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I believe in Alliance of Superpowers - Usa and Russia

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  • Аннотация:
    Эта статья, как и предыдущая, написана 10 лет назад и опубликована здесь же на русском языке. Теперь я публикую ее на английском. Считаю ее крайне актуальной. Противостояние двух ядерных христианских держав в эпоху глобализации, когда идет процесс накопления множества общих проблем, само по себе абсурдно. Но слишком многие стремятся доказать, что очевидное различие между американцами и русскими, обрекает их на неизбежное столкновение. Я стараюсь доказать обратное: два эти народа взаимодополняют друг друга.
  I believe...
  
  ...in Alliance of Superpowers - USA and Russia
  
  Well, this is true; I was born and brought up in the midst of a Cold War between two super-powers. As one of the refuseniks, together with my friends, I used this confrontation to appeal to the USA asking for help in our struggle against the Soviet regime.
  
  However, now when we have already had the experience of a uni-polar world, I see that the USA and Russia are meant to form an alliance of super-powers because they mutually strengthen one other with everything they possess.
  Clearly, not every country has the potential to become a super-power. In order to become a super-power, a state must offer a certain Super-Idea.
  Both USA and Russia have such a Super-Idea to offer.
  
  When it comes to the USA, this Super-Idea represents the Protestant Idea of Man"s Freedom in Name of G-d. From the religious point of view, it ended the subordination of one Man to another. Instead, Man became a subordinate of G-d, directly, without any intermediary. Man has been transformed by becoming accountable only to G-d. Great qualities such as independence, law obedience, hard work and honesty have developed in the process, but that is not all; it also led to new forms of societal self-development, i.e. to such a state where Law rules, not Man.
  By doing that Christian Protestants implemented ideals, which were, unfortunately rejected by the nation of Israel when they demanded Prophet Samuel to give them a king in their drive to be like "any other nation".
  Ironically, Christian Protestants went far from being like "any other nations". As a result, all these other nations, including the nation of Israel, started copying their experience.
  
  In Europe the very Idea of Man"s freedom in Name of G-d could be materialized only when applied to concrete nation states. It could reach the level of universal value only in the USA where people of different origins and faiths enjoyed the opportunity to adopt this Idea as common for the entirety of mankind.
  For that reason, any alien who comes to Europe - for instance, to Germany, Britain, France or Sweden - becomes German, British, French or Swedish very relatively - while in the United States becoming an American is a natural process.
  
  The problem is that while becoming Americans, people of various descents stopped perceiving the Protestant Idea of Freedom as a religious postulate. On the contrary, its Christian Protestant essence started hindering their attempts to think of themselves as true Americans. That is why the new Americans started doing their best in order to erase any religious associations with the origin of the American Super-Idea.
  That inevitably leads to an undermining of the grounds of American statehood, because as soon as people lose the perception of the sacred values uniting them, they become disoriented in all the fields of human activity. That is exactly what happened: the Protestant cult of productive work transformed itself into cult of consumption of merchandise produced. It also resulted in a sharp increase of demand for this merchandise. What were initially strict moral standards that each individual would set for himself, would eventually be transformed into demands towards the state and ultimately into mass dependence. Freedom has been replaced by lawlessness, and the belief in the universal value of the American Super-Idea ended in arrogant and eager desire to forcefully impose this Super-Idea on other nations.
  This degradation is so obvious that one can quite seriously project the end of the USA, i.e American Super-Power collapsing and falling apart.
  
  But this is impossible precisely because the world cannot afford another global cataclysm similar to the one that took place when the Soviet Union collapsed. Besides, disintegration of the USA would be even more disastrous than that one of the Soviet Union because the USA does not have a title nation controlling all other nations as was in the case of Soviet empire. What this means is that there are no borders within which this disintegration may occur painlessly.
  
