ten people had made in less than ten months, “could pay for everyone to get vaccinated and stay out of poverty.” At the same time, the report estimates that “between 200 million to 500 million people may have fallen into poverty during 2020.” Does it really have to be this way?

How long will money make the world go ’round? Until all of us understand that kowtowing to the ego is not the solution. Matters will keep going from bad to worse until we change our way of life, our state of mind, our motivation.

The only substitute for the ego, and which will create a world where we enjoy living, is love. That word, which we so readily disparage, is the only word we have to describe the most powerful force in existence: the power of giving.

Indeed, we have built a world that exalts nothing but money and power. Money grants power, which enables acquiring more money, which grants even more power, so in the end, money makes the world go ’round. And behind the zeal for money stands the ego, the engine that drives civilization. We have crowned the ego, let it build our society in its image, and now we’re paying the price for fawning on it.

Joe Biden plans to increase taxes on the rich in order to balance the load on the people and finance some of the financial toll wrought by Covid-19, but I don’t think it will work, not in a society where the rich are the powerful. If he goes too far, they can simply move him out of the way.

How long will money make the world go ’round? Until all of us understand that kowtowing to the ego is not the solution. Matters will keep going from bad to worse until we change our way of life, our state of mind, our motivation.

The only substitute for the ego, and which will create a world where we enjoy living, is love. That word, which we so readily disparage, is the only word we have to describe the most powerful force in existence: the power of giving. We may sneer at these words, ridicule and belittle anyone who merely brings up the notion of love or giving, but we’d be wrong to do so. Nothing is more powerful than love.

Think about this: Would you be here were it not for your parents’ love for you? Would this world be here were it not for the trillions of species that continually create and nurture their offspring? Despite the myriad destructive forces around us, life continues and even evolves because the power of life, the power to give and cultivate life, is stronger than all of them combined.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, this was also the situation in human society. But since then, the destructive forces of egoism in humanity have intensified to the point that they now pose an existential risk not only to our species, but to the whole planet. Now, we, humanity, must make a conscious effort to raise the power of love and giving above the power of the ego—the desire to take for myself whatever I can, however I can, and as much as I can.

The ten billionaires may be eye-catching examples of egoism, but if any one of us were in their shoes, we’d be the same and act the same as they do. The plague is in all of us, so only all of us can heal it. If we set our minds on it collectively, we can shift the paradigm from taking to giving, and become “parents,” progenitors of a world that operates on a new kind of fuel.

In the new world, no one will sit still until everyone is safe and cared for. Just as the whole body has no rest and no peace of mind unless all of its organs are well, so we will feel about every person in the world, that all are parts of me, and I cannot be at peace if everyone is not at peace.

Today, moving toward that mindset is a must. We have become so interdependent that unless we take care of everyone, everyone will suffer. If we take on this mindset, we will blossom. If we eschew it, then we have sealed our fate.

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My new article on Linkedin “Holocaust Remembrance Looking Into the Future”

The Holocaust left a strong mark on me from an early age. I was born in Belarus, in the same place where horrible atrocities were perpetrated by the Nazis against Jews. Particularly in Vitebsk, the city of my childhood, there was a ghetto and an extermination camp where many of my relatives were killed. Those experiences endured vividly in my family, I heard about them when I was little. I was raised and educated by those who were saved and were able to tell the stories of those who perished. So, the Shoah left an indelible mark in me since it was an integral part of my upbringing.

But to people who have not heard about those testimonies directly from the survivors, their relatives, or have not learned those recollections through history lessons, the Holocaust has no special meaning. In fact, the memory of this terrible chapter is fading or remains unknown. A survey conducted last year by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany revealed 63% of U.S. Millennials and Gen Z do not know that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

When we commemorate a new Holocaust Memorial Day, we cannot pass judgment on them if its importance is fading away. Even in my multiple visits to Germany I found a common language with Germans of my generation who thought one way or another on this matter, but for the younger generation there was no point of conversation, no interest. And that situation is similar everywhere. The youth does not want to remember the Shoah or even talk about it. They feel no connection to it and want to continue their lives without looking back. That is understandable.

