Jacob and Israel - Sounding the Jewish Voice on Social Media
12/16/2024 10:57:55 AM
After his epic battle with the angel, Jacob receives a new name: Israel, “G-d’s Fighter”. And everything changed forever. Almost everyone who goes through a name change is referred to by their new name from that point forward. But that was not the case with Jacob. Instead of erasing his previous name, our patriarch is still called Jacob in much, if not most, of the Torah narrative. The name Israel does appear though especially at those moments when Jacob seems to channel not just himself and his circumstances but the nation of destiny that his descendents will become. When he gives blessings to his children, for example, he is called Israel. And when he discovers that his beloved Joseph still lives, the text says that Israel’s spirit was revived.
Our Rabbis tell us that as for Jacob, so for all of us. We are all Jacob, people of our time and place, and at the same time, we are all Israel. Every Jew has a dimension of their being that somehow transcends our individual selves and accesses our history, connects us to Israel as a collective being and G-d’s Covenantal partner.
Any Jew who is connected to their identity in an authentic way has had those “Israel moments”. When for a brief span, you get a sense of a light that shines in and through you, it seems to come most often when people first arrive in Israel, or visit the Kotel (Western Wall), or perform a Mitzvah for the first time. Or when you meet a stranger and suddenly realize that you share an unlikely connection, read a Torah text and realize that the words refer to you, or experience something that somehow lifts you out of the shells and boundaries we usually inhabit to see something more that is made manifest in our heritage.
During this past year of learning what it means to come together, to take a stand against the darkness that burst forth to desecrate Simchat Torah in flame and the blood of innocents, many of us have manifested the Israel within us. We have learned that when we say, Shema Yisrael, we are addressing that ancient, supernal part of ourselves that stood at Sinai. We have learned, as Israel, to stand up to challenges and to confront the voices of hate that we had thought were gone once and for all. When we raise our voices together, we can often restore sanity and clarity to a society swayed and brainwashed by the false narrative of hate. We can demand moral accountability and an adherence to the values of our country that, in Washington’s words, give to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.
It seems manifestly clear that the existential war launched against Israel and world Jewry has another front: the pernicious battleground of social media where unchecked and unfettered hate speech and venom, not read or heard since the days of Goebbels and Hitler, assaults impressionable minds and the very nature of truth itself. That is why I want to recommend that the voice of Israel needs to be heard even in those dark spaces.
There is an internet application called Whatsapp, a way to share texts, audio and video calls, files and pictures. Whatsapp was designed in Israel and is used throughout the world as a sort of free phone service.
Whatsapp has also been used to create communities to sound the alert on antisemitic outbreaks, whether through stilted, distorted political resolutions, hate conferences, people in positions of trust using their power to promote hate and more. I would like to invite you to download whatsapp and consider adding your voice to stand up against antisemitism by simply writing an email, contacting a political leader, signing a petition or even reporting hate wherever it hides. A WhatsApp chat, Pens for Swords, was started after October 7th to send important letters to fight for our hostages, Israel and against antisemitism. This chat grew very quickly. It recruited amazing writers and researchers and partnered up with other groups. Today, there are almost 20,000 members across 21 identical groups. Every letter is comprehensive, strategic, accurate and backed up with references. We are seeing the impact every single day. You will feel empowered in this upside down world! We cannot afford to sit back and accept this new, terrifying reality. It takes under 10 minutes a day. Every action is a quick link that appears in your email. All you need to do is sign and send! Please join by clicking on this link:
https://chat.whatsapp.com
Israel within us is meant to uplift us to be an example and an embodiment of blessing. But it also awakens us to action and justice. Our moral voices have so often been raised up on behalf of others and this should and must continue. But we also need to remember the words of Hillel in the Mishna: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?
This Chanukah, may our Menorahs shine ever brighter in solidarity, in hope, in reminder to the world that the hostages still languishing in grim captivity should be freed to return to their families and help
bring in the hope of the light of peace.