A fresh perspective





In the late 1930s, a Jew is traveling on the subway reading a Yiddish newspaper. Suddenly, to his dismay, he spots a friend of his sitting just opposite him, reading the notoriously anti-Semitic Der Sturmer. He glares at his friend in anger: "How could you read that Nazi rag?"



Unabashed, the friend looks up at him. "So what are you reading, the Yiddish paper? And what do you read there? In America Jews are assimilating. In Palestine, the Arabs are rioting and killing Jews. In Germany, they've taken away all our rights. "I read this magazine, Der Sturmer. It says Jews are controlling the media. They run the economy. They own the banks. They're in control of the universe. If you want good news and a fresh perspective, go to the anti-Semites!"





The Jewish enigma





It is amazing how the more things change the more they remain the same.



From our very inception 3700 years ago, and throughout our long history until this very day, we, the Jewish people, have evoked the same fiery and passionate response. When a Buddha sits and meditates on a mountaintop -- who blinks an eye? When Indian Shamans smoke peyote and go into a trance, who pays attention? When a monk secludes himself in a Monastery, who cares? But when the world spots a Jew, even an assimilated and a self-hating Jew, it experiences an allergic reaction. Why?



A baby is an innocent piece of heaven. You can't hate a baby for being a communist or for being a capitalist. Babies evoke universal feelings of tenderness, compassion and unconditional love. So how could the Jewish baby turn Germany, the most cultured nation in the world, which boasted of the University and worshipped the rational mind, into a nation of beasts, who exerted all of its energies to exterminate every last Jewish infant? How do the cultural elites populating our universities and media centers now, so smugly gloss over the brutal and intentional murder of innocent Jewish children in Israel, by the single most vicious act in all of human history: suicide terrorism?



Israel today has become "The Jew" of the world. Although you could hardly find Israel on the map and the Jewish people are merely 0.2 percent of the world population, the whole world has strong opinions about the Jews. The Muslims blame all their woes on Israel. Many Christians via "Passion" accuse Jews of Deicide, and many liberals and atheists blame the Jews for the scourge of terrorism. Nations who don't see eye to eye on anything, many of who don't even know what a Jew looks like, unanimously agree that Israel is guilty of many charges. The only time the UN seems to agree on anything is when condemning Israel. The Jew appears to be the great unifier, possessing the ability to unite the world in a profound and unique way.



The good news about all of this is that after thousands of years, the Jew hasn't lost any of his power, his youthful vigor and his potency. This also demonstrates beyond a doubt that all Jews are truly equal: A Jew is a Jew is a Jew. Although there's no such thing as an atheist Christian or an atheist Muslim, for that would be an oxymoron, you can still consider yourself an atheist and be a full Jew. Even an atheist Jew evokes the same powerful response as the most devout religious Jew. Being Jewish is deeper than being religious. Religious beliefs and attitudes are subject to change, because they are acquired beliefs. A faithful Christian can turn into an atheist, and vice versa; it has happened countless times throughout history. Something occurs in one's life that violently shakes up their previous model of life. Yet you can never cease to be a Jew, even if you cease to believe in Judaism or G-d. Being Jewish is like a parent-child relationship. You can't divorce your parents.





The truth behind anti-Semitism





All the superficial explanations for anti-Semitism miss the point. When the Christians, Muslims, atheists, fascist, communists, leftists, and African Americans hate the Jew for a multitude of reasons, and when you discover that it has been this way for thousands of years, you must suspect that there's something deeper going on.



The philosopher Peter Kreeft wrote this about the Jews: "As the collective conscience of the human race, they gave us the great gift of guilt." Adolf Hitler said that conscience was a Jewish invention. This is the true reason for anti-Semitism. The Jew, even the atheist Jew, is a witness to the presence of a living, moral G-d in the universe. A Jew walking down Park Avenue is a breathing miracle. All miracles in the Bible, pale in comparison to the miracle of Jewish survival. A Jew, who has survived destructions, exiles, pogroms, inquisitions, Holocausts, and endless wars, is the greatest living proof that there is a G-d in this world; that history is a moral narrative. The Jew, by his or her very existence, reminds six billion people that this world is not a jungle, and that we are all going to have to answer for ourselves and for our actions, after our proverbial sojourn here on earth.



