Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
I was listening to the news yesterday and it occurred to me that what we need most at this moment is trust. We need to trust that if a rabbi is beaten up on Yafo Street or a youth is slapped on the light rail, the police will respond quickly to such incidents and prevent them from happening again. We need to trust that if a soldier in the IDF is wounded, whether physically or psychologically, he will receive proper rehabilitation. We need to trust that when we order dessert in a meat restaurant, the dessert served will not be dairy. We need politicians to trust each other, while it seems that they are insincere and are just trying to fool each other. And we need politicians and the people to trust each other too.
In the synagogue on Shabbat, we will read parasha Kedoshim: "You shall be holy," the Torah declares. Yet this exhortation is not about dry or abstract laws, but is a call to being truly spiritual, where we care deeply for one another. Being holy concerns our relationships and how we create a positive atmosphere of mutual respect, which is only possible where people fully trust each other.
"You shall rise before the aged, and respect the elderly.
You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another.
You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery.
You shall not withhold the day laborer's wages overnight.
You shall not curse the deaf, nor place a stumbling block before the blind.
You shall not render an unjust judgment. You shall neither favor the poor nor show deference to the rich. You shall judge your fellow fairly.
You shall not speak gossip among your people.
You shall not stand idly by your brother's blood.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
The above constitutes a social policy of trust and, if implemented here, would bring glory to the State of Israel.
