The Jewish people, in order to succeed, have to live and lead in the real world. To deal with the challenges facing us as a nation we must think, act and believe rationally. A rational person does not believe in olives 20 times the size of the olives we see with our own eyes. To deal with reality, we have to get real.

An ancient rabbinic teaching has it that only those who mourn for the sadness of Jerusalem’s tragedies will ultimately rejoice at Jerusalem’s redemption. On Tisha B’Av we cry for the tragedies that have befallen our people; but we also proclaim Nahamu Nahamu. We arise from our mourning. We cast our eyes forward to a happier and better time.

Ezra raised new leaders and engaged the members of the community to take active roles in their spiritual development. He raised many disciples, thereby broadening the base of the leadership and also ensuring continuity rather than dependence on him. Nehemiah tended to occupy center stage. He portrayed himself as an indispensable leader.

Much human misery is the result of people betraying themselves by adopting artificial personae. They are so anxious to impress or blend in with others that they lose their own selves in the process. Even worse, they come to believe that they actually are what their masks portray them to be. For them, falsehood becomes truth. They no longer have the ability to distinguish between who they are and who they are pretending to be.

This Op Ed piece by Rabbi Marc D. Angel appears in the Jerusalem Post, July 25, 2025.

For the first time in history, the Torah presented a vision to the masses a vision with a radically different understanding of God and humanity. It introduced new understandings of the law, of political office, of military power, of taxation, of social welfare. What we find in the Torah is a platform for social order marked with the imprint of divinity.