  Only Russia, the adversary of Cold War times, can save this situation. Russia has become an alternative super-power because it carries a totally opposite universal Idea, and that is the Greek idea of pandeja, i.e. the cultural self-creation of Man.
  Alexander the Great was the first one who tried to unite people on the basis of the Greek Idea of the universal world order. That was an idea of Hellenistic essence. Though Alexander the Great failed politically, the process of Hellenization of conquered nations set a basis for building two great Empires - Rome (the First Empire) and Byzantium (the Second Empire)
  Russia adopted this Idea from Byzantium via the Orthodox Christian faith. On a personal level, this idea was transformed into adoration. On a universal level, it has been transformed into the Idea of a Third Rome. Politically this Idea of the Third Rome was implemented in the Russian Empire, which despite all its problems, claimed the right to something more significant than imperial glory. Russia claimed the right to the universal spiritual truth. Given that, there is no surprise that the "Ghost of Communism", (the Marxist Idea of world order according to which every individual will have unlimited access to all the material and spiritual wealth of mankind) found heaven in Russia where the Idea of the Third Rome transformed into an idea of the Third International.
  Only by taking into account this spiritual succession can one understand how the totalitarian Soviet regime produced such an enormous number of individuals with a thirst for knowledge because they were convinced that knowledge is at the heart of personal formation. No wonder that after the Iron Curtain fell, all these individuals easily integrated themselves into the world community thanks to their excellent personal credentials.
   Rightfully claiming to be the carrier of the Super-Idea, each one of the super-powers runs into trouble while trying to implement this Idea, because they compete with each other. The paradox is that both the USA and Russia can obtain Super-Ideas of their own only when they form an alliance. But this alliance requires a new political form, and a "Diaspora-Metropolis" type of state proves to be this perfect form.
   The USA is the only nation, in which the ideals of a civic society are still deeply connected to the religious principles of the Founding Fathers. Freedom in Name of G-d, which has politically manifested itself by means of separation of church and state, has made it possible to unite people of different origins and faiths. Therefore, while interacting with each other as Americans, they are able to deliver to their metropolises the cultural capital, which is essential for building a civil society there. Thus, every nation will be able to implement the American Super-Idea of Freedom without any intervention from outside.
   The process of establishing a civil society requires rethinking the whole concept of national culture, which is always sacred by its nature. This is precisely the reason why it is so difficult to impose upon nations the American Super-Idea because initially this Idea was the product of Christian Protestant religious experience.
   What this means is that people should have a different motif of getting freedom in Name of G-d from Christian Protestants.
   Only Russia, being a carrier of the Idea of Man"s cultural self-creation, can offer such a motif. Naturally, this idea cannot be implemented without revolutionary changes in the entire system of education. However, the educational system by itself, does not offer solutions to the problem. What matters is the culture of the family within which Man himself is created.
   The culture of the family has become a major problem since we entered the Third Temple era because family fails to meet the challenges of modern civilization and fails to prepare Man for those challenges. The only ones who can transform the culture of the family, which is the most conservative nucleus of each nation, are, first of all, those who belong to this particular nation and understand people, and then those who extended the limits of an established culture with all its stereotypes. We are talking about people in the Diaspora.
   That is why it is so important to unite all the dispersed people in the name of one common goal.
   The "Diaspora-Metropolis" type of state is a model of such a societal order, which makes such unity quite feasible.
   Only such a state gives an opportunity to implement the Russian Super-Idea of a Universal Man and universal unity.
   Only such a state gives an opportunity to implement the American Super-Idea of Freedom because the culture of the family is the only means of protecting individual Freedom from those who are so eager to replace G-d in ruling this world. Having set these ambitious goals such people manipulate others" minds, impose upon them false values, false sciences, false ideologies, and false religions. They try to use G-d, as well as ignorance, in order to enslave people.
   Russian Jewry...
   Well, it seems that Russian Jews do not have any future.
   After the Iron Curtain fell Russian Jews fled the country. Some went to Israel, others to America, Germany, Australia, etc. In each of these countries they had to adjust to reality; and again, for the most part, they went through this adjustment very successfully. The younger generation practically does not speak any Russian, they are not interested in what their fathers and grandfathers had to endure behind the Iron Curtain. Assimilation is on the rise...
   It is equally on the rise among those Jews who chose to stay in what has been left after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is true, that the newly organized Jewish cultural centers might produce an impression of a revival and even blossoming of Jewish life, Numerous Jewish organizations contribute to this impression as well. However, they do not have much to offer but just another return to their Jewish past, which had been destroyed by Bolsheviks. That is why they cannot decide for themselves what kind of Jewish life they want to live. For the most part, the majority of Jews there do not even care, with the exception of those who became "professional" Jews.
  And yet, I do not completely give up on Russian Jewry. I believe that eventually they will realize that their life experience behind the Iron Curtain was part of the experience of talking to G-d when G-d is silent.
  
