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Moshe Kempinski , author of The Teacher and the Preacher, is the editor of the Jerusalem Insights weekly email journal and co-owner of Shorashim, a Biblical shop and learning center in the Old City of Jerusalem.
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By Moshe Kempinski
March 23, 2006
It felt very strange driving into an unfamiliar neighborhood with the intent and purpose of knocking on the doors of strangers. We set off in answer to the call of the Zazim Yemina (Moving Rightward) movement, attempting to engage as many Israeli citizens as possible in a pre-election dialogue. My brother-in-law Eli and I drove into the neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, unsure of how we would achieve our mission.
We arrived at our destination wary but determined. After many days of contacting families by phone, I sensed a clear yearning to speak to people face-to-face. As we sat in the car, we discussed our discomfort at forcing ourselves into the lives of unsuspecting residents. We wondered how people would respond. Would we be met with anger or apathy?
Yet, on the other hand, we also discussed how we could not sit at home .We focused on our belief that as faithful Jews, we had no choice but to act on our faithfulness. We remembered the letter sent out by the young boy in Bet-El exhorting all the parents of the courageous youth in orange to step forward in action. We concluded that as Jews, we believe that the results of our actions will be determined in the more Heavenly spheres, but we are not absolved from acting.
So, we knocked on our first door.
We were fortunate that the first people who greeted us smiled at our intrusion. They thanked us for our efforts and assured us that they would not vote for Ehud Olmert's Kadima party. We walked out smiling and Eli muttered, "Lucky break."
The next door also opened into a family very committed to this land and its values. As we walked up the stairs, we were met by some young people who assured us that everyone in the building would vote anything but Kadima. The neighbors whom we did meet in their homes confirmed that statement. We moved on to the next building.
Here, too, we were invited to come into homes to speak to some people, while others warmly informed us that they were voting Likud, Yisrael Beitenu and Ichud Leumi (National Union). One young man asked if we could help him sort out his problem of not knowing where he could vote as a soldier. One call solved his problem.
We entered the home of one very warm family that explained they would not vote for anyone. "They are all corrupt," we were told. The man of the house said that he once belonged to the Israeli Black Panther movement. He described how they would steal milk and bread and then disperse it amongst the poor. We told him that today the young people with the orange Gush Katif wristbands were doing the same thing. The only difference is that they were getting the food donated to them before they gave it out. We said that we understood his frustration, but that he should look for a party that wasn't trying to rule but simply trying to serve. We suggested the Ichud Leumi party.
We began to wonder how the polls seem to indicate that the Kadima party would garner close to forty seats. That would mean one out of every three or four citizens would vote Kadima, and we couldn't find a single one. I was reminded of the Where's Waldo? books. We became determined to find a Kadima voter.
We finally found one in the fourth building, but he wouldn't open his door. In fact, he sounded vaguely like Ehud Olmert.
There were other disappointments through the evening in addition to the lone Kadima voter, but the people of Israel we met were good people. They want to believe in this country, but have been taught by the actions of their leadership that this belief is naive. They want to believe in the destiny and future of their people, but have been made to feel embarrassed by this desire. They are very confused and very tired. It is up to the faithful people of this land to step into the vacuum and share some of their vision. It is up to the people of Israel to overcome their own shellshock and step through the smoky haze created by opinion polls. It is time that those "servants that take pleasure in her stones, and cherish the dust" (Psalm 102:15) of Israel help raise their brethren out of the mire.
The groups in our area could not reach that many people; yet, all across the country, thousands of other committed Jews, young and old, were doing the same thing we were doing. Tens of thousands of people have been engaged, touched and motivated to think. There are tens of thousands of others waiting to be moved.
Will it make enough of a difference? I don't know. Yet, we can only hope that our actions are viewed favorably in the Heavenly spheres; for in the end, that is all that matters.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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