A greater purpose than survival alone

“God said to Moses: ‘I will be what I will be, (Exodus 3:14).

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אֶהְיֶה לַאֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה בִּיחִידִים אֲבָל בִּמְרֻבִּים עַל כָּרְחָם שֶׁלֹא בְּטוֹבָתָם כְּשֶׁהֵן מְשֻׁבָּרוֹת שִׁנֵּיהֶן מוֹלֵךְ אֲנִי עֲלֵיהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל כ, לג): חַי אָנִי נְאֻם ה’ אֱלֹהִים אִם לֹא בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבְחֵמָה שְׁפוּכָה אֶמְלוֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶם.

“God said to Moses” …   Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I will be for whom I will be for individuals; but for the masses, even against their will, not for their well-being, while breaking their teeth, I will rule over them, as it is stated: “As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with outpoured fury, I will rule over you” (Ezekiel 20:33).

R Nachum Rabinovitch points out that the intent of the Midrash is to describe the difference between how the individual and the community is treated by Divine Guidance.  G-d responds to the individual in accordance with the individual’s personal behavior.  G-d responds to the community as a community.  Thus, the individual may be wholesome, and the divine response is to that wholesomeness.  Simultaneously the community may be mediocre or cruel, and G-d responds to it in kind.  

What does this mean?  Whether all is materially well or not, individuals are not alienated from G-d unless they wish it so.  They can review and reflect on the situation, and even if they are as depressed as Job or Jeremiah they will not be spiritually deserted.

As a community the reflection cannot be the same as for the individual.  If the community does right, G-d is there for it.  But if not, G-d may rule with painful measures.  The community must get the message that G-d rules in any case, and ‘breaking their teeth’ is a sign of that rule.

We are now in the Three Week period, with Tish’ah B’Av approaching.  Its importance is pertinent today.  Our community centered in the Land of Israel is clearly in a tense and tortured situation.  There are battles that are won in a remarkable, even miraculous, manner.  Yet there are forever more battles, and the war is not yet won.  When or how that war is being conducted confuses everybody, and that increases the pain we are enduring.

We have a government in Israel that does not govern.  Yes, its military has victories, but the government does not govern.  It governs despite the confusion, and even its supporters are at odds about what they are supporting.  This is destroying the community, internally in Israel and externally throughout the world’s Jewish community.  I for one would love to support the government but cannot unless the following questions are answered clearly and ethically:

• What are the achievable goals of this war?  Not what are the stated goals – saving all the hostages, destroying Hamas, and the like.  What are the realizable goals?
• What commitments do we have to the people, particularly those who are losing hope?  By that I mean the families of hostages, the Jewish communities being attacked throughout the world, the soldiers who have served loyally, and even the Gazans and Palestinians.
• What commitment does the government have to being open and honest?
• What is the envisioned relationship between the alienated segments of the Israeli population to each other – Arabs, Haredim, Hilonim, Druze, super-nationalists, unconverted Russians, unconverted Ethiopian Jews, converted Russians and Ethiopians, Ashkenazim, Sefardim, Christians, Muslims, and the three or four normal people that must exist somewhere?

Here is the point.  I for one presently live in the United States.  I cannot support Israel’s policies at this point, because they make no sense.  I can support the State of Israel personally, but that will have no impact on others who want to see a sensible policy that shows that all this pain is not pointless and cruel.  And though I am not presently living in Israel, I for one am a citizen of Israel, and if there is an election and there is no further clarity on the points above, I will fly back just to vote against the government.  

If G-d is giving us troubles now and clearly not deserting us, I figure it is so that we can become a better community, a better nation, one that can proudly stand up because of what it believes in and stands for and not merely survive all its enemies.  One who not only wins battles, but whose battles are fought for a purpose greater than survival alone.  If I have that, I can stand up to any abuse in Israel or outside of Israel.  If not, I remain in exile whether in Israel of outside of Israel.  This government is responsible if it is not responsive.

We are in the Three Weeks, the time that the nation is called upon for honest introspection.  We cannot just focus on the miracle of our survival in Exile, in the Holocaust, in the present battles.  Even the individual close with G-d and secure in belief cannot isolate.  Miracles, if that is what they are, give us the opportunity to improve.  By the same token these miracles may give us the rope to hang ourselves.  G-d will be what G-d will be, and I for one believe that R Yohanan is telling us that we need to pay attention as a community.  A clearly shared national purpose where our will is not at odds with the Divine will might be even greater than a miracle.