  It is well known that the Iron Curtain deprived the Russian Jews of the national experience, which during 3000 years had defined the self-identification of Jews as well as the shape of a collective self-organization of the Jewish nation.
  The question, however, is: what kind of experience are we talking about?
  The principles of this experience were laid out at the early stages when tribal union was the main form of self-organization of the Jewish people. This experience satisfied the basic necessities of the nation not only in the first millennium of its life in their own land but further on during their 2000-year life in dispersion, when this tribal union transformed into a union of communities dispersed all over the world.
  This inter-communal union was strong enough, while the nations, among which the Jewish communities existed, were basically on the same level of civilizational development as Jews themselves. And while each given community had to deal with its own specific problems, mainly caused by life in non-Jewish environment, the common experience within a secluded community organization remained unchanged.
  
  But this situation changed dramatically, when the nations, among which the Jewish communities found themselves, reached a different level of civilizational development. It became obvious, that this situation sets new challenges for the Jews, and it was extremely difficult to meet these challenges looking for answers in the tribal experience of ancestors.
  Naturally, European Jews had to answer these questions. That explains why the European Jews began to enrich the 3000-year experience with all kinds of innovations, like for instance, Haskalah, reformed Judaism and emancipation. While looking for the answers to questions, many European Jews broke with their Jewish experience, since they could no longer perceive its utility.
  
  It is a common understanding, that by rejecting their traditional 3000-year experience, the Jews turned away from G-d. However, the Scriptures lead to a totally different conclusion proved by experience: the Jews, who "turned away", not the ones who "stayed", have re-created the State of Israel.
  Again, the Scriptures give an explanation for how this happened, when Prophet Jeremiah talks about two Exoduses opposing each other. The first one is the Exodus from the Egypt land, when G-d made a Covenant with the Jewish people, and according to the prophecy, the terms of that covenant would never be fulfilled. The second Exodus is the one from the Northern land and any other lands, after which G-d will make another covenant with the nation of Israel.
  Coming back to the Promised Land, in order to re-create their state, is in fact the beginning of this new Exodus, which is the Exodus from the Northern Land and all other lands. By breaking through the boundaries of a narrow-minded traditional community, the Jews aimed at getting new necessary experience, since the 3000-year experience of Exodus from Egypt by that time had been already completely exhausted.
  No, the Jews did not turn away from G-d; on the contrary, they turned to G-d, precisely for the sake of replacing the covenant, made during the exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt, by a new one.
  
  If we compare these two Exoduses, we will see that we have arrived at the right conclusion.
  First of all, it is worth paying attention to the scales of these two Exoduses: this general Exodus from all the lands clearly overpowers the tribal one, i.e. the Exodus of slaves from one particular land.
  This difference is proved by experience.
  In times of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt G-d gave His Law to mankind. He did it by choosing a certain tribe, which resulted in this tribe becoming isolated from the rest of the world. While adopting this Law from the nation of Israel, all the nations, comprised of Abraham"s descendants, had interpreted this Law differently. Thus, on the one hand, diverse cultural experience was created; on the other hand, it led to confrontation and irreconcilable religious wars.
  The unification of the Israeli nation during Exodus from Northern Land and all other lands set a different goal - consolidation and exchange of cultural experience. Other world nations have the same goal. The Jewish people demonstrated how this goal can be achieved when they re-created the state of Israel by means of national consolidation and summing up the cultural experience, which the Jews had accumulated while they lived among other nations, primarily, in Europe.
  By doing that the Jewish people set an example to world nations how Diaspora can interconnect with the Metropolis. Now, other nations, which have settled in the environment of the European culture, have equal possibilities, since they have access to European cultural experience.
  The only thing left to do, is to come up with a model, which allows people to use this experience in such way that the Metropolis can benefit from it.
  Creating such a model (as we already said, "Diaspora-Metropolis" is an example of such model) is indeed a goal of global significance. And only the Jews are capable of doing that.
  
