Intro

There was once a poor and simple man named Banche Shveig. He lived a good life, actually an exemplary life of prayer and kindness, love of Torah and G-d. When he reached the gates of heaven, the angels were all abuzz. “Banche Shveig! Banche Shveig!” everyone said. He approached further and further into heaven all along accompanied by  calls to his name, “Banche Shveig! Banche Shveig!” Finally, he approached the throne of G-d, so to speak. G-d turned to him and said, “Banche Shveig, you have lived a good life. You deserve the very best. Whatever you want from all of my kingdoms, from all of the universe, it is yours.” Banche thought a minute and responded with what he really wanted most. “Master of the Universe, what I would really like most would be a nice slice of toast every day with a nice slab of butter. At that point, a Heavenly tear fell from the throne of G-d, so to speak. 

The human capacity to dream of Utopian worlds is unlimited. The potential for utopia is there. If only we could all agree and work it out, and make it happen. In the mean time though, if we could just put bread on some people’s tables, they would say “dayenu” that it was sufficient. The gap between the potential and the actual is so overwhelming, that sometimes we want to shed a few tears too. 

The world we live in is plagued with unimaginable horrors. Poverty in countless inner city homes, homelessness of staggering proportions, violence in schools, child abuse, spousal abuse, starvation in North Korea, war in Chechnya, even the sale of children for immoral purposes, decadence all around. In contrast with all that is a Jewish dream of Utopia, shared by many decent people around the world. In it they dream of sustenance for all, (1) each under his grape vine and under his fig tree, a world filled with the knowledge of G-d, nation not lifting sword against nation, the wolf and the sheep lying together peacefully. 

The gap between the utopian and the real is vast. As someone once said, if you think today is the time of the messiah- then you either don't know what messiah is or don't know what goes on today.

We have such a magnificent dream for the world. What should be our focus? Should we be striving to bring Utopia to the world? Is that our primary goal? Is tikkun Olam, repair of the world our purpose in life, our mantra? Should we somehow be striving to fulfill the prayer of Alenu, to fix the world according to the kingdom of Heaven… or should we be aiming to reach the goal as stated by our prophets to be “a light unto the nations?”

You may say, but of course we need to repair the world, of course we should strive for the best, the highest goals. Why then is it that I can’t think of a single mitzvah which addresses these lofty goals? Does prayer, Shabbat, kashrut, even visiting the sick or attending to the dead really bring about the repair of the world?

With all of Judaism’s lofty goals, I don’t see how we in practice attempt to carry out those visions. Where is the missionary aspect of Judaism? How does it attempt to reach out to the world and make us be truly a light unto the nations?

The real question is, is Judaism’s goal to create a perfect world or to deal with the world in all its imperfection? Is our primary objective to strive for Utopia or is it to deal with the harsh realities? Are we fundamentally utopians striving to live in Utopia or realists trying to survive in an all too real world?

(By  “utopia” I mean an idyllic, other worldly existence, way beyond the current experience. A Utopian is one who believes in the perfectibility of human society.)

Zionism\ Messianism as idealism, utopianism

The first Jewish idea which may seem Utopian in nature is the very idea of our hope for Moshiach, messiah. Don’t we strive and hope for a perfect world under the direction of our redeemer, the messiah? Don’t we say in our daily prayers, “restore our judges as of old, and our counselors as at the beginning?” Aren’t we looking forward to an era in which the lamb and the lion will lie together?

Actually the extent to which Messianism is Utopian or otherworldly in nature is a debate in the Talmud. The Talmud (Ber. 34b) records a debate in which some say that in the days of the Messiah there will be no need for weapons and some who maintain that  (2) “There is no difference between this world and the world of the Messiah except for the loosening of the yoke of the nations.” One envisions a new world brought about by the messiah in which there will be no place for weapons, as is prophesied by Isaiah and Michah, that “you shall beat your swords into plow shares”. The other says that the world will essentially remain the same. The Talmud also records a similar debate as to whether sin and merit are applicable in the world to come or not (ibid. 151b). Will people still sin in the days of the Messiah? Maimonides (Laws of Teshuvah IX, 2) clearly allies himself with the school that Messiah is not a supernatural phenomenon.

According to Maimonides, then, Messiah will usher in a utopian society, but not one of mythical proportions. It will be just like this world, only more focused on G-d and gaining knowledge. His Utopia is one which is hard to envision in this world, but it demands no departure from reality. It is the type of Utopia we could achieve if we would all just get along and decide to bring it about.

