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Jeffrey Levine
CFO | Seeking a just world I Author

It shouldn’t have happened.

Today is October 7th, 2024. But it still feels like October 7th, 2023.

The pain is just as fresh. Watching the ceremonies was excruciating. I’m not here to rehash the pain, suffering, and trauma—these have been addressed elsewhere—but the truth is, we are still fighting a war on multiple fronts: physically, digitally, emotionally, and ideologically. It’s being waged not just by governments and the United Nations, but also on social media and even in the streets of cities around the world. It feels as if Iran and its proxies have come to finish the job of Hitler. And the world again is facilitating and allowing this. How sad. At least now we know how the Holocaust was allowed to “happen.”

Take just one example in Australia, where pro-Hamas demonstrations were allowed to go on. How could this protest, in support of terror, rape, and murder, be permitted? In one instance, a rabbi protesting against this was forcibly removed. How inverted has the world become?

I just want to take a step back. It is easy to allow the Grinch to steal Christmas—to deny our heritage and tradition during these days of awe and introspection. We cannot let it happen. Let’s stay true to our Judaism. Let’s stay true to our soul.

Finding Solace in Selichot

Here we are, in the ten days of Teshuva, reciting Selichot. When we read the words of Selichot, it’s as if they were written for this very moment—nothing has changed in our history.

“Every day we are killed for Your sake, For the sake of Your holy Name,
Yet our heart has not turned away from blessing and sanctifying You.”

I can’t overemphasize how meaningful the words of the Selichot are. Here are a few more examples:

“How is it that the haters of all that is pure now dwell in Zion? Who would have believed anything like this? Who would have conjured this up as his desire? How have they come to live in my temples and establish it dwelling therein?”

In the name of prayer, a plea to God, “please remember us and recall us with your salvation from those who worship other than you. :

Who are those who worship the other? And it would seem that these of forces of dark evil, the forces that want to take us back into the dark ages of barbarism. Those who commit terror in the name of Jihad.

And another one. “We stumble at noon as if at night, like blind men we creep through the gloom, with no way to know when their redemption will come.”

And another one says, “to you, God, I cry out. What can we say before you, Lord, about ourselves, who are greatly ashamed of our sins?.”

Teshuvah

Chapter 2 of the Rambam’s Laws of Teshuvah states: “When one finds themselves in the same position as before, yet refrains from repeating the same sin or mistake, that is true repentance.” It’s strange, isn’t it? That October 7th, 2023, was exactly 50 years after the Yom Kippur War. Did we not learn anything? Have we not paid a terrible enough price for being unprepared? We made the same mistake. This should have been avoided.

One more thing—this will sound political, but it’s not meant to be. Our leadership needs to do Teshuvah. They need to ask for forgiveness. I didn’t hear that in the Prime Minister’s address last night. He didn’t say, “I’m sorry, I failed.” He didn’t acknowledge, “This haunts me every day. I will step down.” Instead, he wants to stay on, as if nothing happened. Whether he’s the right person for the job or not is irrelevant—the buck stops with him. We need new leadership. New leadership in politics, the judiciary, and the army.

Chapter 2.5, the Rambam states, “It is praiseworthy for a person who repents to confess in public and make his sins known to others, revealing the transgressions against his colleagues.”

I’ll pause here.

We did nothing for too long, ignoring the trickle of terrorist attacks until they became a flood—a pogrom. Only then did we wake up. Why didn’t we recognize the deep-seated hatred festering—both inside Israel and abroad? We were blindsided by false hopes of peace, blindsided by internal disputes, protests, and judicial reform. Blindsided by a lack of “Zionist” Rabbinical Leadership—a rabbinate not in touch with Zionism or the teachings of Rav Kook.

National Teshuva

It would be appropriate to revisit Rav Kook’s vision of National Teshuvah, which involves the Jewish people collectively returning to their spiritual roots and divine purpose by rebuilding their national homeland and society. He viewed the return to Eretz Yisrael and establishing a Jewish state as integral parts of a larger redemptive process that would culminate in the full spiritual awakening of the Jewish nation. Even seemingly secular or non-religious movements were seen as part of this divinely guided process of restoration and renewal.

However, the failure of Israel’s leadership to embody these values can be seen as a significant obstacle to achieving Rav Kook’s vision. When the national leadership prioritizes short-term political or material goals over the more profound, long-term spiritual rejuvenation of the people, it impedes the process of Teshuvah. Unfortunately, this applies to all sectors of our society—a failure to be tolerant and stand together despite differences. This failure to integrate moral and spiritual values into state-building leads to a situation where the state exists purely physically. Still, it lacks the spiritual foundation to fulfil its divine role.

Rav Kook warned that when leaders neglect this spiritual dimension, they risk creating a state disconnected from its higher purpose. This disconnect can manifest in moral crises, societal fragmentation, and a lack of true unity and direction. Paraphrasing this. Leadership that can guide the people not just politically but spiritually—uplifting the nation by harmonizing “a good society” with Jewish values and ideals.

Reflecting on Judaism and Zionism

Many Jews deny the link between Judaism and Zionism. The Bible is the greatest book of Zionism ever written. It’s about a journey to a land. The laws are meant to be practised in a just society in Israel. Just as the Nazis did not distinguish between different types of Jews (and we still do), the nations of the world recognize the truth: Judaism = Zionism. So, it’s time to wake up to this fact.

