The Jewish Question Revisited

What is the nature of the Jew? This is a standard question: Is Judaism a religion, a people, or a culture? Although commentators will have you believe that the answer is complex, it is in fact, quite simple. We Jews are a religion, a people, and a culture, all in one. The tripartite nature of the Jewish experience is alluded to by our various Biblical names. At times we are known as Hebrews (EEVREEM), in other places we are called Jews (YEHUDIM) and yet elsewhere we are known as Israel (BNEI YISRAEL). These three names correlate to three distinct aspects of our nature.

Hebrew connotes our race, the kind of people we are. Joseph is perceived as being a Hebrew amongst the people of Egypt and therefore he is a stranger there. He is not a foreigner because of his customs or his accent, rather, he is different because of his very being, his nature and race, his Hebrewness. We Jews are a separate tribe of people in this world, a particular family amongst mankind. This tribeness has been bolstered and protected by our laws which insure the perpetuation of our special family. That is why Jews who intermarry, against the precepts of our faith, in time cease to be Hebrew, and this is why when converts come into our tribe they must sever their ties with their former identity. We Hebrews are a race of people and sadly it is usually our enemies who retain a clear vision of that while we tend to forget it. Anti-Semites usually base their hate on their clear sense that the Jew is a separate entity. The Nazi's meticulous rooting out of the Jews by racial lines was a direct attack on the assimilationist phenomenon amongst German Jewry. As the Jew hid his racial difference, so our enemies dragged it out. Despite the fact that Anti-Semites used the race card as their tool, it remains true. We Hebrews are a race, a family and a tribe, and no melting pot is hot enough to strip away our Jewish bonds to one another or our fundamental dissimilarity from non-Jews.

We are also a religion known as Judaism. Jews are people of the Jewish faith. Jewishness refers to monotheism, Torah, Ten Commandments, the Sabbath, the Halacha, Passover, Brit Milah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Judaism is Hashem and the Law of Moses. Judaism is not the gastronomic religion of bagels and lox and the Sunday Times. That's just a part of it, a by-product of our religion's particular customs and our people's varied experiences. Yehudim, that is Jews, are Hebrews practicing our religion. All Hebrews are Jews, and all Jews are Hebrews, even if they are converts to our faith. Conversely, a non-Jew following Jewish customs is neither a Jew nor a Hebrew. Judaism has been passed down through the generations and it has been the salvation of our people for three millennia. We read about ourselves in our Holy Torah and we realize that those Jews of the past are the same as us. Our past and our future are Judaism, Torah, and the God who has lead us, saved us, punished us, and will continue to shepherd us till the very end. We have provoked God, we have turned away from Judaism time and time again, and yet here we are, still Jewish, still loving Judaism, still believing in Hashem. Similarly, our enemies have tried over and over again to take away our Judaism, our customs, and our laws. Yet we have always triumphed, because we have steadfastly held to our Torah, our special inheritance, and the truth of our faith.

Israel is the other name of Jacob, the one he received from the angel whom he barely bested. We are Jacob's progeny, the Children of Israel. Israel is our most special designation because it speaks of our nationality and our political alliance. Israel is the flag we raise when we are together, it is the banner of our Hebrewness and our Jewishness. Israel is our united configuration, our political disposition. It is no coincidence that our Holy Land is called Israel - our Land gives us our united strength even when we are separated from it and from one another. We Jews look to our Land and know that it invites all of us Children back to it. Israel is our most powerful name because it refers to our togetherness. One can be a Jew alone like Abraham, one can be a Hebrew alone like Joseph, but only a united body of Hebrew Jews can be Israel. The unity of Israel is dependent on the land of Israel because only in the land of Israel can we be free to be the people of Israel.

God is holy and so we Hebrews are holy, the Torah is our guide and so we live Jewish lives, we are the Children of Israel and therefore our rightful inheritance and birthright is the Land of Israel. The tripartite yet wholly singular nature of our existence is the Truth and it is the answer to the Jewish Question. Yet so many of us hold on to only a partial truth. Cultural Jews believe that a Jewish-style life is the answer, while religious Jews bury their heads in the books and believe that being observant and separatist is the way, and yet still Zionists hold that living on the Land is the best path. We are all holding on to a partial Truth. The truth is that we need to see the bigger picture, the one that has been staring us in the face for so long.....