  Second difference roots from the motivation of Exodus.
  In the case of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, the motivation came from outside. The slaves did not seek Freedom. In fact, they were driven out from slavery forcefully, by means of persuasion and all kind of miracles. But even then, according to the Legend, the majority of Hebrews preferred to remain in slavery, while those who agreed to leave Egypt, were constantly whining and even threaten to go back.
  The reason for the Exodus from the Northern Land and other lands is commonly explained by anti-Semitism, which by that time had changed its religious essence for a racial one. In fact, this reasoning is erroneous, since it appears that the Jews fled from anti-Semitism to "more or less save countries", first of all to the USA.
  The pioneers, Halutsim, who came to re-create the Promised Land, did so not because they were looking for a better life, but because they wanted to live a descent life. They wanted Freedom; they did not want anymore to depend slavishly on the masters and on their masters" feelings, politics, tastes, etc... Only this kind of motivation allowed the miracle to take place. And though there were not that many of these pioneers, Halutsim, among those who returned, they were the ones who defined the path for the entire nation.
  
  The third reason is the motivation of activity.
  Both Scriptures and Jewish prayers constantly emphasize the connection between the actions of a Jew in the service of G-d and the material reward he received from G-d for this service. When Hebrews were wandering in the desert, the manna was falling from the skies; water was running from the rocks, etc... But even after they finally got to the Promised Land, this connection between service to G-d and getting rewards for that service was constantly emphasized when people were asking for rain, harvest, husbandry breeding, etc.
  Practically speaking, G-d had to "bribe" the Hebrew slaves of the Exodus from Egypt because they were able to serve only when they were paid.
  The pioneers Halutsim perceived Man"s activity not only as means of making a living but also as creative work. They viewed work as a necessary condition for shaping a person, individually and as part of the entire nation. This was already a principle aimed at the cultural self-creation of Man, an obvious result of the influence of non-Jewish experience. The absence of such an experience makes it impossible to live in the conditions of the Third Temple era civilization.
  
  The demand for new experience, the readiness to use it for the sake of recreating the Jewish state, proves that during this 2000-year period the Jews went through some qualitative changes. When they made this discovery, they realized that they were ready for a new Exodus, i.e. Exodus from the Northern Land and all other lands.
  The result is clear: the people of Israel demonstrated the ability to re-create their own state, solely because of the cultural experience they obtained while they lived among other nations.
  
  But it appeared, that even in the re-created state of their own, it was very difficult to get rid of the narrow boundaries set by the experience of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
  In the matrix of this limited tribal experience the cultural capital, which had been accumulated by the Jewish people throughout centuries of life among other nations, could not be sanctified in the way necessary for building the Third Temple. For that reason, observance of traditional religious rituals was the only way the Jews could continue serving G-d. As for science, education, political ideas, etc., they were entirely rejected as "foreign" to the traditional Jewish experience.
  The reason for such rejection is obvious: Man"s activities in these fields are common for mankind, and they set grounds for people to realize how they can be united. In the process of such activities, the tribal boundaries are crushed. As a result, the traditional leaders lose their control of the flock.
  Well, indeed, this kind of experience is foreign to slaves. As soon as the Jewish state, which united the nation, was established, it became obvious: there is not a single segment of the society in the Jewish population of Israel, where division is as bitter as it is as in Rabbinical structures. These Rabbinical leaders represent the Guardians of the experience of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
  Because they failed to understand how incompatible the experience of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt is with the idea of re-creation of the Jewish State, the Israeli nation has elevated Rabbinism to the level of state religion. It was done because this experience contained the very idea of returning to Zion. That is why addressing this experience was the only reason for coming back to the Promised Land.
  By doing that, the Jews have made a fatal mistake, the consequences of which began to be felt very rapidly. The process of losing as well as the intentional destruction of experience, which had been accumulated during life among culturally developed nations began. The educational system fell as one of the first victims of this process.
  The form of a state borrowed from the European nations has been kept. But the contents were provided by people, who were mentally prepared to live only in the conditions of a traditional community, not those ones of a modern state.
  The interrelations between labor and capital, typical for a non-state existence, have also been re-created. Unfortunately, the notorious slavish dependence on other nations was recreated by same token. Ironically, the replacement of such a dependence on Soviet Russia by dependence on the USA has not changed the very necessity in such dependence.
  Most importantly, the experience of Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt prevented the nation of Israel from setting goals that could be significant for world nations. That is why this initial enthusiasm, the level of energy of the Jews that they revealed in the beginning of their Exodus from the Northern Land and all other lands, the ambitious plans and eagerness to build a model perfect society of justice, based on the ideals of Prophets of Israel - all that vanished very soon. The return began to lose its significance not only for world nations but for the Jewish people themselves.
  That is what actually allowed upgrading a small minority that lived in the Promised Land before the Exodus from the Northern Land and other lands began, into a nation that never existed before and was never meant to exist. Here we are talking about the "Palestinian people".
  The legitimacy, which the "Palestinian people" have managed to obtain in the eyes of the world community, manifests, primarily, through he significance of the Israeli nation"s return to the Promised Land in the Third Temple era. This return sets a goal of universal significance. But the Jews themselves fail to realize that because they are still imprisoned by the experience of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
  Thus, the metaphoric and mental dependence of the Jews on the experience of Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt, caused problems inherited by the state of Israel that are typical for this experience.
  
