Yeah right man,nice wordy introduction,but what about some substance,you have said a sum total of nothing.Go back and try to return with some practical IDEAS.Believe me we are all waiting,cause it aint so simple.

is actually to figure out what the idea is. Then we can worry about disseminating it.

Let's see now. What is the central idea in Judaism ? Well, since the Holocaust, it has been the Holocaust; we need the State of Israel to protect us from the world that mostly hates/fears us. Since Israel has become strong, and this vision has faded over the generations, what to do, fret liberals and seculars ? Now what sustained us before the State, before the Holocaust and kept our connection to the Land and to our peoplehood strong and vital ? Wake up idiots !! It was and is the Torah ! Not the Torah of the Haredi, but the Torah of our Forefathers and Mothers. The Torah you live by, not die by. The Torah of Israel, with the People of Israel, in the Land of Israel. As long as the secular population doesn't get this, Israel will indeed, God forbid, fade away. I know of a high ranking diplomat whose child doesn't even know anything about Yom Kippur ! This is how far we have fallen ! Ironically, the disdain for religion can be placed squarely on the doorstep of the Haredi, who have created the false impression that Judaism is suffocating and intolerant, while really, it is they who are suffocating and intolerant, albeit with rare exceptions. To paraphrase Bill Clinton; it's the Torah, stupid !

B"H You can get your Jewish Idea volume 1 + 2 in English from Amazon.com or the Hebrew volume Or HaRaayon from kahanebooks.com/OrHaRaayon.php "The essential for anyone who wants to understand Torah ideology".

Nice build up to nothing. The author goes on and on about the "Jewish idea", the "authentic" Jewish idea he said, but then doesn't even say what it is. As a Jew I have natural mistrust for writings with too much wink-wink, nod-nod. You know as in, "The world would be a better place if WE (wink-wink) FINALLY got rid of THEM because WE all know what has to be done (nod-nod)."

For Mr. Meltzer, the idea of coming together to physically build the country, has long since faded away. Why? Building the country is an on-going project, in its early stages. This project has never been more urgent than it is today as Israel's enemies encircle and gather around Israel for harm and not for good. Many Jews in Israel have a shared sense of purpose to build our country and our land. This is the message we need to send to the nations. Other Jews like J Street, Peace Now, some government institutions, etc., have this shared purpose, not to build but to tear down. It is this conflict that is at the root of the "constantly growing feeling of societal cynicism and disgust with many of the state's institutions," that the author describes. We Jews need to come together in support of our shared sense of purpose; the vision of our forefathers. We must continue this incipient project to build the country; to possess and to build up our land.

Blah Blah Blah and then some more blah. If you are not happy Yoel move to sweden

Meltzer is right, it is time to embrace a new collective mindset. I'd suggest the following 1) Love your neighbour as yourself 2) Treat others as you would like them to treat you Radical concepts I know but give them a try.

And Torah already defines them outside of the b'rit. Otherwise, I agree with you. Well said! The misojudaic atheists state of denial is tragic-comical. Paqid Yirmeyahu Paqid 16, The Netzarim, Ra'anana, Israel Israeli Torah-reverer (& Orthodox Jew) Advocate for Logic as Halakhic Authority Welcoming All Torah-reverers (Jewish & Goyim) www.netzarim.co.il

israel has and has never lost its sense of purpose. all the post zionism thinking that we let happen and organizations like j street which the people support not realizing the damage being done is the problem . it is the post zionists who are afraid to call the enemy for what they really are.

maybe Israel needs a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. When all citizens feel that they have an equal chance at a piece of the pie, that there's freedom of as well as from religion and that everybody "is endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among which are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," you'll see a lot more pulling together than going off in different directions.

THIS IS DEFEATISM - NO OTHER COUNTRY SPEAKIS OF ITS LIMITED TIME - AND NEITHER SHOULD ISRAEL

B"H Nothing against you're expressing your opinion, but I just noticed something practical YOU do. Ditch your goyshe name and get a Jewish one, assuming you're Jewish. If you're not, then get out.

is less taxes, higher wages and more vacation time. Can I get an Amen on that?!

TO MATTY GROVES Fairport, as in Fairport, N.Y.??? What a joke your comment is. If I lived in Fairport, N.Y. your recommendations would be as easy as pie to follow. However, those of us who live in Israel, located in the Middle East, prefer not to love our Hamas, Hizbollah, Al Quida, Fatah, and other barbaric, primitive and blood thirsty "neighbors." If there's one thing I despise, it's smug, arrogant, self-satisfied, self-righteous people, such as you.

