So many words have been lavished to describe, praise and denounce the essence of the Jewish people that it is hard to find words that may make a difference. Nevertheless, I will try to do so, convinced that by placing a mirror in front of my Jewish brothers and sisters, I as a Noahide can help you understand yourselves and how the world sees you better than before.

In my view, the Jewish soul has two polarities: The Messianic and the Lamed-Vavnik. The Messianic one is the voice of Jewish prophets and revolutionaries, political leaders and sundry others who raise their voices loudly to the world: “Be just!”, “Shatter your idols!”, “Help the poor!” they shout out even when the world does not want to listen. The Lamed-Vavnik voice is different. It does not preach, but it teaches and heals.

The vast majority of Jews are imbued with the spirit of lamed-vavniks. That is, they work and serve humanity quietly and patiently: as social workers, as teachers in underfunded schools, as scientists and doctors trying to find new cures, as psychologists and psychiatrists who lend an ear to people who have nowhere else to go. In other words, lamed-vavniks are the Jews who, with the example they set, both improve and inspire the world.

Examples of modern and contemporary messianic figures abound and are very well-known: Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Trotsky and Bernie Sanders or Peter Beinart on the left. On the right, Itamar Ben Gvir and Ben Shapiro also belong to this camp. These figures all share a common trait: They are devoted with almost fanatical zeal to the righteousness of their cause. As such, they will mince no words to mock, degrade and destroy their rivals, even when these rivals believe their beliefs are held in good faith.

Examples of Lamed-vavniks are less flashy, but in my view more beautiful: Albert Einstein, Erich Fromm, Richard Feynman and Viktor Frankl are names that immediately come to mind. These Jews changed the world quietly, through the words they wrote and the theories they discovered, in humbleness and awe at the gift of ethics and life. These Jews suffered and were often hated for being Jews, yet as individuals their behavior never roused the resentment and rage that Messianic figures stoked.

Most ordinary Jews are neither purely Messianic nor Lamed-vavniks. They are a blend of both. On the one hand, they instill to their children the beauty of ushering an ideal messianic age. On the other hand, they also teach the importance of being a mentsch and that tikkun olam is a slow and time-consuming path. Messianic traits emerge whenever Jewish parents and grandparents insist that their kids be the best in the class or, as the quip goes, announce that their 3-year old (grand-) son is a doctor and the other a lawyer. "Lamed-vavnikism" is manifested whenever Jews help clothe and feed the hungry and poor, blind as to whether they are religious, secular, Gentile or Jew.

Do two traits or polarities suffice to describe the Jewish soul? I believe not. In fact, Jews can also be as hospitable as Abraham and as hard-hearted as Ahab. Jews can be as merciful and peaceful as King Salomon or as zealous and violent as Pinchas or Joshua ben-Nun. In other words, Jewish thoughts and behavior reflect the whole gamut of the human condition.

This is not surprising. Jews are shaped not only by the Torah and a special history of their own, but also by the vicissitudes of life, genes and life among the nations of the earth. In other words, the Jewish soul is both a record of the struggle of Homo Sapiens to rise from the dust and an earthly biography of God.

Rafael Castrois a Noahide Italian-Colombian independent political analyst and English & Politics high-school teacher in Berlin. He is delighted to receive praise and criticism at rafaelcastro78@gmail.com