The World Is Not Your Enemy
- Jewish Dispatch
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
by Rami ben Ze’ev
There is a temptation that touches every human being.
When life becomes difficult, when our health fails, when money is scarce, when relationships break down, when our plans collapse, our first instinct is often to look outward for someone to blame.
We blame our neighbours.
We blame our husband or wife.
We blame our children.
We blame our employer.
We blame politicians.
We blame society.
And today, more than ever before, we blame complete strangers.
The rise of social media has given every person a platform, but it has not necessarily given them wisdom. A few words on a screen can provoke outrage, anger, jealousy, resentment, or contempt, and before long someone feels compelled to respond.
A harsh comment.
A sarcastic remark.
A cutting observation.
A public humiliation.
A clever insult crafted not to enlighten but to wound.
The target may be someone we have never met, someone we do not know, someone we could never truly understand. Yet many feel entirely justified in passing judgement upon them.
We read a post we dislike and convince ourselves that we must respond.
We see an opinion we disagree with and believe that our intervention is necessary.
We witness something foolish and decide that ridicule is appropriate.
Then we press "Post" and wait.
We wait for the likes.
We wait for the shares.
We wait for the approval of strangers.
And when opposition arrives, we often welcome that too, because it allows the cycle to begin again.
Evil spreads evil.
Anger feeds anger.
Darkness produces more darkness.
Very few stop to ask a far more important question:
What if the problem is not out there?
What if the challenge we face is not somebody else's fault?
Torah teaches us that nothing occurs outside the will of G-D.
This does not mean that people are not responsible for their actions. It does not mean that evil suddenly becomes good. It does not mean that wrongdoing should be ignored.
It means that whatever challenge stands before us has been permitted by G-D for a purpose.
And that purpose is not our destruction.
G-D does not send us challenges to break us.
He sends them to build us.
Our Sages teach that everything G-D does is ultimately for the good, even when that good is hidden from our eyes.
We see only the present moment.
G-D sees the entire journey.
We see a single page.
He sees the entire book.
We see today's pain.
He sees tomorrow's blessing.
This is why our Sages taught two profound principles:
"This too shall pass."
And:
"This too is good."
Not because suffering is pleasant.
Not because hardship should be welcomed.
But because we trust that G-D's wisdom extends beyond our understanding.
The mistake many people make is believing that life's challenges are obstacles to be defeated.
Often they are lessons to be learned.
An illness may teach gratitude.
Financial hardship may teach generosity.
Loneliness may teach compassion.
Failure may teach humility.
Loss may teach faith.
Every challenge contains an opportunity for growth if we are willing to seek it.
When a person faces financial difficulty, perhaps the first response should not be anger but tzedakah.
Give to someone who has even less.
Do it quietly.
Do it without seeking recognition.
Do it without posting about it.
Do it without expecting thanks.
The One who matters already knows.
When a person struggles with health, perhaps the first response should not be self-pity but kindness.
Visit someone in hospital.
Call someone who is alone.
Comfort someone who is suffering.
Strengthen another person.
When a person experiences difficulties in relationships, perhaps the answer is not more criticism but more patience.
More understanding.
More kindness.
More forgiveness.
The world tells us to focus on ourselves.
Torah teaches us to focus on others.
The world says, "What do I deserve?"
Torah asks, "How can I serve?"
The world says, "Who can I blame?"
Torah asks, "What can I learn?"
This is one of the deepest misunderstandings surrounding the phrase תיקון עולם (Tikkun Olam – Repairing the World).
Many people imagine that repairing the world means fixing global problems, transforming governments, changing societies, or reforming humanity.
Yet the greatest repair begins much closer to home.
It begins with us.
It begins when we repair our own character.
When we strengthen our אמונה (emunah – faith).
When we increase our בטחון (bitachon – trust in G-D).
When we replace anger with patience.
Pride with humility.
Cruelty with kindness.
Despair with hope.
Darkness with light.
A person carrying a candle into a dark room does not need to fight the darkness.
The light does that automatically.
So it is with the soul.
When we connect ourselves to Torah, when we align ourselves with the will of G-D, when we seek His blessings rather than the approval of strangers, we become a source of light.
And when enough people become sources of light, the world is transformed.
Not through blame.
Not through outrage.
Not through ridicule.
But through goodness.
The world is not your enemy.
Your neighbour is not your enemy.
The stranger on the Internet is not your enemy.
The challenge before you is not your enemy.
The real battle has always been between the יצר הרע (Yetzer Hara – Evil Inclination) and the יצר טוב (Yetzer Tov – Good Inclination) within each of us.
Win that battle, and everything else begins to change.
For when we stop asking, "Who can I blame?" and begin asking, "What does G-D want me to learn?" we take the first step towards true healing, true blessing, and true redemption.
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Bill White (Rami ben Ze'ev) is CEO of Jewish Dispatch Limited, Mayside Partners Limited, MEADHANAN Agency, Kestrel Assets Limited, SpudsToGo Limited and Executive Director of Hebrew Synagogue