Debunking a False Choice: Jewish Survival and the Good of the World

A recent controversy in Michigan raises an important question about what it means for Jews to care about the future. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, speaking to a Jewish Democratic group about the upcoming Senate election, urged Jewish voters to put the “needs of the world” above their own self-interest, and even “our own survival.” Her comments generated significant criticism, not simply because of the politics involved, but because of the philosophy behind the statement. The suggestion that Jewish survival might have to be placed on one side of a moral equation, with the good of the world on the other, struck many as deeply troubling. Parshat Nitzavim offers a very different framework. At the end of Moshe’s final speech to the Jewish people, he tells them: רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת הַחַיִּים וְאֶת הַטּוֹב, וְאֶת הַמָּוֶת וְאֶת הָרָע... וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ . “I have placed before you life and death, good and evil... choose life, you and your descendants.” Choosing life is not simply a personal decision. It is an intergenerational responsibility. We are commanded to choose a future in which the Jewish people continue to exist, to raise generations, to be ambassadors of Torah and Jewish values, and to carry our tradition forward. The argument that we must choose between Jewish survival and the good of humanity is a dangerous idea and a false choice. We must understand that being Jewish is one of the ways we make the world better. By preserving our Jewish values and teachings, we are able to contribute essential ideas to the world. For instance, the Torah teaches the sanctity of human life, the dignity of every person created in the image of God, justice, compassion, responsibility for the stranger, care for the vulnerable, and the obligation to build a society guided by morality. These are not values that the world would be better off without. They are values the world needs. For thousands of years, the Jewish people have contributed to civilization in ways that extend far beyond our own community. Those contributions can only continue if there is a strong and vibrant Jewish community going forward. We are not the first generation to face the question of whether Jewish life is worth preserving, and we will not be the last. Every generation receives Judaism as a gift and a responsibility. We inherit a tradition that survived because previous generations chose to preserve it, and we have an obligation to make sure that it remains vibrant and relevant to those who come after us. There are many things that we are willing to sacrifice for the sake of others, such as our time, our money, our comfort, and our personal interests. Judaism teaches us to look beyond ourselves and to care deeply about the broader world. But Jewish survival itself cannot be treated as something expendable. It is part of the responsibility we have been given. The world does not benefit from a weaker Judaism or from a Jewish people that is less secure, less confident, or less willing to preserve its identity. The world benefits from a Jewish people that is alive, thriving, and able to contribute its unique voice. The choice, then, is not between Jewish survival and the good of the world. The choice is whether we will have the courage to believe that the Jewish people still have a role to play in making the world better. This is what it means to choose life, for ourselves and for those who come after us.  We choose Jewish life not at the expense of the world, but because we believe that the world is better off with a living, thriving Jewish people.