According to the alternate Talmudic approach, that the Messianic era is free of sin and war, that it is a supernatural era, it could still be said that although Judaism looks forward to an idyllic era, that era will not be part of our experience in this world. The messianic era is in a different realm or plain than this world. Maimonides is actually the one who envisions that near perfection is possible in a world such as ours. The alternate view maintains that never in the world as we know it can there be utopia, only in a totally different experience in which reality is suspended is such utopia possible.  It turns out then that with all of Maimonides’ efforts to paint the messianic era in realistic terms, it is actually he who is more of a utopian than his antagonists.

In Judaism, even messianism needn’t detach one from reality. According to Maimonides, the Messiah must have a political platform that works, in the real world.  Some Jews today, in their zeal to bring about the redemption in our own time, have adopted an unrealistic approach to politics in Israel. One deeply misguided man was led to believe that he could take the life of the Prime Minister to help the cause of keeping Jewish control of the Land of Israel. One group has long advocated blowing up the mosque of al aksa or the dome of the Rock in order to bring about Armaggedon and redemption. These deeply mistaken approaches fly in the face of the more realistic approach to Messianism. The arrival of messiah does not and would not necessarily allow for a suspension of reality and the realities of politics and morality.

It may surprise you to hear that I am in fact a messianist. I believe that the restoration of the Jews to their historic land after 2000 years is part of a messianic process. However, to me, this does not allow us to suspend reality. If in order to secure a more friendly region we need to give back land even for cold peace then we should do so, in my opinion. My messianic approach to the State of Israel does not force me into utopian points of view or unrealistic positions.

The Centrality or lack thereof of Messianism

Even were I to adopt a more utopian view of Messiah, and maintain that Jews ultimately do strive for a utopian existence, nonetheless, this does not prove that utopianism is at the center of Judaism, because there is a debate as to what extent messianism itself is at the core of Judaism. Maybe Jewish messianism is utopian, looking forward to a perfect world on a different plane, but still, maybe messianism itself is not central to Judaism.

Our daily prayers surely place much emphasis on the redemption, call it salvation, restoration to Israel, the resurrection of the dead, the restoration of the Jews or the Divine Presence to Zion, and the like. All in all, 9 out of the 19 blessings of the daily amidah or silent devotion speak of some form of redemption. Immediately before and after the Amidah, we make additional prayers for redemption, rebuilding of the Temple, and the like. In that sense, redemption seems central to a Jew’s hopes and aspirations.

Furthermore, the Talmud (Shabbat 31a)  states that when a person is brought before the heavenly tribunal for final judgment they ask him, (3) 1) did you deal faithfully in business? 2)Did you affix times for Torah learning? 3) Did you engage in the proliferation of the species? 4) Did you look forward to redemption? 5) Did you engage in wisdom? And 6) did you understand or deduce one thing from the next? The Talmud then goes on to say that more important than any of these matters is the fear of heaven, a sense of reverence and awe for G-d.

On the one hand, this passage seems to indicate that looking forward to redemption is a central tenet in Judaism, the basis of being a Jew worthy of entry into the world to come. On the other hand, it is only question number 4 and not 1,2, or 3. Furthermore, it didn’t ask that the person bring about the redemption, only to study, be ethical, to hope, and have children. Having children is a way of bringing about the future and shaping it, but it doesn’t ask you to bring about redemption. Hoping for utopia is a bit different than actually being charged with bringing it about. Judaism hopes and even prays for Utopia. We are not charged with making it happen. 

The Rambam, Maimonides, clearly sees the belief in Messiah as one of the 13 principles of faith. This is generally accepted and has been written into our services in the form of the yigdal prayer. Actually, elsewhere (Hil. Kings XII, 2) Maimonides says that one should not make the study of the details of redemption an essential of Judaism, because, as he says, “they do not lead to fear or love of G-d. Yosef Albo, however, a 15^th century Spanish Jewish philosopher, went a step further. He wrote that although it would be a sin not to believe in Messiah, it is not a fundamental linchpin in Jewish thinking. If one did not believe that Messiah was coming he would be a sinner, not a basic heretic. Even if messianism was totally  utopian,  according to Albo, this would not mean that Judaism was basically utopian since messianism itself does not lie at the center or heart of Judaism. Although Albo’s ideas are not mainstream in Judaism, the fact that there could be such an opinion by a major Jewish philosopher, underscores the somewhat secondary nature of messianism in Jewish thought.  

