Emuna: Feet on the Ground, Eyes to the Heavens

 By Rav Haggai Londin, yeshiva.co, translated by Hillel Fendel

The first verse in the Torah tells us that G-d created the world. A man of faith is an optimist: His faith is neither hollow and vague, nor a naïve platitude that everything is great – but rather the clear recognition that the world is not wanton, and is "positive" in its essence. Good will always find its way to victory. This is an existential, spiritual sense – but its fingerprints are clearly felt throughout the course of our everyday lives. 

Materialistic man, the modern incarnation of the ancient pagan, is inclined to pessimism. The materialistic point of departure is that only what our senses experience is real. It's true that what is seen only through such glasses can be misleading. Materialism touches only the here and now; long processes are not in its field of vision, such that it appears that evil is winning the game.

This approach of course also acknowledges that there is some goodness, but since it does not appear in a complete and immediate manner, it does not count for much. Western culture seeks the "extreme experience," and as the goodness that is experienced at any given moment is not the "best," the modern view escapes towards the idea that what we are experiencing is actually the "worst." In the rich imagination of Western culture, as we see in so many movies and books, the forecast for the future is generally apocalyptic: natural disasters, atomic holocaust, other-world invaders, and the like.

Jewish optimism is not an anticipation of the absolute best, and certainly not of the absolute worst – but rather of goodness that gradually emerges victorious during the course of history – individual, communal, and cosmological. The ultimate good will appear, but not all at once. This is called "perspective."

Stockdale and Developing Optimism

An example of the correct approach to optimism can be learned from US Navy Admiral Jim Stockdale (1923-2005). He was the highest-ranking American officer to be captured by the Vietnamese, and he spent over seven years in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison, where he was repeatedly tortured. Perhaps even worse was that he spent the entire time not knowing when - or if! - he would ever be freed. The famous Stockdale Paradox is that on the one hand, his optimism and confidence that he would one day be free was what helped him make it out alive – while on the other hand, some of his prison friends were similarly optimistic that they would be freed by a particular date – and yet, after being disappointed time after time, they finally broke down.

Stockdale's solution to the paradox was to differentiate between "immediate optimism" and "developing optimism." Those who were sure they would be freed within a specific time were proven wrong, and the repeated frustrating setbacks ultimately broke them down. He, however, who waited patiently for his release, reached the goal. 

The latter is the faith-based approach: not an illusion that all will suddenly work out, but rather a long-view vision of reality that is simultaneously abstract and realistic. It is realistic in that it recognizes the current difficulties, and is abstract in that it enables a perception of the long-term, which is always positive. This provides the mental strength and stability necessary for dealing with the difficulties. As Stockdale himself put it, "This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

From Vietnam to Israel

This line of thinking can help us deal with other challenges we face. Despite the incredible blossoming and growth of the State of Israel under the most difficult of circumstances, there is no lack of prophets of doom that like to periodically announce the coming end of the State. Some of the "insoluble" problems they see include our Arab neighbors who seek to destroy us; the growing Arab minority in our midst; anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment around the world; civil societal strife; and post-Zionist sentiment in Israel. Their conclusion is that we must do one or more of the following: surrender our national and strategic assets, give in to foreign dictates, and/or blur our Jewish and national identity by turning Israel into a "state of all its citizens" instead of a Jewish state. 

Marching Towards the Third Jewish House

Here, too, the correct philosophy of optimism comes to our rescue. Our faith-based point of departure is that "the Eternity of Israel [i.e., G-d] will neither deceive nor change His mind" (Samuel I 15,29). That is to say, the Jewish Nation has come successfully through even worse tribulations, and we'll make it through the current ones as well.

We can cautiously but confidently predict the following scenarios in response to each of the above concerns: 

• Militarily, the State of Israel today is a regional power. We are surrounded by crumbling Arab nations and splinter terrorist groups. The terrorist acts and other military threats they present are a painful problem, but they are not an existential threat to the Jewish People in its Land. From one military round to the next, we get stronger and they become weaker. Optimism does not mean complacency, however, and we must always work to be prepared to meet head-on the latest threats – but in the larger picture, the military, technological, economic, and human-resource gaps between Israel and our enemies continue to grow. 
• The large majority of non-Jewish citizens here have accepted, whether willingly or for lack of choice, their dependence on the State of Israel. The stronger our national determination grows, the more this phenomenon will continue, while measures will be taken against the minority that does not accept our sovereignty. Unlike the pessimists' cataclysmic predictions over the course of the past decades, the demographic scales continue to tip in the Jewish direction. This trend must of course be fortified in every way possible.
• Yes, our image in the world is negative, but let us not exaggerate its importance. The Arabs in fact dominate world public opinion, because of their size, the progressive winds currently blowing in the West, and general anti-Semitism. However, the short history of the State of Israel has proven that this does not change the overall picture. Israel's economic and military supremacy has brought Arab countries to seek rapprochement with us – at first because it is in their national interest, and in later stages, it will stem from an ethical recognizance.
• The Jewish nation is currently in its best economic situation ever in its history. The standard of living in Israel is among the highest in the world, and all benefit from it. We see that the societal gaps – an unavoidable result of human nature – are diminishing as the economy grows. Israel is an empire of charity and kindness – eternal values of the Jewish people – both towards other nations in times of emergency and towards its own citizens in need. 
• Post-Zionist sentiment exists, but it appears more frightening than it actually is. There is a tremendous gap between a small and noisy group of members of the media, academia, and the arts, and the clear majority of the Jewish public that is nationalist and traditional. The damage that this small group causes is certainly terrible, and it is also they who are trying to paint a misleading picture of Israel as a divided nation on the verge of the abyss – so as to give disproportionate weight to their opinions. However, they are losing the battle, both demographically and culturally. They have very few offspring - and not only biologically. Kabbalah refers to idol-worship in this manner, saying it is sterile and does not produce fruit. This can be observed in every poll, in every election result, in percentages of children from different sectors in the educational system, and even in popular culture. It is not at all unlikely that within 30 years the categorization "secular" will be replaced by the term "traditional." (Keep in mind that in Israel, the term "leftist" – which used to be a badge of pride – is increasingly being replaced by "centrist.")

In the short-term future, we are marching confidently towards becoming a wealthy country with a continually growing population and a solidly Jewish-traditional majority. In the further-off range, the future is even brighter – a vision that Judaism calls the Days of the Third Temple. This does not imply that we may allow any form of apathy towards the problems that exist. On the contrary, it should encourage us to get to work on them with extra enthusiasm –not as if in a game of catch-up, but rather with initiative and confidence in victory.

In the meanwhile, very much patience is required, as well as the recognition that even as the process seems to amble along, it will certainly come to its successful conclusion.