  The necessity for the Jewish nation to break up with the experience of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt was already clear to the founding fathers of Israel. And they hoped to achieve that by means of renovation of the entire life of people in the re-created state. However, the reality showed that just re-creating a national state is not enough to break completely with the experience of Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Something more radical than that is required.
  The Iron Curtain that separated part of the Jewish people from the rest of the nation with its 3000-year experience was exactly this "something else".
  It is natural that it happened in the Northern Land, in Russia, where the Russian Jewry was doomed to face totally new conditions, unprecedented in Jewish history, which we call "the Red Babylon". It is natural that it happened on the edge of two eras - those of the Second and the Third Temples.
  As it was 2500 years ago, the Israeli nation, rather its part, found itself in the "Babylonian captivity" for a certain reason - to get out from it, empowered with new experience.
  Both "Babylonian captivities" bookend the Second Temple era. Both lasted 70 years and took place in two different empires - the Persian Empire of the 1st century B.C. and in the Soviet Empire of the 20th century A.D. Both led to great qualitative changes in the Jewish people. But while the first "Babylonian captivity" sealed the isolation of Jewish people among world nations, the second one destroyed this isolation, making the global nature of Exodus from the Northern Land and other lands final and irreversible.
  
  "The Red Babylon" is the peak of the 2000-year dispersion, its ending stage when the tribal consolidation completely fell apart. During the life span of three generations, the Soviet regime, using terror and all kind of restrictions, did everything to root out the 3000-year experience of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Not only was this experience rooted out in practical life, the communists did everything possible to erase any memory of it as well.
  
  G-d was silent. Of course, not G-d Himself, but the people who had the mission through the 3000-year period to vocalize G-d"s will. But in this silence, within a Godless state, a new process had already begun. That was the process of the formation of a new Jewish experience, which was not known to those Jews who did not go through "The Red Babylon".
  In "The Red Babylon" the Jews, for the first time, were left to themselves, deprived even of their traditional community, which for centuries was viewed by them as a replacement for the lost statehood. They were deprived of any forms and essence of their traditional activities. They were deprived of any basis for communicating with each other.
  Under these circumstances it was necessary to find a new basis for interacting with other people. And such basis was found. It was civilization, the product of collective creative work of people, regardless of their ethnic roots or religious persuasion.
  This inevitably influenced the self-identification of Jews in "The Red Babylon". Since then, nationality has become the common basis for all Soviet citizens in their self-identification. But even then, all the citizens of this multi-ethnic empire, when it came to nationality, had many things in common - heritage, language, territory. The Jews were the only ones who did not have any of that. A Jew was just alone, by himself, identified as "an individual of Jewish nationality".
  Thus, the creative energy of the Jewish people could be only of an introverted character, directed towards cultural self-creation. Every Jew was only what he was and possessed only something he managed to save or preserve. World culture became the source of knowledge and skills, and that was the only capital the Jewish people possessed.
  Under these new conditions a Jew began to think of himself as a person of some meaning, thanks to the influence of the Greek pandeja, which he was taking unconsciously from the Russian Orthodox culture. So, only those were given credit as "true Jews" who were successful in their creative work of civilization, not just professionally being scientists, engineers, entertainers, teachers, managers but those who were clearly highly intellectual, able to achieve their goals always relying solely upon themselves.
   Thus, in "The Red Babylon, when G-d was silent, Jews achieved the same level of individualism, as Europeans did. But they achieved that level differently - not via religion but via civilization.
  