In Gol Kalev’s 2022 book Judaism 3.0: Judaism’s Transformation to Zionism, he writes:

“I showed that we are amid a historic transformation of Judaism. I identified Israel-bashing as an existential threat to the survival of Judaism. I argued that recognizing that we are in Judaism 3.0 could help counter the threat, as the Israel-basher must stay in Judaism 2.0—the illusion that Judaism is merely a religion. This allows the attacker to express ‘zero tolerance to antisemitism’ (the threat to Jews and Judaism in the 20th century), while partaking in Israel-bashing (the threat to Jews and Judaism in the 21st century).”

Chizuk (Inspiration)

I’m sharing a video from Einat Wilf, speaking in Canada at an event under the title of The Promised Land Project. Just the title itself is heartwarming, and it is nice to know that there are rational voices supporting justice and Israel.

Einat was a leftist, a peacenik. People asked her, “Did you suddenly shift to the right?” No, I just became a realist. Today, Einat’s story is a beacon of truth and clarity, and her transformation is remarkable. To learn more about her, visit her website.
Watch the video here: The Promised Land Project.
More reading: Israel, Antisemitism, and a New Middle East – Dr. Einat Wilf.

A Time for War

It takes a non-Jew to say the truth. Who else but Douglas Murray, who has been a champion for truth and rationality in this world gone mad?
In his interview with Bari Weiss, Douglas Murray quoted Kohelet: “There is a time for war, and now is that time.”
Here is the link to this fascinating discussion: Douglas Murray Interview.

The Lies and Blood Libels Continue Unabated

I am sharing this Piers Morgan debate, where Fleur Hassan-Nahoum stood heroically up to the lies. It was disgusting that one-panel member denied the rape of Israeli women on October 7th—saying there was no proof. In this debate, attorney Elica Le Bon was a beacon of truth and hope, stating in no uncertain terms that Iran’s Islamic Jihad strategy is to blame for all these deaths.
Watch the debate here: Piers Morgan Debate.
What shocked me most in the debate was how Morgan was condemning Israel in no uncertain terms, accusing the building more settlements in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) as a crime! He was parroting falsehoods that people still believe.
There’s a deliberate distortion of history and law when it comes to Israel. Natasha Hausdorff and others have written extensively about the double standards applied to us. Yes, Israel has a right to these territories. And when people talk about “occupied Gaza,” they ignore that in 2005, Israel left, giving the Palestinians a chance to build a paradise. They chose destruction instead.

So, on October 7th, as we pass into October 8th, we witnessed a global reaction that is, frankly, hypocritical. It’s time to stand up—stand up against the double standards, moral relativism, and appeasement of those who seek our destruction.

Leadership – Inspiration

We are in dire need of leadership. South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, continues to provide this despite the hostility of the South African government. He said so eloquently:
“Israel stands poised to shift the balance of power in the world towards the forces of freedom and democracy.”

Watch Rabbi Warren Goldstein.

The Hyprocracy

Sitting here in Jerusalem, with jets roaring over the Temple Mount, it all feels surreal. This situation calls for strong leadership, but the world is paralysed by guilt—guilt over its colonial past. Countries like Britain, France, Belgium, and Spain, steeped in histories of slavery and bloodshed, have yet to confront their own crimes. Instead, they project their guilt onto Israel, calling for embargoes while conveniently ignoring their own violent pasts.

To Macron, I say: It’s time to find moral clarity. Stop pointing fingers. Look at your own history before you condemn Israel. The world must wake up.

France’s history of colonial exploitation, Nazi collaboration, and modern-day hypocrisy make it a poor actor on the international playing field. It has repeatedly shown that it is willing to sacrifice ethics for power and influence, choosing short-term benefits over a genuine commitment to justice or stability. Its attempts to whitewash its past and present actions through diplomatic rhetoric and symbolic gestures only underscore its failure to fully reckon with its dark legacy.

 

I’m not qualified to fully address the suffering of October 7th, but I did write an op-ed titled “October 7th, the Day ESG Died.” On that day, the hope for a better world seemed to shatter, and the hypocrisy became unbearable.

It got removed from Facebook, which is my first.
Link: October 7th, the Day ESG Died.

To Summarize

It feels like the Grinch has stolen Teshuvah and Yom Kippur. I can’t even begin to imagine what Simchat Torah will be like. It was a struggle to say Rosh Hashanah Kiddush after hearing the news of the soldiers killed in Lebanon, preceded the day before by the terror attack in Tel Aviv and then the 181 missiles from Iran that forced us into bomb shelters. We realized—but for the grace of God—how catastrophic this could have been.

Today, the choice is clear: we must persevere.

This is a time for war. Just as the Nazis were defeated and never allowed to rise again, we cannot allow this evil to return, no matter how many voices call for a ceasefire.

We need strength. As Rabbi Doron Perez said, “The situation is not okay, but it is OK.” We cannot let it rob us of our joy. We must dance again, pray again, and continue to live.

Photo Sources – Social media

About the Author
Jeffrey is a CFO | Seeking a just world I Author -living in Jerusalem. He is a young grandfather who has five kids and seven grandchildren. Jeffrey is promoting a vision for a better and fairer world through https://upgradingesg.com and is the author of Upgrading ESG - How Business can thrive in the age of Sustainability
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