The moment the gates of the shtetl were thrown open by the Tzar, there was nothing keeping the Jews of Eastern Europe together. Why do some Jews feel compelled to keep to the religious tradition while others become hopeless social revolutionaries? Is this because we intuitively feel the plight of the oppressed? Or is it an unconscious defense mechanism working to ensure the society we’re in will grow to become diverse enough, inclusive enough, to eventually accept us as first degree citizens? Are e doomed to have our national loyalty questioned as long as Israel is around? How come the different Jewish factions must become sworn enemies and and why does this strange pattern keep repeating itself? How do we break the cycle and create a model Jewish society that can embrace extreme opposites as essential halves of one whole? #revolution #jews #Israel #zionism #Haskala #Enlightenment #unity