It has not been an easy time for the people of Israel. Last summer was one of the worst summers in our history. The war, the incitement, the threats and all the rest.
Seventy years have not yet passed since the end of the atrocity of atrocities, and the nations of the world are once again demonstrating their hypocrisy and hatred for the Jewish people. The words of slander and incitement from the left and the right remind us again and again that with all our military "might," we are still a sheep among wolves.
Words and thoughts have become actions that are destroying the lives, livelihoods, and well-being of Jews around the world. Here and there, you can find the Righteous Among the Nations, but just as in the not-so-distant past, they are few and far between, and their voices are drowned out in the chorus of hate.
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I won't go into the reasons, because we all know them, and this time I won't even go back and dig into the not-so-distant past and Zionism's "contribution" to hatred of Israel, because all of this has already been said and repeated a long time ago.
And yet I cannot ignore what is happening within our own home. There is no need to elaborate on the destruction that the Reformers inflicted on the people of Israel, there is no need to write about assimilation in the United States, but we must and must write about intermarriage among the people living in Zion, because, to our great regret, we are no longer dealing with isolated cases, but with an epidemic that affects all circles, all strata of the population.
Suicide prevention
It was not for nothing that I chose not to raise this issue so close to the events. It was not for nothing that I did not address at the time that mixed-race couple who got married to the cheers of the media and the "flame" of protest. Not only because the time was not appropriate for this situation, because of the days of war that demonstrated Jewish solidarity, but mainly because I wanted time to think and address the affair from a distance.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe defined assimilation as suicide. To the parents of a girl who wanted to marry a gentile, the Rebbe wrote: "Their attitude should be - that the daughter wants to commit suicide not only in terms of religion, but also in terms of a life of constant disagreement, separation of hearts, etc., and as is known the results of mixed marriages - even though out of shame those concerned try to cover it up." The words speak for themselves. But...
One thing is clear: the solution is not found in demonstrations on the streets of Kirya, but in education. Education, education, and more education. This sick evil does not only harm the public that does not observe Torah and mitzvot. It is an open, bleeding wound that even good families in the Haredi public have encountered.
Only pure Jewish education that will empower and strengthen Jewish identity will prevent the next intermarriage. Ahmed or Muhammad, Anatoly or Boris. It really doesn't matter what name you call suicide. Either way, it's suicide.
Suicide treatment begins at a young age, with prevention. With a solid and clear Jewish education that emphasizes uniqueness and creates a sense of pride, not with demonstrations or wars.
Education for the fear of God
A senior and respected media figure who recently returned to his Father in Heaven said that he only grasped the meaning of his Jewish identity when he was exposed up close to the sources of Muslim hatred as part of his work with them.
In one case, when interviewing a senior official in a Muslim organization, the Muslim asked him, "Who are you?" The journalist replied, "I am Israeli" - and the Muslim laughed.
""You are stupid. You live as an Israeli, but I want to kill you for being a Jew...", he said, awakening the Jewish point in the heart of that senior journalist, who today proudly walks around with a kippah and declares that his heart has returned to his Father in Heaven.
All around the storm rages. War and missiles, ceasefires and threats. Anti-Semitism is rising all over the world and threatens the body of the people, and the scourge of assimilation threatens its spirit. From the outside, they bother to remind us of our Jewish identity, and the cries of "Slaughter the Jew" and "Jews out" are heard at a high level after decades of relative quiet.
What does this tell us?
It's time for us to stop sweeping reality aside and look it in the eye. We can't educate for externalities, superficiality, and shallowness, and we can't scream when girls from good homes fall into the net of Arabs.
We must educate for the essence, for the content, for a true recognition of the uniqueness of the Jewish people. For the love of God and not for the fear of men. For "what is necessary" and not for "what they will say." For true Jewish pride and not for a national Zionist fakery. These things are meant for all levels of society. But I prefer to speak to the innermost. To us, to the Haredi public that supposedly "does not belong" to this scourge.
True Jewish education in the fear of God and the love of God, and not in the fear of neighbors and the love of matchmakers, is what will ensure the spiritual well-being of our children, even as they reach adolescence and up to a hundred and twenty, throughout good days and years.
What neighbors!
Finally, it's impossible without a smile. Please accept the following story.
One day, the members of the Beit Din of Ma'ale gathered and ruled that in this physical world a land would be established called "Israel." This land would have high and sometimes snowy mountains, a freshwater lake, forests with trees and plants, sunny beaches, and rich soil. The climate would be moderate, and natural treasures would be hidden deep within the earth within the sea, so as not to harm the quality of life of its inhabitants.
In short, without going on too long, it will be "a land flowing with milk and honey.".
The inhabitants of that land will be called Israelis and their fame will spread throughout the world. There will be no country in the world that will not make use of the technological developments that will come from it, and there will be no culture in the world that will not make use of its values.
The angels present at the hearing were puzzled and asked the members of the court: "Tell me, don't you think you are showing too much generosity to the people of this country?""
""No," the band members replied. "Wait and see what kind of neighbors we've arranged for them...".
• Part of the column is adapted from the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
The writer is the owner of "My Choice", an event host, lecturer, and radio broadcaster.: [email protected]
