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    • Reflecting on the common good during Sukkot and the high holidays
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    Reflecting on the common good during Sukkot and the high holidays

    Sakege Posted on

    After a season of introspection and heartbreaking prayers that led to the Yom Kippur FastThe High Holy Day of 2024 recently concluded and eight days of festive family time were spent in a sukkah, a flimsy hut. In Israel, the holidays of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret culminated in a challenging year. The cycle was complete.

    Attacked on Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah 2023, Israel continued to fight on multiple fronts as it celebrated Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah 2024. As the sun set and the holiday ended this year, a second round of Torah dances began in synagogues and public squares. . throughout Israel. Our losses were mourned while our confidence in the future was fervently celebrated. Simultaneously we learned that five soldiers had given their lives fighting for the future of our people in their historic homeland.

    Eight more names were announced the next day. Then four more soldiers fell Lebanon over the course of another day. Most of the dead were reserve soldiers who left behind widows and orphans. These families will never be the same again. We share the pain of our grieving brothers and sisters. But we remain determined to continue the battle for our existence.

    Sukkot is celebrated by eating, singing, dancing, and sometimes sleeping in a temporary dwelling built for the occasion. Moving into the cabin manifests the fragility of life and the lack of control we, as mortals, have over our destiny. This Sukkot, among both the religious and the secular, many discussions focused on what Israel had experienced and achieved since then. October 7, 2023and the challenges we still face.

    A typical list of topics might have included the following: The number of soldiers’ funerals attended. The number of visits to those in mourning. The number of months reserve soldiers have had to serve while their families, wives and children must fend for themselves. The virulent anti-Semitism that Israelis and Jews in the West are experiencing. The number of hostages (101) still being held by Hamas, many of whom are no longer alive. The level of bickering between Israeli politicians is causing a growing stain on the fabric of Israeli society. The selflessness of our brave soldiers. The selfishness of segments of Israeli society who refuse to assume their responsibilities as citizens of Israel.

    Jewish worshipers pray at the Western Wall during the priestly blessing of the Cohen Blessing on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, October 20, 2024 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

    SUCH DISCUSSIONS are a natural reaction to a crisis situation that continues to worsen with no end in sight. The IDF’s impressive military achievements include the destruction of Hamas as a fighting force and the elimination of much of the Hamas and Hezbollah command structure, such as Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Hassan Nasrallah. These killings were marked by last weekend’s successful attack on military targets in Iran, including air defense systems and missile production facilities.

    Normality is absent, but people are resilient

    However, missiles and drones continue to harm and kill people in northern Israel. Terrorist attacks with bullets, knives, cars and trucks are an everyday occurrence. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis remain displaced or live with their sights set on the nearest bomb shelter. Children can’t go to school and farmers still can’t tend to their crops. Normality is absent in important regions of the country and Israel is increasingly isolated. But history and Sukkot teach us that we are a resilient people, and that if we remain united, eliminate internecine murmurings, and focus our energies against our enemies, we will emerge from this battle a strengthened nation.

    How can this unity be achieved? Staying united is not easy for Israelis. The Jewish people are described in the Old Testament as a stiff-necked people. The historical sport for our brothers and sisters is discussion. We have perfected this sport during the 2,000 years of exile from our homeland.

    Why do we argue? Because as a people we fight for the truth. In the Talmud, epic disagreements between learned rabbis are investigated from all directions until a final decision is reached. These rabbis, although they argued vehemently, retained admiration and respect for their adversaries and finally managed to reach a position that everyone could accept. The key to achieving unity is shrewd leadership. A leadership that understands that winning an argument is useless if it leads to enmity.

    Benjamin Franklin claimed in his autobiography that he was able to gain the trust of his rivals by carefully choosing non-confrontational language in his debates and avoiding the appearance of arrogance and arrogance.

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    Menachem Begin, a paradigm of Jewish pride and resistance, refused to attack his fellow Jews even when his own forces were under attack. He understood that Jewish unity was essential for a Jewish State to survive.

    Two thousand years ago Hillel the Elder stated: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And being for me what am I? And if not now, when? Seventy-six years after Israel’s refounding, its leaders must meet the high standards set by Hillel, Franklin, and Begin. Our future depends on prophetic decision making. It is time for self-interest to be subordinated to the common good.

    The writer is a distinguished professor emeritus of biochemistry and chemistry at the City University of New York. He lives in Rehovot and has two grandchildren in the IDF. The opinions contained in this article are his own.



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