At the end of the prayers in the synagogue today, we all said a prayer for the welfare of the people in Ukraine. The mood of many people here in Israel is of somberness. I personally work with a guy in Ukraine, and he told me all the gun stores have been completely emptied because everybody is ready to defend their country. I get a message from him every day at 9:15 am, wishing me a good morning and an update on the day’s goals. Today, expectedly, I haven’t heard anything from him. And I’m worried for him.
What’s happening is heart-wrenching. Not only for the people of Ukraine but for humanity as a whole. It’s a sad, sad day for all of us. After WWII, statistics show how there has been a decline in wars. And ironically, because of the suicidal nature of the nuclear weapon, no Super-Power has fought each other head-on since WWII. But most importantly, there has been an attitudinal change in how the world in general and the ruling class, in particular, have come to see the nature of war.
Ever since time immemorial, war has been a virtue amongst civilizations. There was no such concept of peace as an ideal. Peace was a sign of weakness, suggesting corruption and laziness. The Jewish tradition had an entirely different vision. It passionately touted the value of the sanctity of ALL human life, each bearing the image of G-d. Therefore, despite living in a world where war-mongering was the way of nations, the Prophets of ancient Israel professed peace as an aspiration. They invented the concept of peace as a collective longing of the human race; a dream to chase with all our being. They showed us that peace is a profound desire that is etched in our soul.
Not far from the United Nations Building in New York are engraved the words of Isaiah envisioning a world in which “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore”. These words were spoken almost 3,000 years ago where no such vision was even inconceivable.
The absence of large-scale wars in the past 70 years isn’t simply because of cold calculations of budgets and benefits. The lens in which the free world looked at war transformed: as a senseless horror and not an expression of national strength; as an evil enterprise and not an honorable human instinct. The call of the Prophets influenced a whole generation and reverberated throughout the world.
What is happening in Ukraine is not just Ukraine’s problem. It is the world’s problem. Besides the enormous cost of life and suffering this will create, it can be a colossal catastrophe for the human race. It is changing the world order, dragging all of humanity back into an era where the sword was supreme, the vulnerable were prayed upon, the threat of brutality always loomed large, and we collectively lived in a state of fear and insecurity. To live in such a world can take an incalculable toll on the subconscious, affecting not only the way we live but the way we dream. It will dampen our will and will cloud our hope. It is a dark world, and with today’s technology, a much more dangerous one. And no one knows how the story is going to end. All of this has reminded me of Lenin’s observation, “There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.”
Humanity has traveled so far. The words of the Prophets hold relevance more than ever before. Let us all pray that our generation will allow the echoes of their cries to resound in our soul.
2022