It is time for us take responsibility

This Chanukah, when tragedy has stricken our people, it is not enough for us to say that we will keep light burning in this dark world by “being a light” through personal practice or acts of kindness. Don’t get me wrong – this is an essential part of our response. But it is not a sustainable strategy for our nation to turn inwards and continue our everyday lives while passively hoping nothing terrible will happen to our people yet again. 

In Judaism, having hope is not merely a feeling about the future; it is a commitment to act in the present in the belief that, together, we can change the world for the better. Rabbi Sacks zt”l  explains this in To Heal a Fractured World.¹

In his almost prophetic book, Future Tense, Rabbi Sacks gives a jolting warning. He says: “If Jews fail to make their voice heard, there will not be silence. The space will be filled by other voices not always sympathetic to Jews ”²

At a time in which our voice feels lost, it is time for us to find it and reclaim it with conviction. It is time to say: Enough. This false, inverted narrative has done enough harm. And it is of the essence in this moment for us to act.

“Arise, united and gather your strength” the great poet, Bialik, called. 

This Chanukah, a different kind of Maccabean fight is needed. 

One in which we release our focus on the differences that divide us, and unite in a movement of education – starting with ourselves. 

Education has been a pillar of our nation’s resilience through adversity throughout the ages. When we were leaving Egypt, משה chose to speak about education, rather than freedom. Why? Rabbi Sacks explains that “To defend a country you need an army, but to defend a civilisation you need education.”

In this age of disinformation, it is critical for us on a personal and national level to invest in learning about our history and take more serious, effective action in communicating it to the world.

 “Jews have turned inwards; they need to turn outwards. We do have friends, and if we tried a little harder, we would have more,” Rabbi Sacks wrote. ²

Our nation needs to come together with a strong, strategic and eloquent strategy to bring the truth to light. To make more friends, and prevent the deaths.

Do we think that it is futile?

That our voices are too few, too small, hopeless in the face of the tidal wave of hatred?

Isn’t this the kind of war the Maccabees were fighting against? Winning the battle against the world’s biggest empire, against all odds? 

Are we not a nation of hope? Is our anthem not HaTikva?

Are we passively waiting for G-d to save us from this war of words? 

Rabbi Sacks taught that our relationship with God is a partnership, not a passive one.

Judaism does not ask us to wait for miracles.

We are expected to act, and when we do, God hopefully acts with us. To paraphrase the early Zionist thinker Leon Pinsker: “God helps those who help themselves.”

“If you will it, it is no dream,” said Theodore Herzl.

Antisemitism is a symptom of a society unravelling. But we are living in these societies and whether we like it or not we are becoming impacted by this level of illness. And we sadly cannot rely on the all too often unreliable goodwill of others.²

It is time for us to take responsibility for our destiny as a nation, and try a different approach.

Executive coaches often apply a framework that encourages individuals to focus on positive, rather than negative, goals. Why? The negatively phrased goal detracts from a solutions-focused mindset. So, instead of wanting to become less angry, one chooses to become a calmer person. Instead of saying “I want to stop being broke,” one says “I want to earn £X thousand a month,” or instead of being less bored, to awaken the mind. 

In a similar way, fighting antisemitism would benefit from a rephrase – without the word “fight” or “anti” in it. 

Let us create an amplifying movement of education, one which focuses on our people, our dear national home and the truth about our ancient and recent history. And in a way in which the people of the world will understand – rather than “construct[ing] the argument [to] speak to other Jews, not non-Jews”, Rabbi Sacks emphasises in Future Tense.

There are brilliant people and teams amongst us who have already made initial steps into this kind of education. For example, Hillel Neuer and his team at UN Watch, Hadar and Or Ashuach, Founders of The Digital Iron Dome, and courageous people choosing to raise their voices over the world. 

We are in a unique position in which we have the capacity to act. 

“Never before in four thousand years of history have Jews enjoyed, simultaneously, independence and sovereignty in Israel, and freedom and equality in the Diaspora” ²

The critical task that we have today is to join together to educate ourselves, and the world – like our future depends on it. 

In the words of Bialik,
אַל יִפֹּל רוּחֲכֶם – עַלִּיזִים, מִתְרוֹנְנִים
בֹּאוּ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד לְעֶזְרַת הָעָם

“Do not let your spirit fall

– Joyous, exultant

Come shoulder to shoulder to help the nation.”

References

1. Sacks, Jonathan. To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility. Schocken Books, 2005, p. 166.

2.  Sacks, Jonathan. Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2009.

3. Bialik, Chaim Nachman. הִתְעוֹרְרִי עַמִּי / Awake, My People. 1903–1904. 
4. Bialik, Chaim Nachman. בִּרְכַּת  עָם / The People’s Blessing. 1894.