[Part one of this article can be read at http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=4213.]

"Said Raba: 'For those who go to the right, the Torah is an elixir of life; for those who turn left, it becomes a deadly poison.'" (Talmud, Shabbat 88b)

"Please separate from me! If you go left, I will go right, and if you go right, I will go left." (Torah, Lech Lecha)

As much as Judaism places an emphasis on peace and unity, there is an equally strong thread running throughout the Torah that calls upon us to draw clear boundaries and to separate from evil. As the world descends into a globalized cloud of darkness, our souls are just screaming for some clarity.

The concept that "Yaacov remains alone" may be an anathema for the Left, but many of us on the Right absolutely crave the thought of separatism from a world gone mad. We understand that being a Jew is often about being part of a "remnant" or engaging in a struggle of the "few against the many". But, on the other hand, we know that our ultimate calling is to be a "light unto the nations". Confusing, no?

The national situation is especially hard on us right-wing zealots. We know that G-d despises disunity and that the Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred, but we have good grounds to be angry. The national crisis demands our attention. So, what's it gonna be - a Maccabee victory or Bar Kochba defeat? Pinchas throws a deadly spear in the ultimate zealous act and gets the peace prize, while two of the very peaceful Aaron's sons are consumed by fire for their over-zealousness.

How do we committed Jews navigate through a plethora of seeming contradictions?

I have a theory that the success or failure of zealous actions is determined by the wisdom of their timing. Which is why I am especially distraught to be receiving a continual influx of virulent email lambasting the self-hating, bolsheviki, Sabbatean Left during the Days of Repentance.

Now, I have to admit that a good portion of the stuff is more than true. But somehow, as we face the Day of Atonement, I was hoping that a bit of the anger would have dissipated - if only for a few weeks - because it's impossible to be simultaneously angry and humbled at the same time. And this time of year, we need to be contrite.

There¹s a new book out by Daniel Pearl's parents, called I Am Jewish. Some of our favorite targets, like Shimon Peres, Thomas Friedman and A. B. Yehoshua, let us in on what Judaism means to them. Believe it or not, they have a sense of pride in their heritage and history. I'm in awe at the resiliency of the Jewish spirit that, in spite of everything , is still able to declare, "I am a Jew." That confused Jewish hearts can still retain a love of Israel and sense of morality and ethical responsibility towards the world is truly remarkable.

However, what seems to be lacking in a number of the essays is any mention of the beauty of ritual service, or the essential Jewish ideas of redemption, repentance, Divine providence, Divine service or the World to Come. There are few references to the passion or emotional and intellectual depth of our sages. It seems that contemporary Jewish movements have either buried, twisted or diluted the very underpinnings of Judaism. What remains for many liberal Jews is an arrogant religion bereft of a spiritual foundation and soul.

There's a gap in our education and our sages teach that when educating children, one should "push away with the left hand and bring close with the right." The right hand is traditionally associated with mercy, and the left with strict justice. This time of year, mercy dominates. And so, like a confused child, I feel fairly safe approaching my Father in Heaven and asking the following questions:

Is it fair to fault a nation that was scattered and then raised on the bolshevism of Eastern Europe or, alternatively, the extreme excesses and personal freedoms of the West - a people that have endured the traumas of the Holocaust and scores of other atrocities?

A good portion of us weren't even nurtured on Jewish mothers' milk - we imbibed Similac as infants and, in many cases, graduated to bacon and eggs, cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizzas (shrimp cocktails, too). Is it any wonder that "Yeshurun grew fat and kicked?"

How can we as a nation possibly hear the primordial cry of the shofar when a good number of the Diaspora synagogues and "temples" back up their teruah with a sophisticated sound system, trumpets and organ-accompanied choir?

Under the circumstances, is it really our fault that we have difficulty returning to You? Perhaps a major dose of Divine intervention is called for.

Now here's a couple questions for my activist friends on the Right (and please know that I grapple with this one all of the time):

It's obvious to many of us that we are being accosted by both external and internal manifestations of our arch-enemy Amalek, and without G-d-fearing leadership, we will be unable to meet the challenges at hand. So how can it be that those of us who know and understand that we lack the spiritual strength and will to carry out our national obligations with regards to our enemies are so willing to point fingers and toy with the idea of civil strife between brothers? Kind of the easy way out, isn't it?

It seems there was a drought in the world and the sages located a tzadik by the name of Abba Hilkiah, who was known to have success at bringing on the rains. To make a long story short, Abba Hilkiah and his wife went up to the roof of their home to pray for rain. The rain clouds gathered on the wife's side and the drought ended.

When asked why the clouds appeared on his wife's side of the roof, Abba Hilkiah responded, "I had terrible neighbors, who committed all sorts of immoral acts, and I prayed that they die, so that I would be rid of them. My wife, however, prayed that they change their ways...." (Talmud, Ta'anith 23ab)

Given the present impossible circumstances, I don't know how many of us are capable of true teshuva, or attaining the level of Abba Hilkiah's wife. But maybe we can hold some of that hatred in check - at least until the rains come.

[Part 2 of 2]