Immediately after Rosh Hashanah, we mark one year for the war following October 7. How symbolic that October 7, 2024, occurs during the High Holy Days, and in conjunction with the Fast of Gedaliah, which symbolizes in Jewish tradition the completion of the cycle of Israel’s destruction.
“…I will begin my confession in the name of humanity. There is no sin in the world that does not enter into the sins this year, sevenfold more than in any other year… And the plan for the new year – learning and delving into a profession, a language, and a search for the way to be a human being…”
Hannah Szenes wrote these words as reports from Europe began to reach the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel. This year, these words echo in our hearts with infinite pain and sorrow. The days of penitence this year are the most terrible High Holy Days since the Holocaust – for the Jewish people as a whole, and for the Jewish and Arab communities in our beloved land.
And indeed, there is no sin on earth that has not been committed this year, sevenfold more than in any other year.
In the face of evil and harm, Hannah Szenes feels and knows the deep secret of the meaning of life, of Jewish culture and tradition, and of the Zionist movement: “To be a human being.”
We must not stand by
Judaism has changed its expression hundreds of times, as many as the generations and the scattered places of the Jewish people. This is the essence of the Jewish tradition’s demand of its believers throughout the generations – the one that appears in the Torah and the Prophets, in the Sages and the external literature, in the religions that were born from Judaism, from Christianity, and from Islam. This is the one that is pulsating in deep Jewish thought, as well as in Zionism and in the renewed Israeli identity in our land today: to be human beings, to choose life, to turn away from evil and do good, to seek peace and pursue it everywhere. Judaism has always been and will always be a symbol of peace, humbleness, and acceptance of the other.
We are in a terrible war, not only against our enemies but primarily over the character and values of Israeli society, over our future as a Jewish democratic society, and over the vision of the prophets of Israel and the forefathers and foremothers of the Zionist movement.
Racism and hatred have clear boundaries, and without a strong, positive, moral alternative on our part as educators, our youth will be drawn to places that provide quick answers that feed to their existential fears, their anxieties, and the innate human instinct to hate the stranger and fear the other.
The education system in Israel has its foundations rooted in the Declaration of Independence and the State Education Law. We must not hesitate to provide educational messages that are sometimes complex but clear. Our children live in a confusing era dominated by lies, populism, and falsehood, and they are crying out for meaning, dialogue, connection, and boundaries.
We must not stand by. Everyone who holds the values of Zionism and Judaism dear, and certainly we who are engaged in education, must say loudly: Violence, racism, religious fanaticism, and hatred are not the ways of Judaism, but rather, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:17).
We must embark on the task of repairing immediately. Education is our text, community is our context for the appropriate educational deed. Peace, justice, and liberty for all are the ultimate goals of education and community.
Education is a political act that shapes the character and values of future generations. We should not be deterred by the complexities of distinguishing between proper political education and ideological indoctrination. Expressing a viewpoint that supports human rights and social justice is an educational imperative that cannot be overlooked.
Likewise, a clear denunciation of racist remarks or exclusion is essential. The educator’s role is to address values and principles that uphold the right of every individual to life, dignity, and equality. We must allow students to interpret and implement these values in the harsh and complex reality of our lives, according to their understanding, and trust their choices, even if they differ from ours or contradict them.
Educators must be models for their students by taking a clear and unwavering stance against all forms of violence, coercion, and oppression, and by being present wherever social injustice or acts of exclusion or racism occur. Human beings are not born racist or hateful. Humans seek limits, strive for meaning, love to love, and desire to be loved.
Hannah Szenes concludes her confession with her first Hebrew poem:
Amidst the fires of war,in the blaze, in the burning,Between stormy days of blood,I kindle my small lamp,To seek, to seek a human being.
The flames of the fire are fading my lamp,The fire’s light blinds my eyes,How shall I look, how shall I see,How shall I know, how shall I recognize,When he stands before me?
Grant a sign, God, grant a sign upon his browFor in fire, in blaze, and in bloodThus, I shall recognize the pure glow,The eternal,The one I have sought: a human being.
We pray for the safe return of our hostages, for the well-being of the IDF soldiers, for the recovery of all the wounded, for the end of the war, and for the healing of Israeli society.
May this past year and its curses end, and may a new year and its blessings begin.
The writer is managing director of the Leo Baeck Education Center.