We live in exciting times. We live in a country where people have come to the streets to complain. Israel is amazing.
For decades people have not been prepared to get off their sofas, away from their television sets, and stand up for something real. In Israel, in 2023, that’s all changed. And it’s changed for the good.
I believe that Israel is in the middle of a three-stage process of change.
Stage 1: Marching with a flag. Recognizing that things need to improve.
Things always needed to improve, but now, with the platform of legal reforms, we have found an excuse to switch off our TVs. We’ve taken our flags to the streets, met some interesting new friends, learned more about legal reforms and legislation than anyone should ever need to know, and we are now asking one another, “What next?”
That’s Stage 2 and where we are right now.
Stage 2: What’s next?
We can all agree that things are not perfect in our country. For some it is less perfect than for others, but shalom (which comes from the root shalem meaning complete) is about complete perfection and we can all agree that we don’t have that. So we’re searching. Left, right, liberals, religious – we’re searching for improvements in our lives and in the lives of others. But what does that look like?
Here we’ve become a bit stuck. We looked to our traditional leaders, to our politicians, and to our rabbis, and we saw they don’t have all the answers. But here’s the exciting part: We do. Not me, not you, but all of us together.
Some of us look around and complain that house prices are too high. Well, in other countries with this problem, volunteers have grouped together to build houses for those who cannot afford them. If you’re a builder or electrician, why not start a Jewish version of that? Why not dedicate one day a week to changing the lives of others for the better? After all, we’ve seen how much time we all have to stand in a queue with a flag and to study University level legal texts about legal reform, so how about using that time for action?
This week I attended a mixed left-right “discussion circle” and a prominent professor from Bar Ilan University was complaining that her nephews in the periphery were not getting the same access to education as her kids in the center of the country. I suggested that maybe she could quit the “discussion circle” and form an “action circle” with other academics who could contribute an evening a week to circulating around the periphery and help inspire these under-challenged kids. She agreed.
All of us have skills, and let’s be honest, time. Each of us could form a small (or large) group of like-minded friends, family, or fellow marchers and decide on a project that we are passionate about. And with that project, we could change the country. So that brings us to Stage 3. And that’s the really exciting stage.
Stage 3: Implementation. Making miracles happen.
Imagine a country where there are thousands of groups of social entrepreneurs “making miracles happen.” What would that look like? Not screaming at our leaders to do it, but becoming leaders ourselves. There’s no age limit (school kids can be as productive as adults) and there’s no individual segment of the population that has control over it – success is purely determined by passion and will.
It’s not democratic and it’s not anti-democratic. It’s driven by passionate individuals, and we’ve seen just a few of those poke their heads above the parapet over the past few months. It’s driven purely by a commitment to making a positive change.
Our rabbis teach us that we have to do two things to guarantee success: Act and pray. If we make the first move toward something meaningful and positive for society, God will provide His assistance. That’s been my experience. Whenever I’ve tried to do something good (on those rare occasions), someone suitable has turned up and offered a hand. Out of the blue. And the Jewish, and Israeli, way is to offer to help. Or at least to help when asked.
Everyone has a passion. Or had one once and now needs to reawaken it. We need to take our passion, use it for the common good, and get going with some sort of project for our people, for our land, for our future.
There’s an energy out there on the streets. Every Israeli is a social entrepreneur. It’s in our blood. Let’s use that energy and start up some great new initiatives that will transform this country in the years ahead and take it from strength to strength.
We want change. We are capable of bringing it about. Let’s not make the mistake of depending on other leaders. Let’s be the leaders of our own destiny. We just need to decide what our start-up will be and assemble the team. Come on, let’s get on with it and make miracles happen.
The writer, a rabbi, lost his wife Lucy and two daughters, Maia and Rina, in a terror attack during Passover of this year. He is the author of Transforming the World, a book that describes how the Torah brings peace to the world and to individuals. He is striving to do just that.