The Jewish tradition has it that the Jewish New Year is a time to reflect first and foremost on our relationships with our fellow-person, with the other. It is a time of hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better future, hope for personal redemption. It matters not whether that hope is based on faith or not. What matters is the continued hope for an Olam Metukan, a renewed world.
Yet at a time when the divisions in society are being emphasised and provoked, how do we reconcile reality with this intention of our tradition.
Israeli society is engaged in a clash of ideas so adversarial that all thought of the other invokes fear and enmity. The result is not reflection and empathy but deepening division. The time honoured tradition of finding a middle path has been swallowed up by sound and fury.
Australia finds itself in a similar place. Fear and enmity have replaced debate and empathy. And so it goes around the world. False facts, media manipulation, lack of moral leadership, distrust of institutions and disregard for the lessons of history have become the rulers of the day.
There are no winners of this state of affairs other than those seeking unbridled power. The losers are the downtrodden, the forgotten, the vulnerable and minorities. As a minority, the Jewish people are part of this vulnerable community, but this does not guarantee our empathy or willingness to hear the other.
But how should we respond to this state of affairs?
I prefer to listen to two voices. Noami Chazan famously said “Despair is not a strategy”. While in 1917, Patrick Gedes coined the adage: “Think globally, act locally.” We can throw our hands in the air and say “there is nothing to be done, chaos and misfortune are inevitable”, or, we can act.
Those of us that hope for a just, equitable world, where the weak are protected should take that global vision and act. These actions may be large or small gestures. They may or may not result in success. However, they do need to be done. To speak out when injustices are evident. To support just causes. To not stand silent, apart. To not claim ignorance. These are themselves important acts.
This year more than ever, I am compelled to speak up, to participate, to rail against injustice, to listen to the other. If I can’t agree with a contrary opinion or argue the justice of mine, then I can refrain from invective. I can agree to disagree and talk to those who will engage in honest discourse. Only then can we renew the world together.
My New Year’s wish is that we might finally enjoy a world where caring is seen as a higher value than dominance, and that we all have the strength and resolve to achieve this.
Shana Tova and good luck on the journey.
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