ESay
Gold Member
- Mar 14, 2015
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I know that relations between the Ukrainians and Jews weren't cloudless, to put it mildly. So, I expected this sort of an answer. Thanks, anyway.Well, I can't articulate my idea properly, because I myself have only a vague vision of it. You maybe have a question of how this even came to my mind. I will explain. I live in a country where there are some amount of people who believe in a conspiracy that tells about a desire of the Jews to create in this country a second Israel.That is why I was talking not about living in some place as a 'closed' national and religious minority, but importing with themselves their culture and governance. Not assimilate Jews into some other culture but on the contrary, 'assimilate' this culture into Jewish.think history has shown that lesson well, numerous times and especially recently. Some who were drawn by the Emancipation and a dream of equality through assimilation in Germany, tried to declare literally just what You've proposed. Which would be a healthy philosophical question for all nations, if they can build their own Jerusalem in their countries, but for Jews it's kinda like inviting problem, don't You think?
I am not arguing about uniqueness of Jerusalem for the Jews. And not advocating it to be 'carried out' to some other place or be replaced by something.
By new Jerusalem I mean another country (in addition to Israel) being organized as a mainly Jewish state.
Frankly, not sure I understand.
Let me give personal example - my family on my father's side 22 generations returned from today's Iraq, but in the family tradition it's emphasized that they actually never left because their village was inside the promised border. Some managed to stay in today's Syria, some in Lebanon. Some others in Yemen who were exiled long before us, upon hearing of Shabtay Zvi sold their entire community property, wore Shabbat cloths and prepared to be lifted to Israel...
Let's put aside the 'religion talk' and look from a cultural, even legal perspective - there's no such cultural archetype, or legal mechanism. Jewish law itself is attached to a defined boundary. If nations would want to become subjects of Israeli rule, this can be done in a parliamentary monarchy, but there's a big question whether Jewish law that applies to the land of Israel can be applied there, i.e. if Jews can fulfill basic agricultural commandments and include it into the Sabbatical year and Jubilee, from which essentially stem the whole practical basis of the law, the essence of the Jewish archetypal connection to a specific land and her natural cycles.
There's no cultural archetype or mechanism, to expand cultural boundaries,
beyond land where Torah law doesn't apply fully to Jews.
I don't particularly take this into consideration seriously, but once I thought - well, maybe this isn't a bad idea as a whole. We as a nation aren't capable of creating and governing a prosperous state. And inviting 'overseas' rulers who once had connections to this land may help to resolve this. And this rulers shouldn't be enclosed community which live in a parallel reality.
This once happened in the history of our land, btw, and it had very good consequences.
But of course, that is only a pure theory now.
Wow, so many conflicting thoughts about this.
I actually lived in Your country for 2 years, when my cousin went to manage a factory opening, but never heard about this specific conspiracy being circulated in public. Such are commonly brought up as a blood libel, it's totally counter intuitive that someone perceives it positively.
This is essentially a messianic thought, and let me clarify. maybe that helps with what is vague. When I say 'messianic thought', I don't mean a vision of Israel ruling the world, rather "and the families of the land will be blessed in You", which practically means advice. The Jewish vision of a corrected world is one where the families of nations are each expressing their own self, rather than canceling their historic and indigenous sovereignty, to align with a post-conflict reality in a world in which the knowledge of G-d covers it like water the oceans.
But frankly, recently that I saw Zelensky being put as president, raised all sorts alarms with me, mainly the well-being of the remnant diaspora in such an environment, after the televised opposition arrests by the Bandera gang, now they put a Jewish comedian on top..
That certainly serves these kind of conspiracies in the public, and exactly the expression of what I was alarmed about.
To sum it up - any nation can strive to build her own 'new Jerusalem', but this can only be achieved by acknowledging Jerusalem of the G-d of Israel. And that is not a vision of Jewish rule over foreign lands, rather of in-gathering of diaspora and advice as a sovereign nation to sovereign nations. Each nation with their 'new Jerusalem' and Israel as a nation of priests in their Jerusalem as allotted by the G-d of Israel.
In Halachic terms, we cannot serve at Your altars and temples, or build ours in foreign lands, but we are obligated, if You ask, to teach and assist in giving and offering, and even serve Your offerings in Jerusalem, if it is for the G-d of Israel.
And then Zelensky could be at most an emissary...but who knows, if Jerenovsky 'my father was a lawyer' says there's a conspiracy to make Ukraine a new Jerusalem, then it must be speaking at least to some in the diaspora, I already mentioned, this happened in a very likely environment, only without Zelensky, but very recently,
And that's why promotion and encouragement of the repatriation to Israel, from Your country is of top national priority, as opposed to what populist conspiracies say. The history of Odessa and Kiev will always remain Jewish, but so will also the latest burning of the people in the municipality centers. Many, if not most Soviet immigrants, when brought in private conversations are opposed to cooperation with Kiev.
About Zelensky and your anxiety. You know, Poroshenko and Yatseniuk were also listed as Jews by some people. So, when Zelensky got the post nothing changed in this regard, actually.
I was very surprised to know that you lived in Ukraine. Two years is sufficient term to get some knowledge of the country and its society. Where did you live (if it isn't too personal question for you)?