By Elisha Paul, RTA Head of School
There seems to be a Jewish spiritual and physical renaissance starting to emerge in the Diaspora as well as in Israel.
The cowardly brutal Hamas attacks and the brave gallant IDF response in the October 7th war has awakened a renewed sense of Jewish identity that has lain dormant in many Jewish communities around the world.
Counterintuitively, hundreds of people have felt drawn to visit Israel in the weeks and months following the October 7th massacre. We have traveled to a war zone to volunteer and to support our survivors, our soldiers, and our grieving families.
More recently, people and missions are visiting the Gaza envelope to honor the memory of those who died and to bear witness to the unspeakable horrors perpetrated by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and UNRWA. These visits are important to counter the outrageous terror denial the Hamas propaganda machine spreads around the globe.
Our unwavering support for the families of our Slaughtered Heroes who were massacred, our Military Heroes who help neutralize threats to Israel, as well as our Hostage Heroes who suffer abuse and torture in Gazan captivity, all awaken within us a stronger sense of Jewish pride.
I recall how the singer Bono from U2 changed the lyrics during his concert on October 8th to honor the memory of the Nova Music Festival victims. The lyrics of his classic song “Pride” were originally composed about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Immediately following the October 7th massacre, the U2 song’s haunting words, “They took your life but they could not take your pride,” took on new meaning in the wake of the horrific carnage unleashed on our People.
The only way our enemies can defeat the Jewish People is if we allow them to take away our sense of Jewish Pride and Dignity. Early Zionist leaders such as Ze’ev Jabotinsky and Menachem Begin used to call this concept “Hadar” which is loosely translated as “Glorious Pride”.
How do we, in our own lives, emulate our Jewish Heroes to express Hadar, our sense of Jewish Pride?Agencies_RTA _OK_Reflector header purim 2024 (9.5 4 in)
A very simple formula in my mind proves to be quite instructive: Do the opposite of our enemies.
They hate Judaism; we should love Judaism.
They hate all Jews; we should love all Jews.
They kill Jews; we should defend Jewish life.
They murder Jewish children; we should have Jewish children.
They boycott Israel, we should buy Israeli products.
They elect anti-Israel representatives; we should elect pro-Israel representatives.
They want Jews to leave Israel; we should go to Israel.
They destroy Jewish homes; we should build or buy Jewish homes in Israel.
They want people and companies to divest from Israel; we should invest in Israel.
If we have limited capacity, buy Israel bonds.
If we have capacity like Bill Ackman, do what he did.
He pulled his pledges from Harvard and bought part of the Israeli stock exchange.
They spend millions to destroy Jews; we should spend millions to lift up Jews.
Stop supporting schools and universities that mistreat Jewish students.
Start supporting Jewish schools and universities that value Jewish students.
The book of Esther and our celebration of the upcoming Purim holiday take on new meaning as we fight to stand tall as a Jewish People. The epic story of the Jewish People of yesteryear forced to defend themselves against genocidal foes in Persia and throughout the Middle East feels more poignant than ever.
Purim marks our celebration of Jewish pride, Hadar. Esther and Mordechai instilled in our nation the courage and conviction to take on our enemies with wisdom and strength.
Let’s all commit to be proud Jews. Let’s prioritize supporting Jewish causes locally. Let’s support Israel. Let’s renew our deep sense of Hadar, Jewish pride, that “they could not take.”
Am Yisrael Chai.
