I was sitting in a fancy television studio, on a distinguished panel of guests for one of the political talk shows. The conversation was animated, with the moderator - a well-known television personality - displaying his usual skill at instigating a fair amount of disagreement and raised voices. The guests presented their views of the world and the situation with certainty, confidence and thinly-disguised contempt for the others.



The discussion turned to the resistance against the expulsion, and on the screen could be seen youths dancing in a synagogue, singing, "Holy One, blessed be He, we love You." The moderator turned to me and, with a light, cynical smile playing on his lips, asked, "Tell me, what is that all about? Loving G-d? And at a time like this?"



Surprised by the question, I hesitated for a second or two - what seemed like an eternity. Then, I said:



"You know, in a moment, you will thank me gracefully and go to a commercial, where some people with a lot of money will try to persuade others, who either have or don't have so much money, to buy some product they don't really need, so they can make even more money. The people on the commercial will be smiling, even though they might not really be happy at all. Then you will return and we will all continue to argue about whether it is really sad that 25 Jewish communities in Israel were erased just like that and that thousands of people were thrown into the streets, or whether it was really their own fault and they deserved it, etc. Then, everyone will go home, some satisfied with their performance, and others to cry about what has happened to us.



"In short, there is really a lot in this world to be sad and negative about. But we don't want to be that way. I think that this song - 'G-d, we love You' - is saying, 'G-d, You are the author of all good and happiness. We want to connect with You and we want to be able to experience goodness. There is so much that we can be angry and resentful about. But we don't want to be mired in negativity, and cynicism, and deceit, and bickering with our brothers, and wrong priorities, and destruction. We want positive action, and concern one for the other, and mutual respect, and pursuit of spirituality and sanctity."



The moderator was about to interrupt, but I continued on:



"I want to be able to smile at you with sincerity - even though I know you work for a medium that promotes the opposite of what I just spoke about - and realize that you're a person who, basically, wants the same things as we do. When we sing, 'Holy One, we love You,' we are praying and hoping that all of us can finally abandon our one-uppityness against each other, and not be condescending at the sight of settler families living in tents, but rather unite behind the idea that no matter what, we will do all we can to help each other and not cause each other such pain."



I looked over at the moderator, and saw him looking down towards his desk, instead of directly at the camera, with a look of inward contemplation replacing his usual confident smile.



And then I woke up.



If you will it, it is no dream.