Recently someone e-mailed me a Dvar Torah on the weekly portion that a certain rabbi wrote. In it he speaks about the ten commandments. The first commandment is usually understood to command belief in G-d, G-d who took us out from Egypt. He writes that  this command also alludes to the importance of the Messiah who will take us out of exile. To me, this is a total distortion of the role of Messiah and redemption in Judaism. If perhaps G-d so to speak, introduces Himself to Israel as a redeemer, it does not allude to any human redeemer, and secondly, the idea of redemption from Egypt was to show G-d’s hand in history, that He exists. The point of the Exodus was not that G-d is a redeemer. Messianism is part of Judaism, but to me it has no place in the ten commandments, and certainly not in the first commandment. 

Social Utopianism 

Thus far we have spoken about messianism in general terms. The era of the messiah may or may not be a supernatural one, but it will certainly be one in which justice, knowledge of G-d and His Torah will be most central. But what is the social vision for Jewish utopia? The Torah speaks of a society free of poor people  (4) (Deut. 15, 4), Efes ki lo yihiye beha evyon, you will surely not have among you any poor, for G-d will bless you... On the other hand, it speaks of the eternal nature of the problem of poverty, ki lo yechdal evyon, that the impoverished will never cease from the land.                

Did the Torah envision an end to poverty in this world or not? 

The Midrash Sifre (114) writes that when  Israel follow the  will of G-d there will be no poor. When we do not, then there will be poverty among us. The Talmud (Berachot 34b) associates the verse of the eternal idea of poverty with the opinion that the world of the Messiah is not supernatural, since there is still poverty. According to  the Midrash, even in this world as we know it poverty could be erased if Israel would only follow the Torah. According to the Talmud, even in Messiah’s times there could be poverty.

 (5)                                                                          Midrash                                                  Talmud

Poverty will                                            When we                               

Not be                                                    follow the Torah

Poverty will                                                            When we don’t                                      Even under

Never cease                                           follow                                                     Messiah                                 

Hizkuni, a 13^th cent. French commentary on the Torah offers another approach. He says that the context of the verse concerning the end of all poverty is in the laws of the Sabbatical year after which  all debts are cancelled.

(6) Cancellation of Debt

You will surely not have among you any poor,

for G-d will bless you...  

Opening your hand

to the poor

For the impoverished will

Never cease from the land.

Hizkuni

(6) Through the cancellation of debt, a form of universal bankruptcy, even the poor can be rehabilitated, even in this imperfect world. The other verse speaks of charity. Opening the hand to the poor is very nice but it will never end poverty or change society.  

Another effort to bring about utopia and equality on earth is alluded to by Hizkuni as well, and that is through the Jubilee year. In the Jubilee year, Yovel, every 50^th year, all land goes back to its owners. Those who acquire much land have to give it up and those who lost land get it all back. This is an effort at what one might call “normative utopianism”, an effort to bring about Utopia right in the here and now. However, Hizkuni does not envision an end to poverty within the free market 49 year span,only during the jubilee or Sabbatical years. 

Shabbat is another effort at “normative Utopianism”. Every Shabbat we go off into a world which is a taste of the world to come. On Shabbat we go off and make our little version of Thomas Morre's Utopia or a legendary Atlantis somewhere out in the Atlantic.  We level the playing field on Shabbat during which time no productivity is allowed. All are equalized on Shabbat. I am not a carpenter and you are not a weaver. Even G-d does not play His role as Creator, but everyone just “is”. There may have been slavery in the ancient Jewish world, but not on Shabbat. It restores human dignity even to the slave. Even the oppression of animals is forbidden.  

Human Idealism or Utopianism

Generally, though, Jewish law is realistic, not utopian. The portion we read last week, Mishpatim, Exodus 21-23 deals with  social realism, avadim, with slaves and rapists, murderers, and thieves.

Often the Talmud makes rules which are designed , “Mipnei takanat haramain” only because of the tricksters. The Talmudists were fully aware that people lied, cheated, and stole. For instance, the Talmud would not have certain people take an oath knowing that they might be inclined to lie. The laws reflect our base  reality. Halacha addresses real human nature. The Torah tells us that if a man sees a woman in battle and wishes to take her he may do so but must undergo a month waiting period and other ceremonies before marriage. The Talmud  (Kiddushin 21b) comments regarding this law, that “dibrah torah ceneged yetzer hara,” that the Torah addresses the base nature of the evil inclination. Taking women from captivity is far from an ideal shidduch or a match made in heaven. But the Torah recognizes certain human frailties and tries to curtail and restrict our most base tendencies.  

