What will the future portend?

Plus Ça Change Plus C’est La Même Chose

Plus Ça Change Plus C’est La Même Chose As of December 2025, Israel stands successfully warding off the concentrated attacks of Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah and Iran. In waging war against Hamas Israel has been accused of war crimes by the ICCJ and has become a pariah by many nations across the world. The truth of that accusation must be weighed against the purposeful positioning of Hamas positions beneath homes, schools, hospitals and mosques. On the “Jewish “other hand, the attacks by settlers against innocent Palestinians in the “West Bank” is condemned almost universally by Jews committed to the moral injunctions of the faith of the “Tribe.” The situation in Israel as in the Diaspora is as usual for the “Tribe” to be divided into factions that see each other in almost irreconcilable terms. In Israel the broader division between Secular and Religious is one of a political as well as of an intellectual difference according to the political system as arranged. So even within the broader categories there are significant differences between those who might be classified as religious or secular. The religious category is subdivided into two general categories: What is designated as the Ultra-Orthodox who are further divided between those of East- European origin and those of Muslim lands known as the Edot HaMizrach (Congregations of the East). Of those of East-European origin they are sub- divided into the Lithuanian Yeshivah group and the Hasidic Group. The one thing that unites all of these are the demand for government subsidies for their institutions and the unwillingness to join the Israel Defense Forces. The other Orthodox group distinguished by the “Kipah Serugah” (knitted skull cap) is not only committed to joining the Defense Forces but is dedicated to the idea of Israel as a Jewish State encompassing the boundaries of the Davidic Kingdom. Among this group are a separate group of settlers in the West Bank

some of whom have been known to do acts of terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank. Which have been righteously and vigorously condemned. The “Secular” Bloc includes leftists of all types, people who observe certain rituals but are not committed to an Orthodox lifestyle and those who belong to Conservative and Reform religious groups which are quite distinct in outlook from the Orthodox community. Reform and Conservative Judaism and their offspring are products of nineteenth century Jewish identity in Imperial Germany. Their appeal is lacking to non- orthodox Jewish Israelis. That is not to say that upon life cycle occasions and at other times Jewish Israelis find comfort in old time-honored traditions. Perhaps the group as known in America as non-practicing orthodox will become the norm for what is loosely called “secular” Jewish Israelis. In the Diaspora there are perhaps an unknown but large majority of uncommitted Jews who are either self-identified or known as such to antisemites. The major religious denominations span the gamut from Ultra-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and New Age. As has been always the case if you have two Jews you have more than three different opinions. In the United States the inter-marriage rate among Jews is astronomical and the different religious affiliations are at a loss as to how to deal with mixed families. As the “Rabbinical Revolution” sought new means of religious identification after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE so too today do spiritual and intellectual members of the “Tribe” need to broaden the spiritual appeal of the ideals and symbols that held the centripetal forces at bay. Perhaps the synagogue in one of its Hebrew cognomens, Beit HaKenneset must be true to its name in Hebrew as a “House of Assembly” meaning more than a place of prayer. Experimenting with other spiritual forms such as meditation as was the forte of Abraham Abulafia is one way to appeal to those who no longer believe in the Deity of tradition. ¹ The resistance to change is often matched by the need.

As in times past the “Tribe” has been divided and is attacked by all sides of the political divides. There are certain beliefs that have in the past motivated allegiance and action on the part of the “Tribe.” At the end of the extra chapter of the Mishnah Avot that is to be read every Sabbath afternoon between Passover and Rosh Hashanah (New Year festival) we read from an anonymous source: “All that the Holy One Blessed Be He created in this world He did only for His glory.” No matter belief in a life after death or not or even in a deity or not members of the “Tribe” value this world and all that it contains. The toast “L’chayim” (to Life) is more than a song or an invitation to imbibe. It represents a belief that life is precious. All life, human, animal and plant. Nothing is to be destroyed needlessly. Care and concern go beyond oneself and even one’s tribe. What is today is incomplete. Messiah, messianic age or a bright future it is our duty to prepare the way for a better world! There is no place in the world where members of the Tribe have settled that has not been enriched by their presence. Before the tragedy of the Holocaust Jews who represented less than 3% of the German population were close to 50% of whose origin were Nobel prize winners. Despite the tragedy of October 7 th and its aftermath. Israel stands firm and strong. The battle for the nation’s soul is ongoing as it is for every nation on this earth. The challenge of dialogue must be front and center with all who believe in a world of peace and prosperity for all. Across all divides the world is too precious to be blown away by hatred and strife. From all beliefs and all colors, the universal search for peace must be a priority. Jewish tradition and custom have from rabbinic times tolerated many different voices. Tradition gives a framework that can be accepted by all and at the same time be open to many different voices as to tradition’s meaning. In the words of Mordecai Kaplan: “tradition has a voice but not a veto.”

The Tribe is never satisfied with the present. It is always next year, in Jerusalem, the coming of the Messiah, or more of a miracle peace.

Footnotes

1. Off The Beaten Track, A Gateway To The Kabbalah, Eugene A. Wernick, Bloomsbury Press, first edition 2015 ↩