The true foundation of Jewish identity

Zsolt Hermann
1 min readOct 3, 2024

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An article in The Jerusalem Post:

My comment:

Interestingly, JPOST published this article in two almost identical formats.

I try to comment differently but with the same message.

When we search for our common Jewish identity underneath the mind-boggling diversity and vastly different viewpoints and opinions that are so typically Jewish, we find only one uniting factor: our unbreakable and irrepressible connection to the single source that created us and governs us.

As our greatest Kabbalistic sages explain, our purpose in life is to connect to and attain this single source by becoming similar to Him.

And since this single life-creating and governing force is characterized by absolute and totally selfless love and bestowal, we also have to become like that.

And we have to learn and practice such “godly” qualities through each other, through our uniquely Jewish, “supernatural” — above the inherently selfish egoistic and exploitative human nature — unity and mutual guarantee, where we become able to cover all transgressions against each other with a methodically acquired “brotherly love.”

This is why the most important, all-inclusive Mitzvah of the Torah is “Love your friend as yourself.”

If we help each other remember that this is the core of our Jewish identity, we will progress and develop from strength to strength!

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Zsolt Hermann

I am a Hungarian-born Orthopedic surgeon presently living in New Zealand, with a profound interest in how mutually integrated living systems work.