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Page 7-THE NEWS-January, 1984 Thoughts From The Lubavitcher Rebbe By Rabbi Jossi Groner If the present state of the world can be described in one word it is divisiveness. Each man’s hand is raised against his fellow, and strife, wars and violence leave no country untouched. The counterbalance to this instability and conflict is uni ty. The unity of Jews in and through Torah helps dispel the darkness of discord, and brings peace and stability to this sorely troubled earth. Since the dawn of history, mankind has been embroiled in conflict. Individual quar* rels, local strife, border skir mishes, wars ' all have been constant ever since more than one man inhabited the earth. Man, it seems, despite his age old quest to live peaceably with his fellow beings, cannot escape the ugly spectre of violence. Yet, however bad the situa tion, there was always a glim mer of light, a hope that bet ter times were coming. Peaceful coexistence was an objective never entirely despaired of, the immediate strife an abberation which would pass. Peace could be at tained, and someday would. Today, however, we are witnessing a new phenomenon. The very idea of a peaceful, ordered world is rapidly disappearing. Peace, while not yet entirely aban doned, is regarded more as a utopian ideal than a concrete possibility. People seem to be resigned to the inevitability of con^ct, with no solution in sight. These grim truths are ap parent to aU. But a paralysis has set in, a feeling of hopelessness, an inability to deal with the frightening facts. Powerful nations seem helpless to combat the violence in their own coun tries, let alone international conflicts. And the individual? If nations are powerless to act, what can a puny individual do? One man’s actions cannot affect the destiny of world events; the world will take its course, and the most each per son hopes is that the ensuing tuimoil will at least leave him or her a survivor. Nobody and nothing is in significant to G-d. The hearts of kings and monarchs cure in His hands, and the humblest peasant and the mightiest potentate are equal before Him. An individual’s actions do count, changes can be made, and no course of events is immutable. Divine cognizance of all actions is made, and their effect is reckoned in the Divine scale, not the human. Because the physical and spiritual are link^ to each other, a spiritual action affects the physical. Every individual can have an impact of incredi ble consequence, because the power of the spirit is not measured by numbers, or wealth, or weaponry. This is the mission of the Jew. The task of the Chosen People is to reveal G-d’s presence in this world. The darkness of hatred and violence that engulfs us can be dispelled, and man can live a life of decency and peace. Every thought, every word, every action consonant with Torah expresses the Jew’s bond to his Creator, kindles one more light to help dispel the darkness that betrays man’s alienation from the Divine. When enough lights have been kindled, they pro duce an illumination to bemish darkness permanently. The Messianic era will have arrived. One Jew alone can produce light; all Jews together, united, ccui kindle a flame the light of which will illuminate the entire world. Each Jew is a potential spark of the In finite. All Jews together are a burning torch whose radiance is a reflection of G-dliness itself. Unity among Jews is, fittingly enough, the counter balance to the present divisiveness, and its resultant chaos and strife will be nullified in the radiance pro duced by a Jewry united. This then is the antidote to the in stability prevalent today. -But Jews have all the frailities that all men possess. Each possesses qualities dif ferent from another, each is distinguished by differing in telligence, emotions, traits that combine to make each person unique. Nor are they physically together, living in many diffo*ent countries, with widely ranging life styles and environments. How are they to be united? There is, however, one ele ment which all Jews have in conunon, and which is unique ly suitable to produce that uni ty. Three thousand years ago, we stood together at Mt. Sinai and received that most precious possession of G-d - the Torah. At that moment we became a people, a nation, and from then on Torah was, and remains, the life blood that has been our source of strength and vitality. In addition to the above it is proper to demonstrate our uni ty during prayer. 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The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1984, edition 1
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