  In a hostile environment the Jews built the concept of belonging to society on being useful to the society, which actually needed Jews because of their talents and perseverance. This fully corresponded to the ambitious plans of the Soviet Super-power, which exploited the talents of Jews in its own interests. Jews were actively involved in science, industry, in other words, in everything that could strengthen the country. These plans of the state, though, did not contradict the interests of the Jews themselves, since "The Red Babylon" developed in them a perception of being a such a member of this state who is capable of thinking and acting according to the global level of civilizational development. To achieve such a level of civilizational development is the necessary condition for the start of the Third Temple era.
  
  If the Sate of Israel was never established, if the Soviet Union would not choose the politics of hostility against Israel, which was clearly anti-Semitic, that would probably be the end of the Jewish experience in "The Red Babylon".
  But something different happened, which gave an additional boost to the Jewish experience.
  Soviet anti-Semitism, officially legitimized by anti-Zionism, put an end to the Internationalist illusions of the Jews in "The Red Babylon". The Jews reacted to it by starting to resent the Soviet state and instead expressing their solidarity with the state of Israel. That was a moment of national revival, their struggle for a new Exodus. The most surprising thing is, that at this moment the Soviet Jews started to return to G-d, this time voluntarily, without somebody"s will imposed on them.
  The sense of collective self-identification started to come back to Jews. But now it originated from the new experience - the experience of "The Red Babylon". That is why this new self-identification was based on something, hardly to be expected: on civilization, statehood, and individualism.
  The destruction of "The Red Babylon" gave a boost to the real Exodus of the Jews. Yet, it was not an Exodus of several individuals, it was an Exodus of a nation dispersed throughout the world. The great numbers of participants in this Exodus was necessary to show how the Jews in "The Red Babylon" were different from the rest of the Jewish people, who did not go through such an experience.
  Today, only the Russian Jews have multiple personal connections and relationships with Jews in many countries of the world. They are connected with other Jews not only by a common language, which is Russian, not only by a common past. What is even more important, they are connected with common ideals they developed in "The Red Babylon". They have also developed a similar understanding of today"s problems.
  By losing all the stereotypes of the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt, so typical for the rest of the world Jewry, which did not go through the experience of "the Red Babylon", the Russian Jews proved to be more open to progress than any other group.
  
  In other words, the Russian Jews possess a certain set of qualities, which no other group in the world community has. The question is, whether the Jews would be able to benefit from these qualities or just lose them, by writing them off as totally useless.
  
  I believe they will be able to use these qualities. And I have certain grounds for this belief.
  I believe in the Russian Jews because its destiny unquestionably proves: the covenant of G-d with the nation of Israel is so stable that nobody can destroy it. G-d talks to the chosen people even when He is silent. In his turn, a Jew, by means known only to him, knows when G-d speaks, and he hears what G-d is saying.
  This dialogue goes on, and it will never stop because it is eternal.
  As for the Exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, this experience is over.
  
  Besides, I believe in the Russian Jews because they always subconsciously resent any attempt to "squeeze" them into any of the numerous narrow-minded organizational structures, in which the rest of world Jewry, who did not go through "The Red Babylon" and knew nothing about its experience, feel so comfortable.
  It was not for the sake of establishing new organizations that the Russian Jews went through the new "Babylonian captivity". They have a different mission: to establish a state of a new type - "Diaspora-Metropolis".
  And I believe that the Russian Jews are fully capable of fulfilling this mission.
  
