Day 65
Uniting Jews in Our Time
In memory of Naftali and Jutta Felber, Jasha and Dora Lepski, and Alan Morgan
It is no secret that in our generation, there is a perception of a divide between Jews who observe the precepts and commandments of the Torah and Jews who, while they may not implement the laws of Judaism in their daily routine, feel culturally Jewish. Each side is guilty of finger pointing in the direction of the other. Both feel that the other side wrongly sits in judgment of them.
One of the most common phrases mentioned by survivors of the Holocaust is that “Hitler didn’t discriminate.” If you were a Jew, that was enough reason to be targeted and killed. No one checked your level of religiosity or commitment and even Jews who had converted to Christianity were targeted by the Nazis. Secular and religious Jews were placed side by side in concentration camp barracks. Why is it, though, that Jewish unity is so often predicated on having a common enemy? The Bible is replete with stories of Jews coming together for the express purpose of fighting evil. Even today in the modern State of Israel, we are quick to form united coalition governments in the time of war. We are also just as quick to dissolve them at the close. Why can’t the Jewish nation come together as easily in times of peace?
