Are the Jewish People a religion or are we a nation?
As many of you know this week is Shabbat Yerushalayim. The OU has done a wonderful job of getting hundreds of shuls to educate their parishioners about the holiness and importance of Jerusalem. I have been bombarded by comments and emails from all across the spectrum. Some feel that it is the sole right of the Government to decide what to do with the land of Israel and we (American Jews) have no right to tell them (The Israeli Government) what to do. Others felt that we should do everything in our power to keep Jerusalem united for religious and security reasons.
I gave the issue a great deal of thought and a Dvar Torah by Rav Aviner kept coming into my mind. Rav Aviner proposed the following question; “Are the Jewish People a religion or are we a nation?” If we are a religion then each group of Jews around the globe has their own social group and merely has distant ties to the other groups of people practicing Judaism around the world. However, if we are a Nation then we have a common inseparable destiny. What happens to the Jews of Israel has a direct impact on the Jews of America and vice versa. I believe this to be true with all my heart. We are a nation and the fate of all Jews is linked and intertwined. Therefore it is our duty to raise our voices if we feel Jerusalem’s division will be catastrophic for the Jewish People. I have never been more honored to work for the Orthodox Union in service of the Jewish NATION.
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