  Do I know?
   After I shared my thoughts with a close friend he asked:
  - Are you sure that this world of ours is wide enough to accommodate your ideas? Don"t you think that you need a Galaxy?
  I understand, all this sounds like mere fantasy, another attempt to rebuild the world.
   Rebuilding the world was not something I had in mind. While looking attentively at concrete people, I try to understand what causes all their problems, which when combined with the problems of other people, become a problem of the entire society on every level of it - urban, national, human. That means that their problems are my personal problems as well. I was trying to sum up the concrete experience of real people. That what shaped up my vision, brought to life ideas, in which I strongly believe.
  This is a totally new approach, and I am sure, I know how I came up with it.
  
  First of all, my approach is determined by the fact that I am a woman.
  The Jewish tradition states that a woman is closer to G-d than a man. This is obvious: The woman gives birth to another human being, with whom she is connected directly, while the man is connected indirectly. For that reason the male approach is to generate abstract ideas and then to impose them on mankind. A female approach originates from a subconscious perception of a human being, which later can be rationalized.
  The necessity to think rationally about what is going on in reality is natural for me, since I am not just a woman, I am a former Soviet woman. This past of mine vanished along with the Soviet state itself.
   But in this state, which does not exist anymore, we were taught that we were distinguished as boys and girls only in the structure of a family. Beyond that, we were all just humans. That is why we all got equal upbringing under the Soviet system of general education.
   We were all taught the principles of sciences, based on respect for scientific facts. We were taught to think logically and to express our thoughts clearly. True, we were forced to the study philosophy of Marx and Lenin but in the process it helped us to understand how important political thought is and what comes out of its implementation.
  Actually, this sort of training became handy when it was time to resolutely oppose this very regime that gave us such good education. And that was a miracle, which proved once and again: Man proposes but G-d disposes. G-d is the only One who knows how to turn Evil into Good.
   We were all united by Russian culture; it influenced my self-identification immensely. The Russian Spirit, which transforms people, has penetrated deeply into my soul. One who is blessed with this Spirit perceives the surrounding world very differently, because at the heart of this Spirit there is belonging, unity, common human ideals. This powerful Spirit finds its way to human blood, to each cell of the brain, it empowers and enhances the bravest fantasies.
   These fantasies do not have any boundaries, the same way as there are no boundaries to Grace sent to this world.
   Only the Land of Zion returns us to realistic perception.
   Only here, in the Land of Zion, I started to realize that everything that I dreamt about while being there, in Russia, here in the Promised Land is materialized practically. Belonging, unity, human ideals are materialized in the process of Exodus from the Northern Land and other lands because only here, in the Promised Land, there is an opportunity to unite something that cannot be united anywhere else on this planet. Here the sacred Spirit of all cultures is united with the Sinai Revelation, family tradition is united with "the global village", an individual is united with all mankind.
  I am a participant in this Exodus. I am proud to say that I am an active participant. Not much to add.
  
  - How did you come up with all these ideas? - A Rabbi asked me after I explained to him my concept, which I laid out in the book "The Paradox of the Fifth Commandment".- Do you have a religious background?
   - No, I don"t, - I answered emphatically. - I come from a totally assimilated family. My father was a Soviet officer. A substantial part of my childhood I spent living at a military garrison. There were practically no Jews there... But answering your question...
   I paused and then went on:
   - I just analyzed some phenomena, which one inevitably comes across while living in our Israeli society. That led me to conclusions, which are in full agreement with the Sinai Revelation. This is, if you will, the same thing as in science. The rules of science exist independently, regardless of whether somebody discovers them or not. But if a scientist understands a certain phenomenon correctly, he will discover the right rule, although it already exists independently. The same is true with the Sinai Revelation. I believe that G-d has given His Law in the Revelation and it was given to the entirety of mankind. This Law exists independently, regardless of whether people are familiar with it or not. I did something similar to what a scientist does: I carefully examined life"s realities, gave thorough thought to the facts at hand, and ultimately discovered a certain order in the process of their formation. I came to the conclusion that History should be based on logic, which reveals G-d"s will. Actually, History is an example of a certain logical order. And the fact that my conclusions coincide with the basic ideas of Revelation, which is conveyed to Jews via traditional religious upbringing, gives me hope that my analysis is correct.
  
