I sr a e l
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L e a d e r s h ip
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E d u c at i on •
V i rt u e s A nd V i c e s
L i f e a nd D e at h
Rabbi Perez’s leadership is typified by creativity, energy, vision and strength. He has made an enormous and transformative impact on the South African Jewish community over the last 15 years in so many areas of communal life. This book gives expression to many of the important life lessons on a personal and national level that Rabbi Perez has taught our community during the course of these years. Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein Chief Rabbi of South Africa
Rabbi Laurence Perez
Rabbi Laurence (Doron) Perez has served the South African Jewish community over the last 15 years in multiple leadership roles as a community leader, Rabbi and educator. He has served as the Rabbi of the Mizrachi Movement of South Africa during these 15 years, the Senior Rabbi of the vibrant Mizrachi Shul in Johannesburg and the Managing Director of the Yeshiva College Schools, the first and largest Torah school in South Africa. He has been elected as the incoming Head of the World Mizrachi Movement based in Jerusalem and is returning to Israel to fulfil this position in mid-2014, along with his wife Shelley and their children.
Leading the Way
C ol l e c t e d w r i t in g s on s o m e of l if e ’s m o s t i m p orta n t m at t e r s
In Rabbi Perez’s capacity as the Rabbi of Mizrachi and Head of the Yeshiva College school system, he has inspired and changed the lives of thousands. His unique personality and skills have allowed him not only to transform an entire community but also to become one of the Jewish world’s most powerful leaders and spokesmen. His many speeches, drashot and articles, some of which appear in this book, have articulated a vision and path for the Jewish people which enables us to live a moral and ethical life, infused with Torah learning and Mitzvot as well as a deep love and commitment to the State of Israel and its people while also being fully engaged with the world around us. Avrom Krengel (extract from the Foreword) Chairman – South African Zionist Federation Chairman – Mizrachi South Africa
Leading the Way
The D ay s Of Aw e
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Rabbi Laurence Perez
www.korenpub.com ISBN 978-1-59264-400-1
C ol l e c t e d w r i t in g s on s o m e of l if e ’s m o s t i m p orta n t m at t e r s 9
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Introduction
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Israel – In Context
One of the main roles of a leader is to provide context to life’s experiences. This chapter aims to place the miracle of Israel in appropriate spiritual and historical context.
We live in a privileged era where we have experienced monumental miracles of Biblical proportions. We have seen the establishment of an independent State only three years after Auschwitz: the creation of a country of refuge to millions of Jewish exiles from over 100 countries, speaking more than 80 languages, after 2 000 years of wandering; the transformation of the Land of Israel from a barren backwater into a flourishing oasis; the revival of Hebrew from an ancient static textual language to the living lingua franca of Jewish society; the building of a thriving stable economy emerging from the bankrupt Old Yishuv; and the remarkable rebuilding of the Torah world, the world of Torah learning, so soon after its near annihilation.
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Despite this remarkable reality, both Zionism and Israel were born in a very complex spiritual, cultural and political context. This complexity causes confusion at times, and for many, creates significant doubt as to the appropriate spiritual and historical context within which to place these events. The purpose of this chapter is to attempt to place Zionism and Israel into their appropriate spiritual and historical context and to gain an appreciation of the enormity of the epoch that we are privileged to live in. The first article, entitled: “A modern-day Dayeinu Song” explores the art of appreciation through the prism of Pesach in general and the Dayeinu song from the Haggadah in particular. The second article analyses the festivals of Chanuka and Purim, which I believe shed important light on modern-day Israel. The following article, entitled: “Is the State of Israel really so secular?” attempts to compare the secular nature of modern-day Israel to the cultural milieu of the previous Jewish commonwealths in Israel: the idolatrous nature of certain periods of the First Temple era and to the acculturated and hedonistic times of the Second Temple during the Greek and Roman era. The significance of the miracles of the Six-Day War and returning of Jerusalem to Jewish sovereign control for the first time in almost 2 000 years is explored in depth in the article: “Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot – On eagles’ wings”. The chapter concludes with a fifth article: “Are we missing the boat of Jewish destiny?” exploring both the mitzvah to live in the Land of Israel and the opportunity that the modern-day State provides in practically reshaping the future of Jewish destiny.
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The Art of Appreciation and the State of Israel
✡ The Art of Appreciation and the State of Israel A modern-day Dayeinu song
“If we focus incessantly on the final purpose of any process, the destination of every journey, the aim and achievements of every undertaking, we will find it exceptionally difficult to appreciate each stage of the journey itself.”
The Dayeinu song is a most powerful lesson in the art of appreciation and learning simply to say “thank you”. The song forms the very first words of praise and gratitude that we utter on the Seder night immediately after completing the story of the Exodus from Egypt. By doing so, the words of the song form the basis and foundation of Hallel – praising and thanking G-d.
