The Ashkenazi Revolution

In Latin, the word “victory” is derived from the verb that expressessubmission, killing and destruction. The Roman concept of victory has todo with the bringing of submission, destruction, and the extinction of allenemies of Rome. However, the Jewish concept of victory has to do withthe guarantee of eternity for the Jewish People. The Jewish prize is time.“Honor your father and your mother so that your days will be long upon theEarth.” The Jewish punishment is that of being totally uprooted from thefield of time: “You shall surely erase the memory of ‘Amalek from underthe heavens” (Exodus 17:14). When we wish to designate a particularthing as being long-lasting, we intend to say that it has positive qualities.When we say, about something, that it is ephemeral, we wish to note that itlacks all value or importance. But this assessment contradicts logic, forthings that have value are also destined to change, and it is precisely thenegative development that is likely to last a long time. But the Jewishapproach does not accept this assessment. The Jewish approach says that ifa phenomenon is a lasting one then it is evident from this that it is required.And if it is likely to be replaced, then from this it is evident that it is notrequired. Jewish genius says that one who castes his lot with time istraveling the correct path. This attribute is wonderfully illustrated in thelife of Joseph, one of the first heroes of the book of Genesis. When hecame to decipher the dream that Pharaoh’s minister of drinks, and ministerof baking had dreamt in prison, Joseph caste his lot with time and told theminister of drinks, “The three shoots - are three days”. To the minister ofbaking, he interpreted, “Three baskets – are three days.” Later, Joseph tookthe same approach when he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh: “The sevenfat cows are seven years, and the seven good stalks are seven years. Theseven thin cows, that appear after them, are seven years, and the seven thinstalks, which are stricken by the wind, will be seven years of famine.” Theholiday of Sabbath – the quintessential Jewish holiday, unique in its kind –is the holiday of unity with time. The Jew ceases his toil and his errands,minimizing his movements as much as possible in order to dedicate hisconcentration to the wonder of time and its movements. Everybody isobligated to rest on the Sabbath, and against this backdrop of the freezingof all personal movement, the power of the cosmic movement of timestands out. Last but not least: The Jewish prophet, who was a unique type9