   After another pause I went on because I thought it would be right to spell out, what I had in mind.
   - You know, I think my approach offers a certain advantage. If I base my conclusions on the facts, which have already taken place in reality, it means that I can go on like that, i.e. to continue examining the dawning of something that in the future can become another fact. Well, not necessarily. But this allows Man to be an active part of the historical process. That gives a Man the very Freedom of choice, which distinguishes Man from all other creatures. And I cannot ignore the fact that those people, who got the Revelation ready-made through the system of education and upbringing, actually do not have such an opportunity. They perceive the traditional understanding of Revelation as self-sufficient and for that reason they just eliminate the facts that do not fit into their interpretation of Revelation. But the fact still remains. The Jewish nation returned from exile in a new capacity. It was different from those sent to exile centuries ago. But the traditionalists do not see it this way. They are stuck in the middle of the road because they lost any real connection with real life of the Jewish people. And the nation started wandering because it does not have the clear path. Well, what is new? Remember, the Prophet warned about shepherds shepherding themselves.
   (Frankly, I did not say what I wanted to say: They are sitting on the Revelation like a dog in the manger. They do not know what to do but they prevent others from doing anything.)
  
  What can be done in this situation? And what can those "other people" do? And who are they anyway?
  Is it me? Do I actually know what to do??
  Somebody who claims to know everything is immediately reminded of the quotation from the late poet Alexander Galich.
   - Aren"t you afraid? - I am frequently asked this question. - Don"t you remember Galich"s words: "Be afraid of anyone who says, he knows the answer!"
  
   I understand why our people are so obsessed with this particular quotation from Galich. We are all traumatized by the experiment we were dragged into by those who "knew the answers", knew how to build a model, a perfect society based on principles of Marxism-Leninism.
  
  But our "experts" were not the only ones.
  The sense of arrogant self-importance presented the 20th century with quite a number of such "experts" besides Lenin and Stalin. Here they are: Mussolini, Hitler, Mao Zedong. By the end of the former century ayatollah Khomeini was added to this list. Sadly, the new, 21st century has already proven that in this respect, it matches its predecessor. Again, there are people who cry out loud: "I know!" They are hundred percent sure, they are the only ones who know what kind of "human rights" should mankind have.
  But mankind is not so homogeneous. It is not comprised of abstract people capable of obeying one Charter, created by some crazy lunatics.
   And yet, if not for those people, who dare to say "yes, I know. Follow me!" it is quite possible that mankind would still live in caves.
  Mankind progressed, step by step, precisely because such people always appeared. They already saw in the fog the tempting future shaping up, and by exclaiming "I know. Follow me" they would make the first step, inviting the rest to follow them.
   They were undertaking these first and further steps in order to make sure: it was a wrong path, they oversaw something, they made a mistake, while looking for an easy solution. And again the whole picture of world order would lose its clarity, again fog would cover everything. But again somebody would resurface, somebody who already saw the tempting shape of the future, would carry the rest along with him by saying: "I know. Follow me."
  Yes, I can say "I know" because I clearly see the shape of this bright future. I see this whole picture but not only of the future but that one of the past. And I refuse to believe that all the steps had been made in the past only for the sake of reaching the edge of abyss and fall into it.
   However, I cannot say "I know" because I am afraid of sinning. I am not talking about ordinary sins. I am afraid of the Original Sin. Everything started from it.
  
  - Do you want to be like G-d? Do you want to know Good and Evil? - The Creator
  asked Adam.
  - Yes, I do. - The First Man answered.
  From that very moment Man was predestined to mix up imaginary Good with true Good. Man is fascinated and tempted by this mirage. He gathers all his strength, works hard, and he is ready to sacrifice his life in order to achieve Good. But the closer he comes to his goal, the more evident it becomes that what he thinks to be Good is actually Evil.
  
   It will go on like that until the moment of redemption comes when man will repent and he will renounce his claims for Knowledge of Good and Evil.
   We call this moment "The Coming of Mashiah"
   But since Mashiah has not come yet, there is nothing we can do but to accept that this is our destiny - to be balancing on a thin rope over the abyss. This thin rope actually separates the slogan "I know. Follow me" from the slogan "I don"t know anything because G-d is the only One who knows Good and Evil".
  
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