It is only with the mindset of Dayeinu that we are able to begin to appreciate all Hashem does for us in our personal and collective lives. A closer look at the song of Dayeinu reveals that it seems to make no logical sense at all. The song describes the 14 stages of the redemption 3
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from Egypt. It begins with the Exodus from Egypt itself and ends with the building of the Temple in Jerusalem many years later. After each and every one of the 14 stanzas, the Hebrew word Dayeinu appears. Dayeinu means in English, “It would have been enough” and is the key phrase and chorus of the song. If Hashem would have brought us out of Egypt and not split the sea, Dayeinu – “It would have been enough”. If Hashem would have split the sea and not given us food and water to drink in the desert, Dayeinu – “It would have been enough”. These are two examples which capture the essence of the song.
This seems ludicrous. After all, if Hashem had brought us out of Egypt but not split the sea, surely we would have all died at the hands of the advancing Egyptian army? If Hashem had split the sea but not given us food and water, surely we would have all died of starvation and heat exhaustion in the desert? It is clear that each single stage is inherently incomplete without the continuation and realisation of the stage which follows.
If the process of redemption would have got stuck at any one of the 14 stages, it most certainly “would not have been enough”. The aim and purpose of the redemption from Egypt would not have been achieved. The answer to this question, explains the great Rav Soloveitchik, is to understand the very essence of what gratitude and saying “thank you” is all about. If our only focus in life is one of goal orientation, then we will never be able to feel appreciation for anything until we have achieved our goal. If we focus incessantly on the final purpose of any process, the destination of every journey, the aim and achievements of every undertaking, we will find it exceptionally difficult to appreciate each stage of the journey itself. If the purpose of the Dayeinu song
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The Art of Appreciation and the State of Israel
was to celebrate reaching the goal of redemption then indeed “it never would have been enough”. The Dayeinu song is about a different frame of mind – the mindset of gratitude and appreciation. When we focus on each stage of the process itself and not on the end result, we are able to appreciate every small step. When we see how far we have come as opposed to how far there is to go, what we have as opposed to what we still lack, we are able to feel deep gratitude irrespective of whether we have achieved our final aim or not. The word Dayeinu in this song means “it would have been enough to say thank you”. If Hashem had brought us out of Egypt but not split the sea, this miraculous act of freedom and liberty would have been enough for us to thank Him for a taste of freedom against all odds.
If Hashem would have split the sea but we would have died of starvation and heat exhaustion soon afterwards, we ought still to thank Him for the miraculous act of splitting the sea, enabling us all to escape the Egyptian army. The State of Israel is, for many people, very far from the spiritual state that it could be. There is no question that there is still a long journey ahead and so much more to be achieved. At the same time, this should never cloud our ability to appreciate the enormous accomplishments at every step of the way since the beginning of the Zionist endeavour and establishment of the State of Israel. The purpose of the modernday Dayeinu song which follows is to arm ourselves with the mindset of appreciation, in the spirit of the Dayeinu song in the Haggadah. By doing so, we will be able to appreciate the incredible achievements of the State of Israel over the last 60 years.
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A Modern-Day Dayeinu IF Hashem had brought us back to the Land of Israel BUT not given us a sovereign state DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had given us a sovereign state and allowed us a taste of freedom and dignity for but a moment BUT we would have lost the War of Independence DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had helped us be victorious in the War of Independence BUT we would not have succeeded in building a viable country DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had helped us build a viable country BUT not brought back hundreds of thousands of Jews from Sephardic and Yeminite backgrounds DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had allowed us to win the Six-Day War BUT not given back to us the holy cities of Hevron, Beit El, Shiloh as well as the Golan Heights DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had given us Hevron, Beit El, Shiloh and the Golan Heights BUT not allowed us to liberate the Old City of Yerushalayim DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had allowed us to liberate the Old City of Yerushalayim BUT not allowed us to rebuild her ruins DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had allowed us to rebuild His Old City BUT not implanted a deep spirit of self-sacrifice in the hearts of our
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The Art of Appreciation and the State of Israel
young Israeli soldiers DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had planted a spirit of self-sacrifice in our young Israeli soldiers BUT not allowed us to live with dignity in secure borders DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had allowed us to live in secure borders BUT not created a strong and sustainable economy DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had built for us a strong and sustainable economy BUT not ingathered the exiles from almost a hundred countries DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had built for us a strong and sustainable economy BUT not allowed us to rebuild the Torah world in Israel with over a hundred thousand full-time Yeshiva students, perhaps the most in Jewish history DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had rebuilt the Yeshiva world BUT not produced so many outstanding Torah giants and leaders DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had produced so many outstanding Torah giants and leaders BUT not opened the gates of freedom to the oppressed Russian and Ethopian Jews DAYEINU it would have been enough IF Hashem had gathered in the multitude of exiles BUT not made Israel’s number of Jews soon to be larger than that of world Jewry for the first time in two-and-a-half thousand years DAYEINU it would have been enough
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