blogs/rabbi-joshua-hoffman

Several years ago, Rabbi Daniel Gordis wrote a book, called, "Does the World Need the Jews?"  With twists and turns through historical moments and theological query, the answer as you would guess isn't so simple. I read it with great interest, yet I wasn't left with a renewed sense of commitment or responsibility. From thoughts like this we rehearse the truth that, 'Of course the world needs the Jews!'  We may offer limitless reason and empirical proof that the world would not be a place of relevance but for this unique group of people committed to seeking and interpreting the meaning of our lives.

There is yet another truth here as well. 'When it comes down to it, the world doesn't need the Jews, because the moral truths and values they carry forward are borne from the best of the human condition, not in spite of it. Jews may be the ones who cared enough to write and reflect upon the best and worst of human experience.  But, if not the Jews, then someone else would do the same.'  Both responses are in some way equal; both responses are the collective wisdom and experience of the human community throughout the generations.

But it is an unfair question.  Why should we even bother to ask it? The deeper concern here may prompt us to explore our validity because the values we have carried forward are now ubiquitously shared among our non-Jewish neighbors.  Or, perhaps because there are reports that indicate the numbers of practicing Jews - those observant of ancient customs and traditions - is diminishing at alarming rates.   "Does the World Need the Jews?" then is unfair because there are and will continue to be Jews in this time and in the generations to come.  We need not fear this will be the case.  Ever.

I write this as I travel up the highway from Ben Gurion airport near
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  They are building a train - high speed â€" from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that will take approximately 30 minutes from one city to the next.  The industrial machinery cuts through mountains to build a track that defies the twists and turns of the rocky landscape and will simplify the lives of Israeli citizens and visitors to the country immensely.  In one sense there is no political will that stifles this feat of human ingenuity.  There are certainly shouts and murmurs regarding the project, but the architects and engineers continue their building despite the opposition.

Is this a train for the Jews, a unique people with a certain destiny, or is this another project of Israeli society, for citizens of a State?  The latter would suggest that the Jewish project at best is a minor force for its building, but not its goal.  The former response invites us to turn to back to a text - the truth by which we might even suggest Jews refer to as they determine their national goals.  It is the hearkening of the prophet Isaiah, words recited again and again through the 66 chapters recording his voice calling people to action. "Clear the road for the people/​ Build up, build up the highway, remove the rocks! (Isaiah 57.14, 62.10, et.al.)

Using biblical text here isn't an apology or a self-relating truth. The text here is a signpost.  It is a reminder that destiny isn't deduced by historical time; it is the echo of eternity in our midst today.  "Build up the highway! Remove the rocks!"  This is our call to expand and grow toward a more profound and deeper truth than we could possibly imagine in this time and place.

Jews are indeed held together by sacred mandates and collective history. We're a people that continue to move forward despite the obstacles.  We move forward; not in spite of our sacred texts which have guided us in our history, but because our texts continue to speak to us, year after year, generation after generation, today and always.

Seeing yet another example of this truth in the high speed rail winding its way through the land of Israel, I proudly answer the question, "Does the World Need the Jews?"  Unequivocally my answer is YES!