Standing together in a march of solidarity is an admirable act, but if the Jewish people want to solve anti-Semitism at its root, they need to also sit down and learn together. Learning in groups has been part and parcel of what made us Jewish to begin with. It dates all the way back to when we learned how to unite according to the commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself,” under Abraham’s guidance some 3,800 years ago. Marches, on the other hand, have never been a Jewish activity.
Therefore, while we are in solidarity with the Jewish people of New York City today, we should still recognize that unifying in order to “say no to hate and no to fear,” as mentioned in the march’s promotion, is far from the kind of unity that made us a Jewish people to begin with. The essence of our unity is not reactionary to hatred that rises against us, but that we positively connect with a common intention to equalize ourselves with the laws of nature. This is why we received the name, “the people of Israel” under Abraham’s guidance: “Israel” stemming from the words, “straight to the upper force” (“Yashar Kel”), i.e., a common intention to love and bestow as is the quality of the upper force.
Therefore, I hope that we will realize the immense potential we hold: to learn our important role in the world, and not wait for more acts of hatred and fear to momentarily unite us, but that we will take our future into our own hands, implement the method made for uniting us, and become a positive unifying example to the world. We would then have a very good reason to be proud. By doing so, we would uproot anti-Semitism from its root, and witness a complete inversion of the sentiment surrounding us into one of support, encouragement and appreciation.
Posted on Facebook January 5, 2020