Speaking at the Yom HaZikaron Memorial hosted by the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MOTJ) and the IDF Widows & Orphans Organization (IDFWO), Rabbi Marvin Hier, the museum’s Co-Chairman and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, discussed the role of mankind in taking responsibility for what is happening in the world.
Hier analyzed the story of the Exodus from Egypt and said that the redemption of the Jewish people did not happen instantaneously but rather over a year because God wanted Moses and the Jewish people to work with him as partners in the Exodus. “God doesn’t want to run the world alone,” said Hier. “Therefore, he created man to be God’s partners in governing the planet. The whole process of the Ten Plagues was a deliberate delay, not to build up God, but to build up the powers of Moses, to give him the proper stature, as chief operating officer, in charge of the day-to-day affairs of the Jewish people.”
God wants partners who are engaged in the total human agenda, said Hier – from the economy to foreign affairs – who will pursue peace and prevent wars. “The Torah is the central pillar that binds all Jews together, but their relationship with the world must be more than just praying and more than just learning in the Kollel. Rather, it means that every Jew must be an activist 365 days a year to fulfill the will of God.”