{"id":71141,"date":"2020-03-03T14:42:38","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T12:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=71141"},"modified":"2020-03-03T14:42:38","modified_gmt":"2020-03-03T12:42:38","slug":"we-are-not-on-the-sidelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/we-are-not-on-the-sidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are Not On The Sidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"71141","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34257,"related_cahpter":"429","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"It is in the Diaspora that we can fulfill our global destiny","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For decades, Jews were taught that two formative events, the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel, define the contemporary Jewish experience. The trauma and glory remain formative, but they can no longer be central if we\u2019re serious about fostering a thriving Jewish life in the Diaspora. Indeed, we must focus on the here and now. I believe this to be as true today, as when Jeremiah instructed the exiles to Babylon 2,500 years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his letter to the exiles, Jeremiah instructs the Jews in Babylon to build houses, plant gardens, marry and to have children and grandchildren. Furthermore, the community should seek the welfare of their new home and pray for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Israel remains the destiny of the Jewish people, we must not abandon the Diaspora. The Torah demands that we, as a nation, commit to pursuing justice; to be warriors against injustice, and thus it behooves us to be stationed everywhere around the globe. This work as an <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ohr l&#8217;goyim<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a light unto the nations, is our raison d&#8217;\u00eatre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is in the Diaspora where we can fulfill the Torah&#8217;s charge to combat global poverty, injustice, and oppression wherever it may be found. Israel, and Israelis are certainly doing inspiring humanitarian work, but a nation-state&#8217;s primary concern must be the welfare and security of its own citizens. We must be concerned with Israel&#8217;s security as well, but our responsibility is also broader. I&#8217;ve met thousands of other young Jewish leaders who have intertwined their religious Zionist identities with identities as global citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Jewish thought can and should remain distinct from that of other cultures, and obviously, other religions, the Jewish intellectual tradition has always benefitted, and continues to benefit, from development in conjunction with a diverse array of neighboring societies. Taking a cue from Muslim scholars like Al Farabi and Avicenna, Rambam integrated Jewish thought and Greek philosophy without the need to sacrifice our halakhah or our identity. Today in America, as in the &#8220;Golden Age&#8221; of medieval Spain and the Talmudic academies of Babylonia, there is a great concentration of stellar Jewish academic programs and yeshivot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diaspora Jews are not watching the game from the Israel sidelines. Some of the most significant Jewish contributions have and will continue to be made in the Diaspora, where Jews can play a leading role in fighting injustice, alleviating poverty, advocating for Israel and Jewish interests, and learning from people of other faiths. While the modern State of Israel is one of the greatest blessings the Jews have received \u2014 and it cannot be neglected \u2014 we must also be sure to actualize all of the values of our Jewish tradition here in the Diaspora.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: Global Jewish Population, Jewish Data Bank, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":71142,"id":71142,"title":"jer29-jewish population","filename":"jer29-jewish-population.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/jer29-jewish-population.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/we-are-not-on-the-sidelines\/jer29-jewish-population\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jer29-jewish-population","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":71141,"date":"2020-03-03 12:41:39","modified":"2020-03-03 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