The Power of Tikkun

Vol. 11, No. 1. 1996.

If someone were to ask me to explain on one foot the difference between the Left and the Right, this is how I would respond: The difference is in the belief, or in the ability to believe, that despite the natural and eternal powers that dominate us, those that are genetic and those that are geographic, above and beyond all of these, man and the collective not only have the ability to change, but have the desire for true tikkun. Herein lies the basic leftist orientation: the desire to change and the ability to transform oneself. While the right wing will talk about the need to be loyal to our forefathers, the commandment of generations, eternal fate which repeats itself, national mentality; the spiritual Left will talk of freedom from the past, re-examination of our origins, breaking of stereotypes. Zionism has always swung back and forth between Left and Right, between revolution and conservatism. …

Yitzhak Rabin was born into the generation of revolutionary Zionists, and maybe precisely because he absorbed so much ideology in his youth, he was a little reticent, suspicious, and impatient with ideologues.

As a man who experienced the complicated and difficult reality of the founding years of the state, he was critical of the simplistic solutions of determined, well-meaning people.

Even when peace was far from a reality, people who believed in it did not lose hope in Rabin. The peace camp was sure that when Rabin saw a sign that peace was indeed a possibility, he would move toward it, since his fathers and teachers had instilled in him a deep belief in the power of transformation, a desire and ability to change.

Three years ago when he commenced the difficult and enormous challenge of making peace with the Palestinians, the heart of the conflagration here for the last one-hundred-twenty years, Rabin wasn’t equipped like Ben-Gurion on the one hand, or Menachem Begin on the other, with complex ideologies. He had to struggle with these tremendous questions that have entangled our existence, especially since the Six Day War, and which threatened to poison our existence here, without ideological scaffolding.

On seeing him fighting in the Knesset, in public debates, or groping for answers on television interviews, one often wished to offer him a helping hand, this agriculture school graduate, to provide him with a historical example, a suitable analogy, or the right passages from the Jewish texts.

Gradually it became clear that he had no use for intellectual flourishes. A stronger, truer force drove him, greater than any historical ideology, greater than correct or incorrect military or intelligence strategies.

All his wonderful talent as a soldier and statesman would not have been enough to facilitate the peace process the way he did in the last two years, had he not held the basic belief that not only you could transform yourself, but your enemy could also change and desire to change.

Goodbye, Friend: of all the wonderful sayings that we heard during the emotional and stormy shiva week, this is the one which has stuck. The word “friend” has taken the place of leader, or father, or commander. …

For you, Shimon Peres, he has become an older brother. I was profoundly moved when I heard you call him this at the graveside. The fact is that the peace process between twin nations for the same land was made by twin brothers, rivals. During the course of their work together, you and Rabin repaired your personal relationship, lending even greater moral strength to the peace process. Now you stand alone. The night of the murder I sensed for the first time in your words the shock of your aloneness.

It is not surprising that the key word when you addressed the cabinet was “partnership.” Permit me to interpret: partnership meaning not just a good atmosphere or comradeship; rather, an internalized sense of responsibility for all aspects of leadership. Rabin and you came to create the peace together, not as friends but as brothers.

This is what has stopped Rabin’s murder from becoming a political tragedy...