Hope is important, of course. After all, Israel’s national anthem is called “The Hope.” But right now the Jewish world is in a dark place. Most of it is because of the age-old antisemitism that will never cease to die, and some of it is self-inflicted by politicians in Israel; by Jews in the Diaspora who’ve been poorly educated (or not at all) about Judaism, Jewish history, and Israel; and by other “internal” factors.
I believe hope will come when all of us Jews, and even our non-Jewish family and friends, confront the hard truths in front of us. In psychology I believe this is called “doing the work.”
If we accept this task, and do it consistently over a sustained period of time, even as challenging and unattractive as it might be, I have no doubt that we can expect a more hopeful and enthusiastic Jewish future!
All sad, all scary, all true, Joshua. Thanks for articulating the conundrums so well. When you able, give your readers some hope, too. Thanks!
Hi Amy, nice to hear from you!
Hope is important, of course. After all, Israel’s national anthem is called “The Hope.” But right now the Jewish world is in a dark place. Most of it is because of the age-old antisemitism that will never cease to die, and some of it is self-inflicted by politicians in Israel; by Jews in the Diaspora who’ve been poorly educated (or not at all) about Judaism, Jewish history, and Israel; and by other “internal” factors.
I believe hope will come when all of us Jews, and even our non-Jewish family and friends, confront the hard truths in front of us. In psychology I believe this is called “doing the work.”
If we accept this task, and do it consistently over a sustained period of time, even as challenging and unattractive as it might be, I have no doubt that we can expect a more hopeful and enthusiastic Jewish future!