3745 years ago the train of freedom started out on its journey, the train of redemption of humanity. It carried one passenger only, Avraham the Hebrew, who had broken free of the bonds of world idolatry, ignored the conventions of the entire world, and begun his journey to the Promised Land. This was the beginning of the Jewish people and the message of freedom for the entire world. The train of freedom has passed through many stations on its convoluted journey through history.
By the time of the Exodus from Egypt, 3315 years ago, there were already 600,000 passengers on the train. A new nation had been born. On Mount Sinai the passengers received a precious gift each and every one of them met personally with the King of the World and heard His commandments. From now on there would be no more slavery, no more domination by man over man. Humanity had a Creator who loved it, looked after it, and spoke with it through His Chosen People.
When Israel Air Force pilots returned from a POW camp in Syria, they described how their captors tried to convince them that Israel had already been destroyed, that the State of Israel no longer existed, that there was no longer any reason not to disclose their secrets, that there was no-one for whom to preserve liberty.
Those for whom G-d is dead have lost their freedom. Those who testify to the existence of the Almighty have been a constant cause for concern for jailers throughout the ages, who will do everything they can to destroy such witnesses.
The train of freedom still has a long and painful journey ahead of it. When humanity started discarding its idols and benefiting from the light spread by the Jewish people, a new sophisticated kind of idolatry arose (2003 years ago), calling itself the new Israel. This was to delay the train of freedom another two thousand years. But the old Israel refused to disappear and remained witness to the lies of the Christian idolatry. The Final Solution was only a matter of time. The cross needed just a little modification to become a swastika. But even from the "final" stations of Auschwitz and Majdanek the train of freedom continued its journey, and a wonderful force brought the chosen People to the last station in Eretz Israel.
The Prophets of Israel described all the stations precisely. The train of freedom has already passed most of them. In the stations that remain, humanity will recognize, against its will, the King of the World and His faithful sons, who bear His word. Humanity, against its will, will leave bondage for freedom. However, just now, on the very finishing line, most of the passengers in the train have forgotten their destination. They aren't inclined to argue with the jailers of the entire world who have joined together, against them. For the engine drivers and the first-class passengers the station of the State of Israel in its current form is the final station. None of the engine drivers who have appointed themselves since the establishment of the State has ever indicated a different destination.
This is nothing new: The passengers at first refused to leave earlier stations along the route the Egypt of the Pharaohs or Nazi Europe. They had to be expelled by force.
Now we are being pushed with great mercy forward, from the current station. The poor passengers who forget the purpose of the journey because of the comfort of the first-class compartment cannot understand why they are receiving such blows. They don't understand that they are at a station, that they are in a dynamic, rather than a static condition. For them, history begins with the State of Israel, and its current form is expected to continue in an idolatrous motion that enslaves them with no aim. They are in despair because it is clear to them that the engine drivers also haven't a clue what to do.
The despair and apathy accompanying the new year of 5763 are not caused by terrorism or the economic situation, but by the sense of lack of purpose.
Against this background a new leadership is growing. Jewish Leadership that remembers the starting point of the train, knows its objective, and is ready, at the appropriate time, the lead the train towards it. It is only a question of time until the last of the current drivers will disappear from the engine. It is only a matter of time until the passengers will request new leadership. Since the King of the World Himself is propelling the train towards its destination, it is clear that such leadership will in the end arise. But the time it takes and the price we will pay until then depend mainly on us, and the small effort we make to build such Jewish Leadership for Israel.
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Moshe Feiglin is the founder of the Manhigut Yehudit faction of the Likud.
Postmaster@manhigut.org