In 1951 Eric Hoffer wrote in his masterpiece work "The True Believer"

The communal compactness of the Jews, both in Palestine and the Diaspora, was probably one of the reasons that Christianity made so little headway among them. The destruction of the temple caused, if anything, a tightening of the communal bonds. The synagogue and the congregation received now much of the devotion which formerly flowed towards the temple and Jerusalem. Later, when the Christian church had the power to segregate the Jews in ghettos, it gave their communal compactness an additional reinforcement, and thus, unintentionally, ensured the survival of Judaism intact through the ages. The coming of "enlightenment" undermined both orthodoxy and ghetto walls. Suddenly, and perhaps for the first time since the days of Job and Ecclesiastes, the Jew found himself an individual, terribly alone in a hostile world. There was no collective body he could blend with and lose himself in. The synagogue and the congregation had become shriveled lifeless things, while the traditions and the prejudices of two thousand years prevented his complete integration with the Gentile corporate bodies. Thus the modern Jew became the most autonomous of individuals, and inevitably, too, the most frustrated. It is not surprising, therefore, that the mass movements of modern times often found in him a ready convert. The Jew also crowded the roads leading to palliatives of frustration, such as hustling and migration. He also threw himself into a passionate effort to prove his individual worth by material achievements and creative work. There was, it is true, one speck of corporateness he could create around himself by his own efforts, namely, the family - and he made the most of it. But in the case of the European Jew, Hitler chewed and scorched this only refuge in concentration camps and gas chambers. Thus now, more than ever before, the Jew, particularly in Europe, is the ideal potential convert. And it almost seems providential that Zionism should be on hand in the Jew's darkest hour to enfold him in its corporate embrace and cure him of his individual isolation. Israel is indeed a rare refuge: it is home and family, synagogue and congregation, nation and revolutionary party all in one. (Emphasis added)

Subsequent to Hoffer's writing, the State of Israel flourished. She defeated her enemies in miraculous wars, she grew and prospered economically and socially, and most importantly, from the corners of the earth she gathered in to her arms the Jews of Russia, Yemen, and Ethiopia. Hoffer was right - the State of Israel is a multifaceted entity which unites religion, nationality, and socio-politics. Yet more than anything, it is a land where all these aspects of Judaism come together, the only place where all our dreams can fully come true.

Where are we today? Today the greatest rift in Judaism is the disparity between Israeli Jews and the Diaspora, especially American Jewry. In Israel, in these days of Intifada, Jews are dying every day, they are being murdered, mutilated, and terrorized. Their living standard is far below that of their brethren in America and their economy is weak. They live in a constant fear of attacks and in existential danger. Israeli youths go to the army and risk their lives, while their parents stay home and struggle to make ends meet. We, American Jews, on the other hand, are doing fine, we are well off, we have nice cars, we are safe. We send money to Israel, and sometimes raise funds for a new ambulance or a bus with bulletproof windows. Israeli Jews used to resent us for our well-to-do lives, our bloodless existence and our apathy towards their plight. Of late, they have stopped resenting us - now they think we are right. HERE!!

There are now two million expatriate Israelis living outside of Israel, and why not? They ask a simple question: why should we live this awful life when our American brethren live quite well. Mothers ask why they should see their children die, better move to America, where they can be raised as Jews just as well as in Israel. Maybe the land of Israel is not such a high value in itself and therefore it would be better to live elsewhere. Subconsciously, Israelis believe that if the American Jews don't want the land, it must be a sign that it's not so valuable.

To justify the leaving of Israel, an intellectual paradigm must be constructed to contradict the fifty years of Zionist indoctrination. Post-Zionism fulfills this task by telling Israelis that Zionism is over, and that when Zionism was alive it was based on an outdated medieval chauvinist religion. Israel's heroes are really villains in disguise, and there is nothing special about the Torah or Jerusalem or the Jewish people. This philosophy is aided by the vulgar cries of the "Palestinians" who assertively counterclaim the true ownership of the land. 'It is ours' they say, 'you took it away from us,' 'That grave, which you claim is yours, is really a mausoleum of our sheik and you Zionist pigs stole it,' and so on. They are liars and warmongers, they detest peace and they relish destruction. Instead of the truth they say that we Jews are the Nazis, persecuting the weak and the hungry. Post-Zionism and Palestinianism square with the modern trend of Post-Modernism, in which all statements have validity because perception is subjective, and therefore there is no such thing as objective Truth. A recent Budweiser advertisement in the subways of New York City showed buxom women clad in bikinis drinking a cold Bud with the inscription "TRUE" underneath them. "TRUE." Within the post-modern regime anything is "TRUE", and maybe the American Jews have it right, or maybe the Palestinians have it right, or certainly the Post-Zionists have it right - Jews must relinquish their claim to Israel.