It's not the only Israel's problem - I mean loss of sense of being (existential frustration). A new "pepsi-generation" has arisen from the "demand-supply" model - demands of simple thoughts, simple funs, simple relations... or even simpliest. Tora? Stop lauphing! The only thing that could make people awaken is a new great misfortune, a catastrophe. And I believe It will come - sooner or later - by His Grace.

Again we hear the cries of beilin, olmert and livni, oh my god, demographics, oh my god, turkey is going to iran, syria, hezbollah, hamas, everything is against us. There gentlemen are pathetic weaklings, especially beilin and olmert. Israel has to keep steady and go forward. But stop with these university idealists or military pacifists.

Thank you for the various comments. I'm not trying to be purposely vague but there are space limits to an article. I'm simply trying to get people to think and address a serious issue. Placing our heads in the sand will not help. I'm actually quite happy living in Israel but I'm concerned about my people and my land so I'm trying to do whatever I can, however little that might be. I honestly believe that what I'm talking about is at the root of the problem so it's important to raise awareness to this. It's much easier to focus on external issues but addressing and fixing core problems are much more difficult. The point of the article is that ideas are what eventually cause changes in the physical realm. This point is at the center of Hazony's "The Jewish State" and an integral part of Rav Kook's teachings. Regarding the details (although admittedly still somewhat general), please see my article "Towards a Jewish Mindset".

this article is another one of those nonsensical insane idiotic babble by a confused leftist secularist,who realy does not know why the jews belong in Israel. Listen Meltzer,and listen carefully, there is only one reason,and that is,that G-D has promised this holy country for his chosen people and commanded us to live in it .period.thats it,now of course you as a secularist laughs at this, and believes that our holy bible is nothing but a nice fairy tale,and of course neither does the current Israeli government believe in our holy bible,and this is the real tragedy,and this is why i agrre with you that Israel's future is very bleak

Stop talking about "the only democracy" in the middle east. Nobody gives a shit. We are a member state of the UN, so is everybody else. Maybe if you quit the UN, you'd earn some dignity and self respect. Oh, and stop giving up Jewish land after you win a war and conquer it, this is abnormal.

Agree we need a new vision, the classic "Or Chadash", but what are your words to describe "the true Jewish idea, the authentic Jewish dream."?

Israle is divided between those who think that keeping the occupied West Bank and opressing the Palestinians is a sure recipe for disaster and those who want to go on building in the so-called "Judea and Samaria". Until we resolve this problem there can be no coomon sense of purpose, just as the United States could not have a common sense of purpose in 1860. The US had to resolve the problem of slavery, and Israel today must resolve the problem of the occupation.

Wonderful answer,its music to my ears.....Its the ultimate answer for people seeking real democracy and freedom. Cast your eyes upon some of the sick and racist talkbacks and you will see thats its a far off dream for Israel.

I agree, Judaism is what keeps us going and maintains our identity. And the vast majority of Israelis respect Judaism and are either religious or at least traditional. Complete secular are a minority. That said, most of Europe is completely secular and they haven't faded away, so what's the problem?

To #19 - thank you for your" kind words". FYI, you're description of me is SOOOOOO wrong. To # 21 - thank you for agreeing. Please see my article "Towards a Jewish Mindset" or other articles of mine concerning sovereignty.

You write: "This country from top to bottom desperately needs to be provided with a new, profound, and lasting sense of purpose. Without it, its days are numbered." When I think of Israel these days I imagine it as a large boat in peril. While decent Israelis are doing all they can to prevent the sinking of this boat, there are others busily drilling holes at the bottom. You know who they are. Before you take on the task of finding a common purpose for people who are genetically predisposed to disagree with one another ;-) maybe a more immediate consideration would be to strongly encourage Jews to develop a better aptitude to DETECT those influential Jews who - whether by malice or plain stupidity - do not have the Jewish people and Israel's best interests at heart, and who are diligently working to sink your boat. Many of them occupy top positions in important sectors of society..... And for decades they have been busy drilling holes at the bottom of your boat. Unless those people, some of them praised and acclaimed by the media (and even by some naive patriotic Jews!), are persuaded to step aside and make room for Jews who truly love Israel and its Jewish heritage, then your gloomy predictionI quoted above may come true. So before you get all the boat's passengers singing from the same sheet, Yoel, do something about the guys drilling holes in your boat!

The shared purpose of Israel is to justify a home for the jewish people wherever they may be. It is the same purpose for the French, German, Russian, Turkish people...and you name them all....they all need a home land where they feel HOME !

if i was wrong about you ,then please forgive me. but do you agree with me ,that the only reason there should be an Israel and jews should live there is because it was given to us by the al-mighty,and he commanded us to live there

Does anybody have his e-mail address? I want to send him my specific proposal to rekindle the Jewish pioneeering spirit.

What's her granddaughter's phone number?