{"id":6521,"date":"2022-10-09T15:42:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T12:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/?post_type=article&p=6521"},"modified":"2024-02-27T10:12:36","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T08:12:36","slug":"%d7%94%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%94%d7%9e%d7%a9%d7%95%d7%aa%d7%a4%d7%aa-%d7%a9%d7%9c-%d7%97%d7%92%d7%99-%d7%aa%d7%a9%d7%a8%d7%99-%d7%94%d7%96%d7%93%d7%9e%d7%a0%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%9c%d7%9e%d7%91%d7%98","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/%d7%94%d7%91%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%94%d7%9e%d7%a9%d7%95%d7%aa%d7%a4%d7%aa-%d7%a9%d7%9c-%d7%97%d7%92%d7%99-%d7%aa%d7%a9%d7%a8%d7%99-%d7%94%d7%96%d7%93%d7%9e%d7%a0%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%9c%d7%9e%d7%91%d7%98\/","title":{"rendered":"In a contentious election season, Israelis should look to our shared covenant"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lovely\u00a0piyyut<\/em>\u00a0sung during the Yom Kippur evening service beseeches the Creator to \u201clook to the\u00a0brit<\/em>\u00a0(covenant) and not to the\u00a0yetzer<\/em>\u00a0(evil inclination).<\/p>\n

\u201dThat is, we ask that God direct His gaze toward the good and not the bad when He judges us.<\/p>\n

In the same way, I ask of all of us, dear fellow Jews, that during these holy days\u2014but also, ideally, throughout the year\u2014we look to the basic covenant that we have entered into, and not solely at what is divisive and polarizing, impulse-driven and evil.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>
A decorated Sukkah in the city of Bnei-Brak. Photo by Eitan Elhadez-Barak\/TPS<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Israeli life is difficult, harsh and caustic enough in normal times. During election seasons\u2014which have more or less become Israel\u2019s new normal\u2014everything gets louder, the overt and covert campaigns assail us and life becomes even more turbulent and incendiary. It seems as though we no longer agree on anything. Everything is subject to bitter disputes between the \u201cblocs\u201d and the parties \u201cwithin the blocs\u201d that fight tooth and nail over each and every vote.<\/p>\n

The Passover festival, the Israeli national holidays and memorial days and the holidays of the month of Tishrei\u2014Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah\u2014are periods that tend to be more conciliatory, even in the normally red-hot atmosphere of Israeli public life. The media takes on a festive air. Israelis grow more preoccupied with the holiday gifts they are going to buy for family members than with political disputes. Those seeking solace can experience a shared national-Jewish exaltation of spirit.<\/p>\n

This spiritual uplift is also clearly perceptible in the public realm and polling data. On Yom Kippur, the vast majority of roads are empty. During Sukkot, festive booths can be readily seen on balconies and in the streets. Surveys from recent years show that Israelis celebrate the holidays in traditional fashion. An overwhelming majority (more than 80%) participate in a Passover seder and, more surprisingly, 60% of Israelis, including many who self-define as secular, fast on Yom Kippur.<\/p>\n

By a quirk of the political clock, this year\u2019s Tishrei holidays fall during an election season. Amid the celebratory mood, the contentious drumbeat pulses within us as the parties and candidates try to prove beyond all doubt that our current reality is especially bad and they are our only hope. They fire away at all those who aren\u2019t \u201con our side,\u201d hoping that, by means of reciprocal incitement, they can get us to believe that \u201cthe other,\u201d whoever that is, is our calamity.<\/p>\n

In everyday life, and certainly during an election season marked by toxic campaigning, the natural tendency of many Israelis, especially those who are politically active or post \u201ctalkback\u201d comments on websites and news outlets, is to attack others with venomous force. Social media algorithms will reward them with \u201clikes\u201d and their echo chambers will applaud them for their effectiveness at striking out at others. This naturally erodes\u2014to the point of disintegration\u2014those elements that promote unity and cohesion.<\/p>\n

This year as in other years\u2014despite the upcoming elections\u2014the Tishrei holidays offer us another option for the holiday period and in general. They enable us to remember that there is a shared religious and cultural basis for Israeli-Jewish existence. A basis that, even if it isn\u2019t celebrated in the same way by all Israelis, is nevertheless observed according to the same calendar, the same national ethos and similar customs. The holiday atmosphere also offers those who don\u2019t celebrate the holidays via cultural and religious practices the opportunity to share in the holiday spirit and, in that way, participate.<\/p>\n

Israeli reality is hard, but that\u2019s not the whole story. It\u2019s complicated. Life here has its aggravating aspects, but there is also potential for closeness, partnership and brit. Don\u2019t miss these days. Both now and, hopefully, throughout the year, we will all direct our gaze to the covenant we\u2019ve made in our shared life in the State of Israel.<\/p>\n

First published by “JNS”.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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