"We must rid the world from the Jewish tyrannical G-d and his life-denying Ten Commandments," Hitler wrote. Indeed, the gentiles who despised the Jewish message have tried to destroy the messenger. Those who used religion as a means to cover up their spiritual malignancy hated the Jew with a passion commensurate to the level of egotism and evil within their hearts.



Conversely, the righteous gentiles, who embraced the morality of the Torah and therefore had nothing to hide and fear, always cherished the Jews.





Jewish eternity





Yet, while all the anti-Semites of old are long gone and forgotten, and the cultures of our oppressors were reduced to the footnotes of history, the Jew has never left its front page. We were present at their birth and we will be present at their funeral. Just as you can't destroy G-d and you can't destroy goodness, which comes from G-d, you can't destroy the world's conscience -- the Jew.



Jews are not necessarily a nation of philosophers or mystics. They are a nation of what the Talmud defined as "believers, children of believers" (Talmud, Tractate Sabbath 97a). What does the Talmud mean?



A toddler, who cannot yet speak or reason, knows with absolute certainty, with every fiber of his being and with every bone in his body, that his father and his mother are very special to him. His relationship to them is as clear as the day. Even when the toddler grows into a world-renowned philosopher and writes volumes on the meaning of the parent-child relationship, it doesn't add one iota to the depth and to the clarity of his primal feelings towards his own parents. These feelings are innate, coming from a deeper place than his ego and his logic, flowing from his very core and essence. This primal relationship needs not external support; and all the reasons in the world don't add even one iota to the clarity and the depth of his feelings towards his parents.



That is the meaning of being Jewish. A Jew knows G-d from within; from his hidden depth, his inner core and the very essence of his being. Every single Jew inherited a uniquely Jewish soul from our Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and our Matriarchs, Sara, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. This soul is aware of G-d just as the toddler is aware of its parents. The Jew may love G-d or despise Him, but he can't ignore G-d.





Chosen for what?





Jews were chosen to be the teachers and the prophets who would cast the light of the divine onto the nations. Healthy children prefer to run around wild and free, resenting the teacher for attempting to discipline them. One day, however, the children grow up and realize that not only wasn't the teacher their enemy, but that he was their best friend, who dedicated his time to teach them what truly matters in life. The children, sooner or later, will learn to respect their teachers for giving them a true lease on life.



As the first teachers of morality, all the nations of the world will inevitably grow up and learn to welcome the Jewish message: the universal Seven Noahide Laws presented in the Torah, that are truly life sustaining. The morality of these laws, which include the sanctity of life, relationships and property, represent a wholesome life style, a dignified and beautiful way of living that is consistent with our divine nature and the image of G-d in which all humans were created. This is the Messianic era that Jews believe in, aspire to and have been working towards for 3700 years. It will arrive, inevitably and imminently.





Did we forget who we are?





The tragedy begins when the teacher forgets that he is the teacher and forgets that his mission is to teach, and not to win a popularity contest. Imagine a teacher who is so insecure that he pretends to be one of the kids in order to be liked by his students. When the teacher behaves like a teacher, the children may resent him, but at least they respect him. Now, when the teacher masquerades his identity and behaves like one of the children, they despise and disdain him. They view him as a liar.



When Jews forget that they are they were chosen to inspire the world with the divine message of morality and the sanctity of life, and they pretend that they are equal to the rest of the world, they only exacerbate anti-Semitism and pour kerosene on the flames of hatred. The Jews in Germany were more German than the Germans. Result: the worst outbreak of anti-Semitism in history. The world respects Jews who respect themselves and their heritage.





False Isms





Zionism was Theodor Herzl's solution to anti-Semitism. Herzl believed that if the Jews would have their own native country, just as the English, the French and the Americans, they would finally be accepted by the family of nations as equals. Result: The only place in the world where Jews are being blown up almost on a daily basis for the sole crime of being Jewish is Israel! The only place in the world where Jews are not allowed to live and are actively being expelled from their homes in order to make entire regions Jude rein, is Israel! Israel has become the punching bag of the world. Rarely have Jews been more isolated and maligned.



Israel created a self imposed ghetto, in the classical sense of the word, with a wall and a fence. It feels like the 1930's all over again! From a purely objective point of view, Theodor Herzl's solution, Zionism, has not delivered the salvation he sought. Despite the tremendous achievements of the State of Israel, we must declare the truth: Zionism did not achieve its goal. Israel and the Jews are hated as much as ever before.



