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Motti Wilhelm

To Be a Jew Is to Live in Paradox

To be a Jew is to reach for the the beyond. (Image from Freepik)
To be a Jew is to reach for the the beyond. (Image from Freepik)

To be a Jew is to live in perpetual paradox: to reside in a bush that burns yet is not consumed.

To be a Jew is to build reason upon a foundation of faith and to nurture fierce emotions through submission.

To be a Jew is to see one’s role as profoundly significant while losing oneself in something far beyond.

As we approach the coming weeks and the tectonic shifts they will bring, both in the United States and in Israel, let us ground ourselves in what it means to be a Jew:

We do not have an exclusive claim on wisdom—it belongs to people of all backgrounds and faiths.

However, there is Jewish wisdom. It is a wisdom cultivated not from logic, reason, and experience alone, but one that begins with the acknowledgment of our limitations and the finite nature of human capacity. From this awareness, we reach for the Divine, holding onto faith and humility throughout the process.

This is one reason we wear a yarmulke (or kippah): to remind ourselves that even the top of our head must be covered. In the greater scheme of things, the mind is also just a human organ and should not remain bare in the presence of the Infinite.

The same is true of emotion—the great motivator of human commitment, tenacity, and progress. To experience emotion as a Jew is not simply to feel the pain of another or the joy of doing good. It is to develop emotions guided by our essential connection to the Divine.

This is the idea behind the Shema and its commandment, “V’ahavta”—“And you shall love.” After declaring the oneness of Hashem, the foundational tenet of Jewish faith, we are instructed to use study, meditation, and awareness to channel our most powerful emotions into love for our Creator and a deeper attachment to Him.

If wisdom rooted in an awareness of the Divine and emotions guided by study seem paradoxical, remember Moshe and the burning bush. He needed to see fire that burned without consuming to grasp what it means to be a Jew.

To be a Jew is to embrace this paradox and reach for the beyond. 

About the Author
Rabbi Motti Wilhelm received his diploma of Talmudic Studies from the Rabbinical College of Australia & New Zealand in 2003 and was ordained as a rabbi by the Rabbinical College of America and Israel’s former chief Rabbi Mordecha Eliyahu in 2004. He was the editor of Kovetz Ohelei Torah, a respected Journal of Talmudic essays. He lectures on Talmudic Law, Medical Ethics and a wide array of Jewish subjects and has led services in the United States, Canada, Africa and Australia. His video blog Rabbi Motti's Minute is highly popular as are his weekly emails. Rabbi Wilhelm and his wife Mimi lead Chabad SW Portland as Shluchim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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