Our biggest enemies are ourselves.
There was a Jewish king called Achav. He was an idol worshipper and caused many Jews to stray from G-d. Yet the Talmud relates that because of the unity that existed amongst Jews during his reign, his army was victorious.
It’s no secret that the Jewish people are very opinionated. As the joke goes, if there are two Jews in a city, there will be three synagogues. One for each of them to attend and another for them to boycott.
However, at our core, we are the most united nation. Tell me which other nation has Hatzalah services in which Jewish volunteers rush to an emergency in the middle of the night, leaving their Shabbat meal to help someone they’ve never met! This is only one of the many organizations within the Jewish community that demonstrate an unparalleled sense of brotherhood!
However, G-d created jealousy, the ego, and a sophisticated mind that will justify harboring negative emotions toward our very own family!
We need to remind ourselves of the days in the immediate aftermath of October 7th.
Do you remember the first days of the war? The awe that the elite officers in the army had for the volunteers of Zaka. They were the first to report the horrors of what they saw. They had to pick up the remains of bodies and prepare them for burial. (Of course, the mainstream media mocked Zaka’s claims that these monsters committed abuse). Many of the soldiers couldn’t do this kind of job.
Does anyone remember the awe that the nation had for Hatzalah? Hatzalah was the only EMT to enter Kibitz Beeri on October 7th. Others were ordered to stay in the safe zone.
I recently heard a wise line. What was the worst day for the Jews this year? Most would say October 7th. I heard someone explain: Indeed, October 7th was a horrible day, but the precursor to it was October 6th. And that was the worst day! The intense hatred that unfortunately existed on the streets of Israel at that time – that hatred and division gave our enemies the motivation to strike.
Unfortunately, there are people whose political careers depend on dividing our nation. There are also foreign forces that have an agenda of seeing the Jewish nation split.
It’s time we once and for all strip all the labels from Judaism. All Jews belong to the same nation. We all trace our roots to Sinai. No one is less; no one is more.
Hamas and Hitler got it right. Every Jew is the same. Hamas didn’t ask whether we go to shul; they killed indiscriminately. They didn’t ask who we voted for; they killed indiscriminately.
This is not the first time that Jews have gone to war. But here is the key: we aren’t modeling after George Washington. We aren’t just a bunch of people creating a space for our independence. We are a nation that is rooted in Sinai. That is our strength.
Our spirit is our soul.
We here in the USA need to make it clear to our brothers and sisters in Israel. We do not subscribe to hatred. Our nation needs unity.
We need to do everything possible to avoid any kind of division. Now, as we stand in the days when we commemorate the destruction of the temple, we need unity more than ever!
Unity will bring our nation the blessings we need.
Unity will tell our enemies that we are one family – and an unbreakable one!!
May we merit to see only blessings for our nation!
Rabbi Mendy