Decline is a natural part of our lives. What is not before our eyes begins to lose its value, and in order to preserve and perpetuate it, even to some extent; we must revive it and give it importance as if it were here and now. It is true that there are youth trips to concentration camps in Poland, heritage tours at Yad Vashem and various museums, but I do not think they manage to become engraved in the memory of the younger generation. Even the various ceremonies and events that are supposed to evoke emotional memory usually take the form of a theoretical and political discourse. This way no history can be preserved.

We are at a point in time when we need to think and decide what our approach is to the Holocaust, both its cause and consequences. This is a crucial step. I do not agree with the attitude that pushes us to sit back and regret our bitter fate, not even with the one that calls for us to be proud of having a strong and successful country and to rest on our laurels.

Our attitude should change. But do not expect anything to change, we must foster that change within and among ourselves in our approach to the issue of the Holocaust and hatred of Jews. How? First we must learn who the people of Israel are. Why are they called “Israel”? What is their purpose and mission? Why have they survived as a people for generations even though they have been persecuted endlessly? Why has humanity continuously pointed the finger of blame at them? The answers to these questions are the foundations of our nation, and without them we will not understand the incessant persecution of the Jews and we will certainly not cut off the abysmal animosity toward us.

Why is there hatred against Jews? Since the days of Abraham, through the love of the brethren that blossomed among them in the days of the Temple, a great spiritual desire is instilled in the Jews which draws them toward the goal of creation, toward unity and harmony that the world so desperately needs, but it has not been developed and implemented yet. As our sages expressed it, “When there are love, unity, and friendship between each other in Israel, no calamity can come upon them.” (Rabbi Kalman Kalonymus, Maor va Shemesh)

The peoples of the world subconsciously feel that the Jews do not share this special quality with them, this unique potential for development, this method of spiritual connection, and thus hatred of the Jews emanates from this feeling of frustration. Therefore, antisemitism is a global phenomenon that troubles every nation to a small or large extent. Hatred sometimes recedes, sometimes it erupts, but it is always there, latent, deeply rooted, as a law of nature.

The mighty forces of nature can be summed up in two root traits that have existed since the beginning of creation: the trait of bestowal or giving and against it the trait of reception. And the people of Israel carry within them the ability to connect these two opposite forces and bring them to balance, to mutual reconciliation, and to create a third force in between where the Creator, the supreme power of nature, reveals. When such a force is attained, first of all by the Jews, antisemitism will subside. As it is written in The Midrash (Tanchuma, Devarim [Deuteronomy]): “Israel will not be redeemed until they are all one bundle.” We shall never forget.

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My new article on Linkedin “World leaders’ Call for Pandemic Treaty Exposes International Ill-Will”

On March 30th, AP’s Maria Cheng reported, “More than 20 heads of government and global agencies called … for an international treaty for pandemic preparedness that they say will protect future generations in the wake of COVID-19.” Cheng added that World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and several heads of state proposed “a renewed collective commitment” that will provide “a framework for international cooperation and solidarity.”

The future may seem forbidding, but I think that in fact, we should be grateful that we are living through such a transformational period in history. We are transitioning from a self-centered society to a connected humanity. Since we already know the direction, we can choose whether to go there fast and easily, or slow and painfully. How many generations could say that they have a clear path for all of humanity? I think we are lucky, but we should seize the opportunity and ride the wave. We shouldn’t be afraid; there is no need to suffer. We can join hands and build together a world where people care for one another, where there are no pandemics, no wars, and no alienation. The choice is ours; we can take it or leave it.

On the face of it, it is a good idea. In practice, it will lead nowhere. Cheng herself noted that “Although the 25 signatories of the commentary called for ‘solidarity,’ and greater ‘societal commitment,’ there was no indication any country would soon change its own approach to responding to the pandemic.” Moreover, “China, Russia and the United States didn’t join in signing the statement,” she wrote, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki went as far as stating that the treaty “could divert attention away from substantive issues regarding the response, preparedness for future pandemic threats,” effectively sealing its fate before it was born.

Once again, alienation prevents an initiative from succeeding. If every country caters only to its own interests, how will they be able to solve any global problem, especially when they are as widespread as the Covid-19 pandemic? And since they can’t, they are paying the price. Already, Europe is facing a third wave, Brazil is nearing 4,000 Covid fatalities per day, and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) director Dr. Rochelle Walensky passionately warned of a fourth wave saying, “Right now, I’m scared …of impending doom.”

