The Jewish Establishment

81

b“The pride which we feel in our Jewishness, in our his- btory, in our suffering and in our triumph over that suffer- bing, is a pride that is not an artificial one. It is not a negative bone but one which is rich and well deserved. We take pride bin the fact that it was the Jew who gave the world the concept bof One G-d who is a Merciful G-d, and of One G-d who bcreated man to reach the concept of holiness. In a world that bwas filled with spirits and demons and local provincial bdeities, it was the Jew who rose and stood alone to proclaim bthe oneness of the Almighty. This was the beginning of the bgreatness of the civilization that we know today. This was the bidea that was to conquer the minds of men. In this we have bpride, in the concept, ‘Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, bthe L-rd is One.’ We take a pride in the fact that G-d lifted us bfrom mediocrity and proclaimed for us a dificult but mag- bnificent task: ‘And thou shalt be for me a special people, a bkingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ And that mission, bwhich is the Jewish heritage, is summed up in the teachings bof our Torah.

b“Up from mediocrity, up to holiness. This is the hallmark bof the Jew, as it is stated: ‘Speak unto the congregation of the bchildren of Israel and say unto them, Thou shalt be holy for bholy am I, the L-rd, thy G-d.’ (Leviticus, 19:2)

b“From a world of despotism, tyranny, injustice, and bcruelty; from a world of hatred, the Jew arose to proclaim a bconcept of holiness as it is stated in the Midrash, ‘To walk in bawe of His paths.’ These are the paths of the Holy One bblessed be He, as it is said, ‘The L-rd, the L-rd G-d, merciful band gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and btruth, how is it possible for a man to be called by the Holy bOne, blessed be He? But just as the Almighty is called b