Keeping the Torah: If we will it, it will be.

National Fervor

I wasn’t around yet in the fifties, but from everything I have read I know it was a time of economic austerity in Israel. It was a fledgling nation just getting its feet wet. The general feeling was that the onus lay on everyone to jumpstart the economy. Making do with less was critical to national economic viability.

Today, Israel has matured. The pioneering spirit that drove people to take pride in austerity is no longer present or necessary. Israel has built a booming economy that manufactures, produces and exports. Not everyone is wealthy and life is still difficult, but on the whole, it is fair to say that Israel has arrived.

Personally, I regret the loss of nationalistic fervor.  It might no longer be necessary for the economy, but it is critical in other areas. Israel can whip up patriotic fervor in an instant. The summer of 2014 was a good example of how quickly and intensely the ‘one for all spirit’ can spread over Israel. Yet, outside of war, it’s rare to see such fervor on the streets and in the cafes. It would be wonderful if we could maintain this unity and intensity, but without war it’s unlikely.

All About Perspective

Unlikely perhaps, but not impossible. After all, it worked in the fifties. The spirit of personal sacrifice for the common good was kept alive, without a serious war to fuel it, for ten years. If it was done then, it can be replicated today. Human nature never changes.

If we could be convinced that every decision matters, every encounter is critical and every person impacts our national destiny, people would be willing to make sacrifices today too. We could channel the patriotic fervor that serves us so well in war into other critical objectives.

Take national unity for example. It is critical to the culture of our people that we be permitted to speak our minds and share our views. We have a robust history of debate and disagreement. But when debates become divisive and disagreements grow caustic, we create a monster that tears at our nation from within. A malignant cancer that spreads and destroys.

Our sages always argued, but they never left an argument without acknowledging their love for each other. We can take a page out of their book and remember their lesson. We are one family. It is all right to argue with your brother. It is not okay to forget he is your brother. Debating with your sister is acceptable, viewing or treating her like an enemy is not.

The temptation to dig in our sectarian feet is strong, but if we convince ourselves and our nation that our unity is critical to our survival and future, we will overcome that temptation. In the fifties we overcame the allure of prosperity by treating it as a national campaign of survival. We can do the same for unity. Treat our unity like we treat our wars and channel our patriotic spirit to ensure success.

Faith in G-d

I can’t take credit for this idea. It is not my own, it is culled from the Torah. G-d gave us six-hundred-and-thirteen commandments, but on Mount Sinai, He gave us ten. The Ten Commandments are singled out from the others because of their fundamental relevance and critical importance to all others.

The first two commandments address issues of faith. The first commands us to believe in G-d, the second prohibits the worship of Idols. These principles are not only the canvas on which all the commandments are drawn, they are the overriding spirit of our commitment. These two, more than any other, have the power to inspire.

Every time our enemies attempted to force our people into the worship of idols, we went to the slaughter rather than betray G-d. From Abraham in Mesopotamia to Daniel in Babylon, from Mordechai in Persia to Judah Maccabee under the Greeks. From Rabbi Akiva under the Romans to the Jews under the Spanish inquisition, every time a Jewish people was coerced to betray G-d, they held firm.

Today you find Jews that don’t celebrate Passover, but won’t be caught dead praying to Mohammed or Jesus. Their Judaism consists of bagels and lox on Sunday morning, but don’t dare invite them to a Christian mass. No matter how cavalier a Jew might be about G-d’s commandments, Jews are never cavalier about G-d.

This rises out of a staunch conviction that betraying our faith means breaking with G-d. Once we bow to other forms of worship, we block our attachment to G-d. We can convince ourselves that lying or cheating, breaking the Sabbath or the kosher dietary laws, doesn’t distance us from G-d. We can love G-d and our shrimp, but we can’t say the same about idol worship. We know that we can’t be tied to G-d as we bow to idols. Faith is a crossroads. We are either with G-d or against G-d.

Channeling The Critical Approach

In truth, there are no differences between the first two commandments and the others. They all come from G-d and to transgress any of them is to violate G-d’s will and sovereignty. Our souls are somewhat distanced from G-d every time we commit a sin. Our spiritual link with G-d is tarnished every time we sin. But because of our physical disposition, we don’t feel this distance. We can intuit it easily when it comes to idol worship, but we don’t sense the spiritual impact of other sins. This is why even those who are never tempted to betray their faith in G-d are often tempted to other sins.

The commandments of faith were highlighted at Sinai to help us overcome this inertia. When we remember that each commandment touches on the integrity of our faith in G-d, it becomes possible for us to channel the intensity with which we treat our faith to every other commandment. This is why many Jews cling to each commandment with the same desperation that they cling to their faith. If they are willing to give up their lives for G-d, they are willing to give up their sins for G-d.

It is a matter of perspective. Just like it was with the economy in the fifties and can be with unity today. If you consider it critical, you will bring all your intensity to bear and nothing will be impossible.[1]

If there is a will, a way can always be found. Or as the early Zionists said, if we will it, it will be.