We are approaching a tipping point; we will have to choose between solidarity or pain, great pain. Reality has given us an ultimatum, and we must choose whether to stay selfish and suffer, or start thinking of each other. This choice will manifest on every level: international, national, social, and personal. Solidarity is the call of the hour; if we do not heed it voluntarily, it will force itself on us or punish us. Nature has created the virus; nature has created us, and all our innovations will not outsmart nature, our creator.

The future may seem forbidding, but I think that in fact, we should be grateful that we are living through such a transformational period in history. We are transitioning from a self-centered society to a connected humanity. Since we already know the direction, we can choose whether to go there fast and easily, or slow and painfully. How many generations could say that they have a clear path for all of humanity? I think we are lucky, but we should seize the opportunity and ride the wave. We shouldn’t be afraid; there is no need to suffer. We can join hands and build together a world where people care for one another, where there are no pandemics, no wars, and no alienation. The choice is ours; we can take it or leave it.

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My new article on Linkedin “We Have to Grow, Despite the Media Smokescreen”

Even before Covid-19 spread like a brush fire across the globe, we were approaching a downturn. The media pretended as if there were many more treats to find out there, but despite the smokescreen, we were inching toward the end nonetheless. We will not be happy living on a colony in Mars; we will not be happy because there is a new president; we will not be happy because our car is electric and our energy comes from renewable sources, or because we’re eating vegetarian burgers or lab-grown meat. We will be happy only when we take responsibility for our lives and stop focusing only on ourselves.

When you give, you grow, you become more than just yourself; you connect to the person you give, and something of that person becomes you. All of life, the entire universe is connected. When you adopt that frame of mind, you, too, become connected, similar to your surroundings. By this, you connect with everything around you. Then, even if you’re unaware of it, your surroundings begin to energize you. This is why givers are never depressed and never hopeless. Just as people grow up when they become parents, so we must now grow and become parents of the world around us. We can only gain from the transformation.

We are approaching the truth. The desires that previously drove us into action are gradually losing their charm. We still want money, fame, and power, but people’s willingness to make the necessary effort to acquire them seems to be waning. These aren’t lazy people; they are simply more aware than others that such achievements will not make them happy. And if they can’t be happy having those things, why bother getting them?

However, something has to satisfy us! Without satisfaction, we don’t feel alive! Today, many people have already given up on finding satisfaction in wealth, power, or fame, yet do not find a substitute ambition, and therefore sink into hopelessness, which then becomes depression. Others try extreme sports, excessive eating, or eccentric sexual habits, but these are all stages toward relinquishing these interests, too. Even religion, which used to be one’s most secure haven from life’s apparent meaninglessness, no longer seems that promising.

Eventually, when we have exhausted all the options, and the media’s promise of potential joy no longer fools us, nor any other enticement, we will find ourselves clueless as to what will make us happy, what will make life seem worthwhile. That moment, when we hit rock bottom, is a eureka moment. At that moment, when we find that nothing can please us, we stop looking only at ourselves. This is when we truly see that there are others, a whole world outside of us that has been waiting for us to look outside rather than only inwards.

This is when we stop asking about the meaning of life because every moment becomes filled with meaning and purpose. The opportunity to feel others, to connect, share, and care, expands our narrow horizons to such an extent that we discover infinite desires we can satisfy.

When we exert to realize our own dreams, we often remain dissatisfied. Moreover, even when we do achieve our goals, they usually stop satisfying us shortly after we accomplish them. Contrary to that pattern, when we seek to connect with others and cater to their needs, the work, and the achievement, are both satisfying. Think about it; have you ever done something for someone and didn’t feel good about it?

There is a good reason for it: When you give, you grow, you become more than just yourself; you connect to the person you give, and something of that person becomes you. All of life, the entire universe is connected. When you adopt that frame of mind, you, too, become connected, similar to your surroundings. By this, you connect with everything around you. Then, even if you’re unaware of it, your surroundings begin to energize you. This is why givers are never depressed and never hopeless. Just as people grow up when they become parents, so we must now grow and become parents of the world around us. We can only gain from the transformation.
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My new article on Linkedin “Most Everyone Is Religious”

When we think of religion, we usually think of prayers, ceremonious garments, perhaps fragrant incense or candles burning in designated dents along the walls, and people’s lips moving silently as they speak to their God. They ask for what they need; they pray for themselves, for their loved ones, and they believe, or hope, that God will grant their wishes. They’ve never seen God, never spoke to God the way we speak to one another, but their faith is steadfast nonetheless. Indeed, their faith is all they have. Religious people exchange proof for faith, seeing for believing; they act on faith as though it were the proven fact.

