Israel at a Crossroads

We've just finished the Holocaust Memorial Day here in Israel, and we're headed into Independence Day. These are both very dramatic situations - both on the individual and collective levels. Which is how our life has been throughout history - many dramatic ups and downs.

And from this ambivalence a beautiful and strong country will emerge - the way we really want it to be. Hopefully the following will explain what I mean ...

We really need to reach a fateful decision. That we need a society. And in that society we must be connected.

The thing is that we've reached a crossroads - and it's a collective crossroads belonging to the whole nation. We really need to reach a fateful decision. That we need a society. And in that society we must be connected. This is what our right to exist depends on. While verifying this for ourselves, I hope you'll agree with me that the time has come.

What is the reason and the result of the development of the people of Israel? Of each of us individually and as a collective? We need to better understand our presence here. If it has a reason - what is it? And what results is that supposed to produce?

Or we can choose the easier path - decide that we're a nation like all other nations. We'll eat and drink today with no regard for what tomorrow brings, or any thoughts about the future. Or figuring out how our lives are supposed to be. But rather living from hand to mouth - materially, spiritually and culturally. We deal with whatever comes along for better or for worse.

This is something each individual can decide for themselves. But when it comes to the country, we need to understand that we have collective responsibility to the nation and the country. As we're seeing that right now in all areas of our lives: with the war, the economy we share, the education our kids receive, etc. Meaning that no matter how much we try to escape into our own corners, it won't help. Because we have so many collective areas in our lives, and this is why we need to deal with this general thing called the people of Israel.

So at this point, another thing we need to get better at understanding, is how to merge our individual power with our mutual power of connection. It exists all over the world and even more so here in Israel.

And out of a desire to understand this issue and know how to verify and approach this topic, the first thing we need to understand is this issue about our existence. It's not some fun cultural thing to keep us entertained in our spare time. But this is what our right to exist literally depends on.

The more we'll learn to live together as one nation - we will thrive.

But if we take the other path at the crossroads, we'll be inviting additional disasters upon us. And after we understand that it's really a matter of necessity because this is about our existence here, we see a need for a method that will help us connect and deal with all these challenges. And the method is very simple.

The method is based on the Golden Rule - treating others as one would want to be treated by them. And for the Hebrew speakers ????? ???? ????

But since we're hearing the word love from morning to night, it's lost all its real significance for us. And this is something we need to fix. We need to restore our collective memory of how love feels. We need to relearn our collective knowledge of this topic. Like little kids sitting in the classroom learning what true love is.

Because love is a force that fills, controls and holds all the parts of our life together, right up to the material aspects as well. And the daily things we do every day. This is something we'll need to discover through learning this all over again. And the method is Love your neighbor as yourself. It exists, we simply need to relearn it now that we're in 2024, and with everything going on around us - we need to start dealing with it.

The necessary steps are very simple -

The first stage is reaching a state where we understand we're standing before a fateful decision. and how important that is.

The second stage is to convince ourselves and understand that it depends solely on us. We're not placing responsibility for our fate on any other element except ourselves. And saying it depends on us, means that we know we can succeed.

The third stage is to begin to connect between us - this is the practical part that needs to be implemented.

And the fourth stage - once we've committed to connecting between us, that we'll be focused on this mission we have very seriously and push forward with everything we have.

The moment we start making this a priority, instead of perceiving it as some marginal task, but rather seeing it as the main goal in our lives - then we'll start to see immediate positive results.

When we look at the world we can see how everyone is suffering. And in this situation we all lose - some more and some less. There's no situation where someone is winning. There is one blanket that each is pulling to cover themselves, and were all cold at night. There are no winners in this scenario.

At the same time it's clear to me that we're not yet prepared for this - not on the individual level or the collective level. But we have to start because the negative events around us are increasing and the pressure is growing. It's not like we really have a choice in the matter if we want things to change for the better. So in order to protect ourselves, and prevent wars and other great international problems - we have to start searching for the change.

It won't be simple but it's totally possible for the people of Israel - based on our history. And based on our future that will be far brighter.

So as we head toward Independence Day, we need to start thinking about all these things, which is part of the practical part - and this is very important.

Before you build a house you need to make plans and involve all kinds of professionals. You can't start building until you've gone through all those stages.

We need to process these things and understand the direction we need to take.

Based on our history and everything written about the people of Israel - it's clear that we have a very bright future ahead.

The only issue is how long we'll put off taking on this mission of dealing with this seriously - not only to save ourselves from more problems and suffering, but to have a great life here. And that means not fighting on the roads, in the supermarket or in line for the doctor .... or all kinds of drama in the workplace about professional and ideological issues. We've reached a mature place in life where it's time to have the good life we deserve. It's totally possible to achieve and depends solely on us.

From the moment we just scratch the surface of all these things I'm talking about, we won't believe what happens. It will really be incredible to see it. And we will see it soon.