One more ism recently died.



For fifty years, self-proclaimed Jewish leaders invested monumental energy in interfaith dialogue. They believed that by being obsequious, the gentiles would come to love us. Mel Gibson with his "Passion" has in one weekend shattered this illusion and false sense of security. Jews are scratching their head in bewilderment wondering where they went wrong. They did everything that is politically correct and it backfired. How is it that their Christian friends forgot about the millions of Jews slaughtered because of Deicide? Jews are wondering what the future holds for us.



All of these isms -- Assimilation, Interfaith dialogue, Zionism, Osloism -- failed to buy us peace, security and serenity. If anything, they might have fanned the flames of Jew and Israel hatred.



The Twentieth Century was the burial ground of all false ideologies: Fascism and Communism. Beginning with the Oslo process and continuing with the most recent Gaza-First declarations by Prime Minister Sharon, it has become clear that Zionism and all of the Jewish politically correct false isms have joined the other ideologies and isms in the dustbin of history. How ironic that Zionism is being destroyed by its best and brightest sons and daughters. The great Zionists of sixty years ago have now successfully buried it.





The root cause





What is the real root-cause of the problem?



When a person is uncomfortable in his own skin, he makes everyone around him feel uncomfortable. Conversely, when a person is comfortable in his own skin, he makes everyone around them feel comfortable. Our problem is not Mel Gibson or Yasser Arafat. We have encountered the enemy: It is us. When the Jew feels uncomfortable with his or her own Jewishness, do you expect the non-Jew to feel comfortable with the Jewish "problem?" Have you ever met a self-hating Italian or a self-hating Arab? It appears to be a unique Jewish affliction, particularly affecting those of Ashkenazic descent with a highly intellectual bent.



Charity begins at home. The measure of a good human being is how he treats his own brother or sister. If someone beats his wife and abuses his children but is very sympathetic to his neighbors, you would correctly view him as a monster. A person who is at peace with himself and his kin, treating his own family with love and respect, that person will be a good neighbor who will spread peace and goodwill to his entire neighborhood. If a person can't love his own family, he will only sow strife and spread negative energy to his entire surroundings. If a person is not at peace with himself and his closest people, how could he possibly bring peace to the rest of the world?



A Jew who is uncomfortable with his Jewishness, who doesn't cherish and isn't proud of his people, his faith, his tradition, cannot successfully achieve tikkun olam, the fixing of the rest of the world.





The criteria of Jewish organizations





A businessman has one goal and one criterion by which he judges success or

failure: Is the business making money or losing money. Concerned Jews must have one criteria in mind by which they judge themselves and their organization's

success: Are they succeeding in preserving and safeguarding the Jewish people? Are they ensuring the safety and the security of our children, so that they can live and flourish in peace?



By this standard, all the conventional and politically correct approaches are bankrupt and have turned out to be wrong investments. Now after seeing the results of the mistaken projects, it would be bordering on criminality to continue investing precious resources, time, funds and energy into these failed policies.





The Solution





What is the solution to anti-Semitism? The answer is so radical yet so simple. It boggles the mind how readily available it is and within our grasp. If every Jew around the world, from the most religious to the most secular, took one baby step forward in their Jewishness, by doing one more mitzvah, connecting with, cherishing and proudly expressing their Jewishness in their daily lives, that alone would instantly revolutionize human consciousness and transform the world for good. The six billion citizens of the world would then honor and respect the Jew. The world would give us a standing ovation for becoming who we really are!



It's as simple as every Jewish woman around the world lighting Shabbat candles and every Jewish male putting on tefillin (phylacteries).



All of our resources should be invested in education, education, and education in order to rekindle Jewish pride, one Jew at a time. Every Jew should be brought home to a place that they've never really left. Every Jew is already there, already connected and the Mitzvot that we do only express the connection that already exists. It is innate; it is our birthright.



The Lubavitcher Rebbe often said, "You don't fight darkness with broomsticks; rather a little light dispels and illuminates a lot of darkness." The Jewish soul, which is compared in Proverbs to a flame, was charged with the divine mission to light up the world with the flame of Torah and Mitzvot. Collectively our individual flames add up to a blazing torch that has the ability to illuminate the darkness that engulfs us, and lead us all towards the great dawn of our redemption, the Messianic era, when "Passion" will flame out, and anti-Semitism will follow in the way of communism and become history. The ball is in our court.