Where matters are vital for our lives, we mustn’t follow blindly, but experiment, try for ourselves, and see what is true and what is not.

However, if you think about it, people who believe that a political view, a social doctrine, or a scientific theory will yield certain results for them, and change their lives accordingly, such people act the same as believers of any traditional religion. So, essentially, since we all believe in something, be it a deity, a political party, or a scientific theory, we are all religious. Who, then, is not religious? Only those who do not say “Amen” to anything, but check it for themselves. Indeed, they are a rarity.

Clearly, sometimes we have no choice but to accept what is given to us. Not all of us, for example, can hop on a spaceship and fly to outer space just to see for ourselves that the Earth is round. But such notions, however interesting, do not change our lives. Where matters are vital for our lives, we mustn’t follow blindly, but experiment, try for ourselves, and see what is true and what is not.

When Kabbalists, from whom I learned everything I know, write that the Creator is benevolent, they do not expect you to believe it. They tell you how they conducted their experiments, how they reached the conclusions they had reached, and it is up to you to try it for yourself. Until you repeat their experiment and reach your own conclusion, you will not be regarded as a Kabbalist. You might be regarded as a Kabbalah student, but not a Kabbalist. If you choose to act on blind faith, you will never become a Kabbalist and you’ll remain religious. If you choose to question everything they tell you and perform the experiments on yourself, then you just might attain what they have attained, and you’ll be worthy of the title “Kabbalist.”

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My new article on Linkedin “Israel—From Slavery to Freedom”

Passover in Israel is celebrated with a certain sense of freedom this year, with the sensation among its population that the pandemic is behind us. People are taking advantage of the spring sun to relax and travel, almost without restrictions, while the situation around the world is completely different. Many countries continue to battle the coronavirus plague. In Germany and France the third wave is worsening, in Britain and Spain the morbidity rate is climbing again, and in Brazil thousands are dying every day. From country to country we see that the threat of the virus is far from over.

Not only in medicine and technology must Israel be at the forefront, but we must also be a leading force on the spiritual front. It is upon us to demonstrate unity and social cohesion as a supreme value. We were founded as a people upon this root and have been nourished by it since the days of Abraham. Therefore, our first obligation is to unite and, at the same time, find creative ways to make our method of social unity accessible to the world.

Why is Israel first to taste a bit of freedom? Because we are a small and smart country, a country where it is possible to make hasty and effective decisions, and to easily adjust guidelines for the area from one day to the next. Israel did not ask for alms from any nation but simply reached out, bought vaccines and began inoculating its population until it covered the country. The sense of urgency characterized by this nation, which is used to operating in a state of war, would have allowed the vaccination to start even earlier and even faster, but the fears, uncertainties and false news that arose about the raging virus contributed to the relative slowdown.

Still, Israel provides a good example of management of the pandemic. Technological and medical power are Israeli success stories. The historic Mapai party, which bequeathed to Israel a well organized and accessible public health system based on social democratic values, functioned wonderfully during the pandemic.

Another core feature inherent to the Israeli nation that contributed to our effective response is our interdependence. No one in the country can be completely detached from the others since we share a common life. We have suffered together in the Holocaust; we have been persecuted as Jews for generations; we each bring with us our own immigration story. All of this commonality works together for mutual support when a shared challenge like the pandemic arises. There is a shared concern that the situation we go through affects one another.

This foundation of mutual guarantee among us will spur us on to develop further and become an advanced country in many areas. But at the same time, there is an expectation that the world will continue to slander us by claiming that we are the distributors of the coronavirus, spreading stories about how the Jews took care of themselves without regard for the rest of the world.

It is of paramount importance that we carefully consider our role and responsibility to the rest of the world. From a global perspective, the role of the State of Israel towards the world is crucial and complex. It would behoove us to clearly identify where we could and should contribute most to humanity.

Not only in medicine and technology must Israel be at the forefront, but we must also be a leading force on the spiritual front. It is upon us to demonstrate unity and social cohesion as a supreme value. We were founded as a people upon this root and have been nourished by it since the days of Abraham. Therefore, our first obligation is to unite and, at the same time, find creative ways to make our method of social unity accessible to the world.

