Last week, the head of NATO’s European military presence and the UK Ministry of Defense announced that war with Russia may be closer than we think and that conscription could be considered in Europe. This was predictably met with a great deal of cynicism from teenage (and older) influencers on social media, with lazy Gen Z kids being drafted into the military and complaining about their weak stomachs, personal needs, and A cartoon depicting people making excuses for their needs was published. Their busy schedules should definitely exempt them from military service?!
Meanwhile, in Israel, in recent months we have witnessed the extraordinary courage and dedication of Israeli youth and reservists as they fight (and die) for their country. Where does this huge cultural divide come from?
The midrash points out that the Torah begins with the second letter of the alphabet (bet of bereishit), whereas the Ten Commandments begin with the first letter (aleph, meaning “anochi”). Hebrew letters are also numbers, so the Torah begins with the number 2 and the Ten Commandments begins with the number 1. Why is this? Surely the Torah should have started with the Aleph?
Commentators explain that it is logical for God to begin the creation story with the number “2” because all creation requires two partners, a man and a woman. It also explains that it is logical that the Ten Commandments, which represent a direct gift of the law from God, are also a direct gift to humans. Jews should start with 1, which indicates that the primary purpose of creation was the dissemination of the Torah. But there’s another angle too.
As Rabbi Sacks points out in his epic book, The Politics of Hope, modern politics presents two main opposing ideas. On the one hand, capitalism stipulates the freedom of individuals to acquire wealth and live as they wish (ideally without gaining any economic benefits), while socialism stipulates the obligation of the state to provide for its citizens. , often to the detriment of individual freedom, which explains why the conflict between the needs of the individual and the needs of the state remains our main problem. . political question.
A culture of individuality and freedom
And then there’s Judaism. A culture of great individuality and freedom, but built on consideration and obligation to a community of other people. How do we combine these seemingly contradictory ideas? The Aleph of the Ten Commandments may give us a hint.
Although many of the Ten Commandments concern community life (such as prohibiting murder, theft, and sexual crimes, and implementing the Sabbath), they focus on each individual’s obligation to make these things a reality. The emphasis is on the “one” for the benefit of the many. Although the Ten Commandments are stated in the singular, they clearly concern all of us.
A society that prioritizes the individual over the interests of the community results in a lack of will to fight for the nation, which ultimately leads to national suicide. At the same time, purely state-focused societies (think Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, etc.) stifle individuality and creativity and are doomed to destruction.
The ideal society is one that commands and enables each individual to assume responsibility for others, while encouraging free thought and action. That is the culture of the Ten Commandments. That is Israeli society. It is one of the great beacons of light that the Jewish people have lit and continues to illuminate all other nations.
May Israel’s brave soldiers continue to fight for personal empowerment against oppression. The fight of good against evil.
Rabbi Leo Dee is an educator living in Efrat and Israel’s Special Envoy for Social Initiatives. his book “Changing the world: Jewish influence on modern times‘ has been republished in English and Hebrew in memory of his wife Lucy and daughters Maia and Lina, who were killed by terrorists in April 2023.