We American Jews haven't done much to counter this trend. We pay lip service to the awful situation but we do not mourn the death of our brethren, and we do not do anything to stop the hemorrhaging of Israelis from Israel. American Zionism has become a hypocritical oxymoron. We send money to Israel to whitewash our own guilty souls, yet we do not rend our own clothes and mourn for the deaths of our brothers and sisters. We are too comfortable, too content, too fat, to realize that we are contributing to their death every day. We American Jews are justifying Yeridah (the leaving of Israel) by not making Aliya (moving to Israel). We are justifying the death of Israel by providing a viable and attractive alternative to the State of Israel right here in America. We are encouraging the Palestinians by providing a convenient differentiation between Zionists and Jews. 'Jews are fine, it's the Zionists we want to kill'. We American Jews have become cold, weak, and heartless, we are not moved to tears, we do not take up arms.

We Jews, Americans, Israelis, and others, are afraid. We are afraid of our own great potential - it is our greatest fear. We, as well as the whole world, sense that our mission is great and that our destiny is wondrous. The greatest gift that the Jews can give to the world is to create a TRUE State of Israel, where all Jews reside, where Hashem is our God, and where His Temple stands in its place. The nations of the world sense this and they are angry with us for holding up their redemption. Our enemies are filled with jealousy and a sense of self-worthlessness. They create WAR, WAR, WAR, they fill us with fright and immobility, and they make us doubt our own strength. Then we begin to in fight at every level and chase our own tail. We are depressed because the tumult seems unending, there is no respite, and maybe there is no dream. Yet, our mission is calling to us to renew ourselves, to gird ourselves, to invigorate ourselves, to arm ourselves and to educate ourselves. God's call knows no time constraints and no political hardships - we American Jews are being recalled to Israel and soon we will be homeward bound.

Our fledgling state arose fifty-four years ago and it was a miracle baby. Now, having completed the first stage of the ingathering and the building of the state, Israel finds itself struggling for meaning, asking itself what life is really about. Today, Israel is an acne riddled, irreverent teenager, who drives too fast and contemplates suicide. American Jewry's role as political influencer and economic supporter of Israel served a great purpose when Israel was a baby, nurturing Israel until it was ready to leave the nest. Now American Jewry's support is smothering and suffocating Israel because Israel is inextricably shackled to the whims of the US.

The new mission of American Jews is to bring about a revival of the Jewish spirit in Israel, by bringing fresh hands, new blood, and a clean mind, to heal the current malaise. 'Stage two' of the Zionist project will begin with us. We are being called upon to take a great leap of faith, to leave our homes here and to resettle in the Land of Israel before the eyes of all mankind. Once again in our long history we are being called upon to be spiritual pioneers and trailblazing innovators - "You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."(Exodus 19:6) Our charge is to complete the great mission of Judaism - to continue building the state, to make it viable and safe, and to make Israel the world's first spiritual superpower.

So many of us American Jews are stuck in the mundane world, our jobs sucking our lives away. By accepting a new challenge we can become wild again, alive again, reborn. Israel is not the war- racked militarized zone which the media portrays. It is a beautiful country, with beautiful beaches, and beautiful people. Israel's future holds great potential for economic growth and development. Smart Jews like us have a chance to build up financial institutions, create businesses, make medical advances, and practice law. We can broadcast, write, study, teach, build, design, and innovate. We can shape Israel in our image and in our likeness and we can have fun while doing it. This current depression is just a passing phase, an interlude before the great second act, of which we are the stars. We American Jews can also lead the way to change in Israel. Government reform, education reform, television reform, road reform, economic reform, and law reform, these are much needed in Israel, and our American ambition and know-how will be the catalyst for innovation. Realism and family coupled with ideology and adventure - Israel is the real land of opportunity, a land of milk and honey. Our arrival will herald the beginning of a grand social experiment which is destined to succeed and to flourish. No doubt, there are obstacles to surmount: security, economy, mentality - but we can overcome, because American Jews and Israeli Jews are two halves of one whole, we are lovers just waiting to reunite, once we get together it will be like magic.

We are unsure of ourselves because we are divided; we are weak because we are not as one. We must stop being afraid of the TRUTH, must stop using rhetoric to mask our fear and to justify our laziness. Fear is sin when it deafens us to the screams of children. Fear is sin when it makes us cowards. Fear is sin when it makes us shrink from our awesome Godly task. It is clearer than ever before what we must do - WE MUST ARISE AND LEAVE America in favor of our Home, we must leave the exile en masse to our Land, Israel. Our prophecies, our miracles, and our souls demand it. We must awaken the deep-rooted slumbering love that we all have for each other, for our Land and for our God, we can wait no longer. The answer to the Jewish question is this: Aliya, Aliya, Aliya.