It is not an easy task to project unity, neither within the complex state of Israel nor within the world in its present state. All of humanity and with us topping the chart are deeply mired in the mud of egoism. If we do not act together with cohesive forces to extricate ourselves, we will sink even deeper. This will cause the spread of more diseases and epidemics in addition to the existing strains and mutations.

These days when Israel enjoys a national respite from the yoke of the coronavirus provide an opportunity for us to take stock and ask how we will increase the unity between us, how we will show positive examples to others, how we will prioritize the needs of others, how we can continue to ascend and connect. It is worthwhile to make any efforts that we can in this direction, even if the actions are artificial at first, because eventually, the habit will become second nature. There is no more perfect time to begin this ascent toward unity than during Passover, passing over the slavery of our selfish approach to an era of unity and mutual guarantee. This is the journey that will truly lead us all to freedom.
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My new article on Linkedin “What Really Makes Life Precious”

Recently, many analyses have surfaced showing the excess mortality that Covid-19 has wrought. Even with the existence of vaccines, the virus is still spreading and in many countries, claims hundreds, and even thousands of lives each day. This grim reality has prompted some students to ask me about the meaning of life and death.

If we want to give our lives meaning, we should spend it connecting to other people—not in order to use them, but in order to care about them. This is what makes life precious.

Indeed, we treat life as something very important, and for a good reason, but on condition that we act on this reason. If we go through our lives just passing the time, then all we get out of it is the few ounces of pain we have collected. However, if we use it to make the most of the opportunity we have received to approach, or even achieve the spiritual realm of life, namely to connect with other people to the point where we feel them in our hearts, then life is precious.

Inherently, we feel that we do not owe anything to anyone and should only please ourselves. However, we do not realize that this is just our starting point in life. If we end life at the same point where we started, then we have wasted our chance to make progress. From thinking of nothing but ourselves, we should spend our lives trying to extend ourselves and connect to others, to develop care for others. By doing so, we become similar to the connectivity that permeates all of nature and our consciousness expands proportionally.

A newborn baby doesn’t know anything of its environment except for the existence of its own mother, and even that awareness only pertains to the sides of her that relate to the baby. As the baby grows, it begins to realize that there are other things and people around, and begins to communicate with them.

The same process should happen internally. We should evolve from knowing and feeling only ourselves to knowing and feeling our whole environment—people, animals, and objects. This can happen only if we care about them. If we only seek to use them to please ourselves, we will know about them as much as the newly born knows about its mother. What a shame it is to die without having learned more about the reality we live in.

If we want to give our lives meaning, we should spend it connecting to other people—not in order to use them, but in order to care about them. This is what makes life precious.

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My new article on Linkedin “ To the Left, to the Right, but Always Forward ”

We’ve had Nazism and we’ve had Communism; we’ve had Socialism and we’ve had Capitalism. We’ve had Autocracy, we’ve had Democracy, we’ve had monarchies, and we’ve had republics. Life consists of opposites: left, right, sun, moon, hot, cold, winter, summer, hate, love, joy, and sadness. Without one, there would not be the other; without either, there would not be existence. But if we exist, it means we have both.

Life is not static; it is ever evolving, ever moving forward. Layer upon layer, life develops. When a new layer appears, its two opposites manifest, fight each other for a while, and eventually recognize that neither can exist without the other, so they form a bond. Subsequently, that bond becomes the basis for the onset of the next layer in line.

Life is not static; it is ever evolving, ever moving forward. Layer upon layer, life develops. When a new layer appears, its two opposites manifest, fight each other for a while, and eventually recognize that neither can exist without the other, so they form a bond. Subsequently, that bond becomes the basis for the onset of the next layer in line.

When the physical layers of evolution are all present, a subtler set of layers of opposites begins to emerge. This is the realm of humans. On the human level, the layers are not physical but intellectual, emotional, ideological, and spiritual. However, the same rule always applies; there is none other. Ideologies, schools, and practices always come in pairs of opposites. At times they manifest concurrently and at other times alternately, but if there is one, there is, was, or will be the other.