The Talmud and the Code of Jewish Law have very strict laws pertaining to men and women who are not married to each other being in a room alone together. Many modern people are appalled at the restrictiveness of such strictures, although recently they are coming into vogue. Someone’s campaign manager had a glass door on his office so he would not be suspected of hanky panky. What do we need sexual restrictions for? Why are so many other laws designed to prevent this or that possible infraction? Rather, the Torah recognizes humans for all that we are, frail, vulnerable, and quite imperfect. Our Utopian hopes do not blind us to current ignoble or even vulgar realities.  

Why do we make such a fuss each year to hear the Torah reading about the eternal war against Amalek? Why don’t we leave those Amalekites alone after so long? The message is that pure evil exists. We saw it with Amalek, and we saw it in WWII. The Jew is forever remembering Amalek, remembering that we are not yet in that utopian world, that there is a long way to go. It reminds us to beware of those who would seek to put an end to us. 

Why not give up our mantra of Holocaust memorial, the world asks. Why always harp on the slavery of Egypt, the crusades, the inquisition? Because we are always on guard. Not  once do we fool ourselves to think that salvation is already here. If we did, we would long be gone. 

Actually, the very name of the Jewish people, Israel, reflects the cunning of Jacob, who could deal with tricky Laban and could even beat an angel in the night. We are the nation who can deal with any reality. 

Political realism

R. Akiva vs. ribaz 

The Jewish sense of Utopianism has also not fooled us into taking impractical or unrealistic political positions. At the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, surely the Jews mourned greatly. The Temple had long been the center of everything Jewish. It represented nothing less than our very chosenness and G-d’s closeness to Israel. As much as the Jews who lived at the time of destruction wanted redemption so badly, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai (RIBAZ) gave up all immediate hopes for redemption and instead chose to opt for a Yeshiva, from which he rebuilt a new life and home for Judaism. According to the story in the Talmud, RIBAZ had an audience with the emperor, and the emperor asked RIBAZ what he could do for him. RIBAZ answered “give me Jabneh and its wise men.” His request for the Yavneh Yeshiva was granted and from there Torah flourished for centuries. Unlike Banche Shveig who should have asked G-d for national redemption  but failed to think big, RIBAZ assessed correctly that the time was not ripe for redemption and he had better think small or all would be lost. 

A century later, Rabbi Akiva questioned RIBAZ’s approach. Why didn’t RIBAZ ask for the emperor to retreat from the siege on Jerusalem? RIBAZ apparently took a minimalist approach. Now that the situation is this bad, I need to get whatever I can. I cannot gamble the present for some unknown future. He did not allow his messianic dreams and hopes to waste away his present opportunities and realities.  

The importance of the here and now 

What emerges from much of what has been said is that despite our great dreams for tomorrow, we still need to worry most about today. Recently I saw a fairly good movie about the death penalty called “The Green Mile”. One of the ideas that emerges from it is that even if someone dies unjustly, it’s o.k. because he’s in heaven. In Judaism, going to heaven never served as a substitute for even one minute of life. Neither the world of the Messiah nor the world of the afterlife can stand in stead of this world right here. As it says in the Ethics of the Fathers, (7) “Rabbi Jacob said, better one hour of Torah and mitzvot in this world than all of the world to come.” 

A story is told of the great Vilna Gaon of 17^th cent. Lithuania. He was one of the greatest Talmudic geniuses of all times and a great pioutist. As he was on his death bed, he cried. His students asked, what are you crying for? Don’t you realize that great reward awaits you in the world to come? He said, “You see these tzitzit, these ritual fringes, my talis? In this world I could acquire them for only pennies and fulfill the will of the Almighty. In the world to come, for all the money in the world I couldn’t buy them.”

In the seven days of mourning or shiva, not once need a pious Jew say, well, I’m not so sad, because at least he or she is in heaven. We take life quite seriously. We mourn death bitterly. We do not get lost in Utopian dreams of other lives. A loss of life is nothing less than a loss of life. It is not mitigated nor lessened by going off to another existence.  

