Thinking Torah Blog

As the world continues to shift beneath our feet, the Jewish community is also navigating new dynamics. In the last few weeks, we’ve witnessed a series of global changes that make some of us feel as if we’re living in an upside-down reality. Sadly, the Jewish world is not immune to this turmoil. Two recent events, in particular, have deeply pained me, even as I recognize the political calculations behind them. 

The first was the ADL’s failure to condemn Elon Musk for his Nazi salute on Inauguration Day, and the second was Israel’s vote against the UN motion condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although I have no direct access to decision-makers at the ADL or the State of Israel, I believe both actions were taken to appease President Trump. They seem to be forms of self-preservation: the ADL likely thinks it can better fulfill its mission to combat antisemitism by staying on good terms with the Trump administration, and Israel—relying on the administration’s favor for its survival—now feels like a vassal state. 

As individuals, Judaism teaches us the moral obligation of self-preservation. For example, the Babylonian Talmud, in Baba Metzia 62a, depicts two travelers in the desert with only enough water for one to survive. Rabbi Akiva concludes that whoever possesses the water must drink it, rather than share it and cause both to perish. If the ADL and Israel believed their decisions would protect their “lives,” was it the right thing to do? 

I suspect we will see many more such decisions in the coming years. Although every fiber of my being wants to denounce these actions as incompatible with my Jewish values, we are living in a world that demands savviness. Mere condemnation is unlikely to bring about real change—certainly not for the ADL, Israel, or any other institution. Instead, we must use our collective imagination. How can we help leaders see a future where self-preservation aligns with our sense of justice? How do we build a future that balances survival and a commitment to our other values? 

In an upside-down world, we cannot simply demand that things return to how they were. We must imagine and create a new reality. That is our only way forward.