Now, war and peace are a unique pair of opposites. They have no specific spot in the evolution of reality. Instead, they manifest at each and every layer. War represents the initial stages of the layer, when the sides disagree with each other’s existence, and peace represents the stage where they accept, and finally welcome and support one another. When both sides understand that the other is indispensable, they change their attitude to their former adversary, which then becomes tolerated, accepted, and welcome, until the two sides form a bond. The bond, in turn, becomes the basis for the emergence of the next layer where the process reoccurs.

The Hebrew word for “peace,” by the way, is shalom. Shalom does not mean absence of war, but rather stems from the words “hashlama” [acceptance or complementation] and “shlemut” [wholeness]. Therefore, the initial stage of every new layer in reality is war, namely a struggle for dominance, and it is completed with the establishment of peace, which marks the acceptance of the interdependence between the parties and the subsequent bond they establish.

Every sports team and army unit knows the importance of the bond among its members. The bond they establish is often the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death. To a society, establishing peace, namely mutually accepting the contradictions and opposites within, and forming a bond between them, is just as significant, if not more. Working in this way synchronizes such a society with the rest of nature, with the “engine” of reality.

Currently, people fight each other to death until they’re exhausted and reluctantly accept the existence of the other party. Is it any wonder that life seems like a sequence of torments? Think what life would be like if we were aware of the mechanism of emergence and eventual bonding of opposites. Our lives would not only advance and develop infinitely faster and completely painlessly, but every moment would be a celebration. We would not experience oppositeness as dissention, but as a springboard, like a trampoline, where the lower you sink in moments of struggle, the higher you jump at the times of peace. Is there any child who doesn’t like bouncing on a trampoline? And once we are at the peak of the jump, we will anticipate and welcome the next descent, knowing it will lead to yet another jump, even higher than before.

It turns out that the difference between a morose and dejected society, and one that is jovial and lively, is only the awareness and understanding of the progress of development. The more people understand how reality works, the more they will view life from a positive and constructive perspective, and the happier they will be. If you want to see your loved ones happy, if you want to live in a cohesive society where people seek to bond, forward these words; let them know about the principle of making peace, the principle of complementing opposites that leads all of reality to the left, to the right, but always forward.
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My new article on Linkedin “Politics of the Obstinate”

After a fourth election in less than two years, Israel has become the world’s laughing stock. But for the State of Israel, it isn’t funny. The country is paralyzed in many respects, from offices that require ministers, to large projects that are stuck due to indecision, through Covid vaccines that must be bought. Indeed, this is the nature of the Jews: an obstinate people. Nevertheless, if we use our obstinacy correctly, we will turn it into resolve to unite above our differences, which in turn will lift us to unimaginable achievements.

Today, when Israel is engulfed in perpetual political frays that begin to resemble those of our forefathers, we should realize that it is a calling to employ the same method that they used—to realize that differences are not reasons to break up, but to strengthen our unity. We will have no relief from internal enmity until we realize that we cannot defeat one another since the war is not meant to be won, but to yield cohesion.

There is a reason why the Jewish people are so obstinate. They are descendants of people who would not relinquish their views and tried everything they could to crown their opinion over the people of Israel. Having exhausted themselves trying, they finally realized that the flaw was not in their own view or in the opposite view, but in their own nature, which sought dominion and separation instead of collaboration and union. They realized that life can be complete only when there are two sides that complement one another, so the other view is actually a complementary perception and not an opposite.

This realization of the ancient Hebrews created a unique nation whose bond was not biological but rather ideological and spiritual. Even more important, their union marked a way for all of humanity to unite despite biological, ethnic, cultural, religious, and racial differences. Once the Hebrews chose union over separation, every dispute became a reason for strengthening their bond rather than for shredding the nation. Moreover, since the original Jews came from the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of most of today’s nations, the bond they had formed became a proof that peace among all nations is possible, and that there is even a method for achieving it.

Today, when Israel is engulfed in perpetual political frays that begin to resemble those of our forefathers, we should realize that it is a calling to employ the same method that they used—to realize that differences are not reasons to break up, but to strengthen our unity. We will have no relief from internal enmity until we realize that we cannot defeat one another since the war is not meant to be won, but to yield cohesion.

When we finally realize this and achieve union, the world, which now derides us, will look in awe at the miracle of the Jewish state. It will want to emulate our method. This will mark the final victory of peace—which comes from the Hebrew word “complementation”—over war. The politics of the obstinate, therefore, should not be about being more obstinate than the other, but about rising together above intransigence and forming a genuine bond.

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