A Jew’s proper attitude to the future is that it must become my destiny, my mission, and it is not simply my fate, says Rav Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik. We are not just sitting on earth waiting for the end of days. We have an active role to play. We are subjects, not objects of the historical destiny.  

There are grave dangers in utopianism. Utopianism can lead to a notion that you can suspend halacha. Since the idea of Utopianism is that we’re all headed to a better place, then one might begin to jumpstart the process and say, why do we need to go the whole route? Let’s just shortcut to the endgoal. If Halacha, or the Torah’s laws are just a stepping stone to the final goal, then maybe we could just dispense with law now and go straight to the goal, to a utopian society. For a true Utopian, the present is only meaningful in terms of the future. For the Jew, today is infinitely important. It is the day G-d has given me to fulfill His commandments.  It is the day on which G-d has created the earth and everything in it including me to just be and exist. 

Some Jews, especially in the 19^th century, asked,  why be particularists? Why focus on being Jewish? If the goal is for the whole world to seek justice and follow the dreams of the prophets, why do we need the particulars of Shabbat, Kosher laws, fringes, Jewish haircuts and dress? Let’s just cut right to the part about all mankind being speaking one language. For them religion is just a stepping stone to universalism. We, however,  assert that there is value in religion even if it does not lead to utopia. There is value in the fear of heaven and obedience to G-d’s will.  

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, of blessed memory, described the Jewish relationship to society as one of a “ger vetoshav” a stranger and a resident all at once, the term used by Abraham to characterize his association with society at large. We are  ready to embrace humanity, but not yet, not totally, not to give up my guard to be true to the unique ideas of Judaism. There is still a place for Judaism  such as to uphold the value of total monotheism and the commitment to study and the importance of deed over language. 

Prof. Shalom Carmy, a philosopher at Yeshiva University to whom I am indebted for much of what I have to say this evening, said that “We are not society as a whole. We are us.” We strive for a world of United Nations of which we would just be a part, but today we are not them. We are still us. We must then be true to ourselves. 

As professor Carmy says, we may say the Aleinu prayer in which we look forward to G-d being King over all of the world, but its not what motivates us as a community. What motivates us today is our commitment to fulfill G-d’s will and His Torah and guidance.  

But you might say, look, the whole point of religion is to be good. So I’m good. I’ve reached the goal. What do I need religion for? The question is what is the purpose of religion? Is religion to ascend to truth or to help me reach my goals? Is religion just of a utilitarian nature- toward some goal of being ethical or kind? As someone once said, “Do we believe in g-d or in santa?” 

One way our sources express the notion that the here and now is still more important than all kinds of lofty futuristic, utopian goals, is in the following statement. (8) “If  there  is a plant  in your hand  and you are told, “Behold the Messiah is here,” go and plant and then go forth and welcome him.” (Avot D’Rabbi Natan XXXI) 

Importance of the individual vs. grandiose notions

This question of whether the world is basically here to pursue utopian goals or to live according to the Torah is a very important one. If the only value in life is the pursuit of Utopian dreams then what value does a nursing home patient have or are people only valuable if they fulfill a  goal- what will she achieve- where is she heading, what progress will she make? 

Inner existence is more imp than politics and grand international schemes. (9) Empires fall, but the soul is immortal, as  C.S. Lewis put it.  

As Abraham Joshua Heschel put it,  don't worry about the two s’s, survey and survival- worry about yourself.  

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 97b) records a dispute between two rabbis as to whether the onset of the Messianic era is natural or supernatural. 

(10)

Rabbi  Eliezer said,

“If Israel repent they will be redeemed. If not, they will not be redeemed.”  

Rabbi Joshua said to him,

“If they do not repent they will not be redeemed?!” 

Talmud Sanhedrin 97b

(10) Rabbi  Eliezer maintains that the Messianic era will come about in a logical fashion, namely a result of the repentance of the Jewish people. The piety of the Jews will lead to a return to Israel and to G-d. Rabbi Joshua maintains that the onset of the redemptive era may be  supernatural, in other words, the result of G-d’s desire to bring redemption, unconnected to repentance.  According to Rabbi Eliezer, there is no escape from personal responsibility, from following the commandments. The redemption does not work in a fashion unfamiliar to this world. Good is rewarded with good. The redemption is not detached from our moral and religious responsibilities and obligations. According to Rabbi Eliezer, utopia will only flow from good deeds and repentance. Utopia is not just something one dreams for but Utopia is something we must do something about. What do we need to do? We just need to do our job today, to follow the commandments, the Torah, listen to G-d, and from there will flow our utopia. 

