| Dear {{first_name}},
In the State of Israel, the role of head of state is independent from the head of government. The head of the state is the president and the head of the government is the prime minister. It’s the Israeli version of the British parliamentary democracy. They have no “royal family” so the head of the state is a position that’s elected by the government term by term. This week, the Knesset elected the son of a former president for the first time ever, Isaac Herzog. But that’s not the only part of incoming President Herzog’s family tree that matters. He’s also the grandson of the first Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel. He won by an overwhelming majority of the vote and he’s deeply respected the world over by the Jewish people. We congratulate him on this victory and look forward to his leadership.
But that wasn’t the only news out of Israel this week. After four elections for the Knesset left us without a government being formed, one has now been formed. This new government is the dictionary definition of compromise and of a society working together. This new government is composed of parties from the left, the right and the center. The whole idea behind representative democracies is that while majorities are meant to rule, they are also meant to work with all on the other side. Democracies are founded on the idea of finding common ground where it’s possible and debate where it’s not. This unity government has found common ground and purpose. But that’s not the only incredible thing about the formation of this new government. For the first time in Israel, an Arab/Islamist party has joined the government. This is all the more important and noteworthy due to the anti-Semitic smear campaign that’s been waged against Israel over the years and has intensified these past months with claims that Israel is an apartheid state. To be clear, in apartheid states, minorities do not serve in the government and their voices are not heard. This achievement is monumental and we should all applaud the progress that’s been made.
“We were like grasshoppers in their eyes.” The famous words uttered by the 10 spies from this week’s Torah Portion, Sh’lacha. “We were like grasshoppers in their eyes.” When discussing the episode of the spies, we often call them liars. We say they lied and misled but that’s actually a false statement in every way. The 10 spies were indeed guilty, but not of the crime of lying. Allow me to explain. When looking at the text, we find that they described all the items that their eyes saw and that they experienced. It was their interpretation that was misleading and faithless. Caleb even explained it best when he didn’t call them liars but said to the Israelites that we could truly conquer the land of Israel and to have faith. (I am paraphrasing his words.) What Caleb and Joshua both demonstrated in rejecting the 10 spies was true leadership. They put fears to the side and they led. They worried not about their own necks, but the necks of the people. They rose up and said they would stand for tomorrow rather than fear yesterday.
This week the same thing happened. Israeli leaders decided to put the country before their own beliefs and their own parties. Israeli leaders decided the time had arrived to lead and not follow. Israeli leaders decided on unity rather than disharmony. While there are still numerous hurdles to jump over on the way to installing this new government, it’s time to celebrate and rejoice that fear was minimized and hope was accentuated. We need to be happy that Israel is moving forward with a diverse coalition of leaders who, for the sake of the country, have chosen to be unified in purpose and in strategy.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hearshen |
