You can’t read the label from inside the bottle

Dear Jewish brothers and sisters in the US,

You don’t know me. But if I was in danger, you would be there for me. My name might not be familiar to you, but if tragedy struck or if I was in peril, you would learn it. I might be a Jew on the other side of the world, I might live in Johannesburg, South Africa and we might never have met. But we know each other well. Very well.

We are connected.

There is a famous and wonderful idea that it is impossible to read the label from inside the bottle. The mayonnaise inside the jar has no idea about its calorie content or allergens. Because from the inside it’s impossible to read it. It needs someone with a different perspective to provide that detail.

I am on the outside of the US, which makes the label easy for me to read. It writes of the months ahead of the US elections and speaks of the danger of divide, disrespect and of unnecessary hatred. It speaks of an additional threat to that of a Jewish community already under attack by those who openly call for our destruction. A danger more significant and in some ways more difficult to handle. The vulnerability of a community divided not only in thought and choice, but by intolerance and anger.

One of the many lessons of October 7th is that of tolerance. While Jews in Tel Aviv fought each other over a “mechitza” (separation between men and women) our enemies were planning to break down the walls of safety. While we screamed and marched for judicial reform or against it, our enemies were preparing a lawless attack that has altered our world. And shifted our perception of our place in it. While we built animosity towards each other, our enemies were getting ready to teach us what real abhorrence is. And what the consequences of that hatred might be.

Jews celebrate debate. We revel in argument; we are passionate with our views, and we care deeply not only for Israel and our people, but for our countries. As I care for the people of South Africa (not the African National Congress government), so Americans care, contribute and want to build the USA. And that means, especially ahead of the election, and especially at a time of such vulnerability there is an increased risk of turning on each other. The label in the jar says all that. Not in small print but in bold easily read letters.

We shouldn’t need Tisha B’Av or October 7th to teach us this, but they do, nonetheless. We are vulnerable when we face inward to fight with other. We are powerful beyond measure when we face outward, together against an enemy.

It might be insane to vote for Kamala Harris. It might be absurd to vote for Donald Trump. Both might herald the end of democracy and either might be the “only option” for the US. Emotions are high and loyalty impressive. But the cost of going “all in” is too high to pay. Because politicians come and politicians go. But broken relationships and fragmented communities endure.

It’s all there on the label. In bold.

With love only,

Howard Feldman.