What do I want you to walk away with?

In the last few centuries, there were many  groups who got swept away with utopian ideologies. Some modern Jews thought that we were ready to adopt a type of prophetic Judaism, that the pursuit of justice and charity would be the new bed rock of Judaism. They wished to skip all of torah and Talmudic Judaism and go straight to the Judaism of Prophetic Utopia. Today there are fewer and fewer advocates of such a utopian view.  

Many of my friends in the religious Zionist camp thought that we could go straight into the messianic era, or that we had all but arrived in that era. As such, the only thing that is important is acquisition of land and political gain in Israel. They soon found themselves hated, morally bankrupt, and in sharp retreat. Still other mystical Jews thought that they could reach a mystical plain on which the performance of mitzvot would not be necessary, and they even professed that in thier new utopian world, sinning would lead to redemption. Some Jews today believe they can live in the idyllic world of full time Torah study and that the bills will pay for themselves. They are now learning that they may need to reevaluate such a philosophy.  

Many Jews continue to speak of “Tikkun Olam” the repair of the world as the major goal of Judaism. Understood in this way, anything short of fixing social ills on a grand scale is insignificant. Actually, in the original kabbalistic and Hasidic contexts, tikkun olam often means the performance of one little mitzvah deed. Even in the deeds of the individual we can fix our own little worlds. Mitzvot are significant even when they don’t solve all of or even most of society’s maladies. Outside of Judaism, communism and socialism were grand utopian theories which overlooked the importance of the individual and brought starvation and devastation to millions.  

Why then do we have dreams of utopia if we are supposed to focus mostly on today? Firstly, a human being cannot live without dreams. It gives a goal, an image to strive for. Secondly, for the belieiving Jew, redemption and all its utopian images are just facts of life. They are not a choice or a figment of imagination. But Maimonides, himself already warned us not to make them central to our world view. Maimonides reminded us not to engage in Messianic speculation which leads neither to fear or love of G-d. According to Maimonides, what is essential in life? Only that which leads to love or fear of G-d. Life is about loving and fearing G-d, not about dreaming of Utopia. 

At the personal or psychological level, we have to guard against what is termed a “general anxiety disorder” one component of which is excessive anxiety about the future.  Overemphasis on the future is also a form of an obsessive disorder. Instead of dealing with real problems, we often intellectualize our problems and displace them onto some abstract future. If we want to live in a world free of poverty, we start with charity. If we seek universal brotherhood, we start with our spouses and our real brothers. If we want an end to oppression, we need to be nicer  to those who work under us. If we want the world to be filled with knowledge we need to begin by cracking open the Jewish books. 

Is Judaism utopian or realistic? It contains many utopian dreams, but it remains firmly planted on the ground. Like Jacob’s ladder it soars to the skies with its feet on the ground. We can dream as great a dream as humans can envision but we are not the least bit frazzled if the world we live in does not live up to our dreams. 

A rabbi once said, “When I was younger I thought I would save the whole world. Then as I grew older, I thought maybe I could save the whole country. As I grew older still I thought I could change my whole city, or perhaps my whole family. Now I realize that I’d be lucky if I could just change myself.” As Jews, we need to focus on our covenant with G-d, our responsibilities to each other, to the Torah, and to the land of Israel. Yes, we hope and dream, but we must never allow the future to cloud our concept of what needs to be done today. Never should we define our whole mission in terms of our utopian dreams.  

We must continue to see the importance of today despite our hopes for tomorrow. We must appreciate the value of existence, of my existence and of your existence, even in this imperfect world, or else we begin to diminish the importance of life itself. But if we learn to appreciate the value in daily life and existence, while harboring our lofty hopes, then maybe we can begin to fix the world, in our own little way. As it is recorded in the Palestinian Talmud,  there were once some rabbis walking in a valley, as they saw the sun slowly rising over the horizon. One turned to the others and said, (11) “this is the way of the redemption of Israel, to begin with it comes little by little, but as it progresses it grows greater and greater.” (TJ Ber. 2c) We need to strive to live as best we can according to the Torah, and little by little the building blocks of our dreams may yet come together and who knows? Maybe it will lead us to the Utopia we have all dreamed of.