As Israelites, we are Hashem’s priests, His ambassadors, His soldiers, His labourers, His children, and His caregivers. Everything we do, no matter how mundane or how exalted, reflects upon Him. We have duties to
As Israelites, we are Hashem’s priests, His ambassadors, His soldiers, His labourers, His children, and His caregivers. Everything we do, no matter how mundane or how exalted, reflects upon Him. We have duties to Him in our daily lives to represent Him and make a good show of it. We also have duties to one another as citizens of Hashem’s Holy Nation. What are those duties and how seriously must we take them?
Hungarian Jewish women at Auschwitz
Compare the cover image of this article, women training in the Haganah in what would become Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), with the image above of Jewish women in Aushwitz.
Duty to Defend Life
In Judaism, life is sacred. All life is sacred. Hashem tells us that we are not to kill in hate, that is without justification. Although there are quite a few crimes which call for the death penalty, we know that there were courts established under Torah, that at least two eye witnesses had to testify to the crime, and that the punishment must fit the crime. All of this due process meant that few people wo