Jewish Unity
We learn history so we are not doomed to repeat it; but Jewish history
has been repeating for thousands of years. Ever since the destruction
of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem the Jewish people have been stuck in a
dangerous pattern. The force that keeps it going is the fact that Jews
have a strong tendency to argue and disagree. It seems like a small
problem but it can end friendships, form splits in communities and
create conflicting sects of Judaism. Following the pattern, God sends
an enemy to forcefully unite us. During the recent Palestinian
uprising there have been countless Jewish rallies all over the world
showing support for Israel. When Soviet Jewry was in trouble, Jews all
over the world united for the cause. This pattern of events dates as
far back to the times of Masada. When Masada was not in danger, men
murdered each other because of their political opinion; but when
Jewish slaves were building the ramp that would doom Masada, the
slaves were not touched.
It does not always end that way; the year was 70 CE. There was more
then enough food and supplies stored inside the city of Jerusalem to
survive the Roman siege; but it was all burnt by groups of fighting
Jewish zealots. The Temple was destroyed because even when God sent
the enemy, we could not get along. They just hated each other for no
reason. Today this hasn't changed much.
It almost seems hopeless but its not. We always have and always will
be united as one nation. When any Jew hears that a bomb went off in
our holiest city and 15 of our brothers were murdered or that a bomb
in Tel Aviv killed 21 teenagers, we all feel it. We don't need to know
what synagogue the victims belong to, what candidate they voted for