I look at the state that our nation should be in, “as one man with one heart,” and the state we are actually in—unwilling to recognize each other—and it pains me. When I look at our politicians, I see the state of our nation. Since they represent the people, their relationships reflect the relationships among the people: No one is friendly; no one even bothers to be politically correct.
Look at the Knesset, our parliament, and see where we are: Each with a knife behind the back or in the pocket, very similar to the days preceding the ruin of the Temple. This is what unfounded hatred looks like, and we know where it is leading.
Even worse, when I look at what is happening around the world, at all the hatred that prevails the world over, I know the ruin among them points to the ruin among us. When I see what is happening in Russia, Germany, or Poland, at the yelling and corruption that we see in every government, I see that I am the cause; I am the cause. I don’t look at them and say, “It’s not so bad; we have that, too.” No, I know that I am the reason it is happening to them, and I must be the reason that they will connect “as one man with one heart” through the example that our people should give them.
I have no grievances against anyone but myself. I know that I, and the whole of the Jewish people, can tilt the world for better or for worse through our internal unity or separation. This is what our sages have always told us; this is what our history throughout the centuries has shown us; and only our obstinacy prevents us from recognizing the obvious truth.