This month, we recounted the heroic story of the Maccabees, the Jewish rebel group that lived in the Land of Israel in the second century BCE, which makes clear that we must have pride, courage, and passion to fight for our survival and freedom as a people.
During the time of the Maccabees, the Land of Israel was dominated by Greek armies. Many Jews, especially the cosmopolitan elite, sought to assimilate into the Greek culture as a road to political and economic power.
The Maccabees – a small group of Jews determined to protect their Jewish identity and homeland – used their wits, courage, and determination to defeat the Greeks and establish a free Jewish nation in our homeland, notwithstanding their tiny numbers and inferior weapons.
Today, in the face of existential challenges, how can we find inspiration in the Maccabees’ example? How do we redouble our commitment to strengthen and secure the future of the Jewish People and the State of Israel? During this season of giving, what are the most important gifts that we can give to each other – so that future generations will live in freedom, security, and prosperity?
With these questions lingering in my mind this holiday season, I have put together a list of the eight most important gifts that we must give in every Jewish family in 2023 so that our people will continue to thrive.
Gift 1: Pride
There is nothing more powerful than understanding who you are and taking pride in where you come from.
If we can’t instill Jewish pride in our next generation, there will no one left to carry on our tradition and face our future challenges.
Every day, I feel incredibly fortunate to be a Jew – to come from a tradition that is the original source of the Western values, and to be a part of a people who, while tiny in numbers, have accomplished extraordinary things in so many fields.
I am proud to be connected to Israel, our Jewish homeland, a country that became independent against all odds and serves as a beacon of light and innovation, making the rest of the world a better place. Through education, community involvement, and family heritage, we must foster a sense of pride in being Jewish and a pride in the State of Israel, in our children and grandchildren.
Gift 2: Courage
The State of Israel, the Jewish People, and the Jewish faith have only survived because relatively few Jews were willing to stand up and fight for what they believed in when our Jewish homeland, our people, our traditions and our values were threatened. It’s not always easy or convenient to be a proud Jew or to be a supporter of Israel. Yet, we need the courage and conviction to stand up and speak out against those that threaten the future of the Jewish state.
Gift 3: Persistence
Alongside courage, the Jewish People also need to be consistent and persistent. It’s not enough to stand up once; we need to cultivate a next generation that has the strength and will to stand up, again and again, and fight against our detractors. Whether you are building a business, working toward a degree, raising a family, or advocating for your community, the ability to work hard and keep going strong in the face of adversity may be the single most valuable skill.
Gift 4: Knowledge
Over the course of centuries wandering as a small and stateless people, we learned to invest in the greatest resource: knowledge. The Jews have prioritized education above all else. Today we must continue this investment, imparting the knowledge that not only gives our children the ability to thrive in 21st-century careers, but also that grounds them in Jewish wisdom, provides a moral center and makes them committed to family and community.
Gift 5: Innovation
The Jewish propensity to innovate has driven inventions ranging from ethical monotheism to the Theory of Relativity to Waze. This has been the secret sauce of Jewish survival, allowing us to adapt and succeed in a wide range of cultures, countries, and eras. Empowering our children to think outside the box will be critical for their success in our modern information era, and for the survival of our communal institutions, which must adapt to remain relevant for the next generation.
Gift 6: Belief in the Impossible
Although we are less than 0.2 percent of mankind, the Jewish People have been able to accomplish extraordinary things because of our belief that the impossible could be achieved. From Joshua’s conquest of the land to the Maccabees overcoming the Greeks, to the newly formed State of Israel defeating six Arab armies in 1948, we have held the belief that the impossible can be achieved against all odds. We must empower our children with this perspective, as they go out to fight for their dreams and contribute solutions to the challenges facing Jews worldwide.
Gift 7: Brotherhood
In the Talmud, it says that each member of the Jewish People is responsible for the rest. During challenging times, the proud and committed Jews always knew how to unite and support one another. In response to the many threats facing the State of Israel, the Israeli people join together as one united family that cares for and protects each other. We are infinitely stronger when we are united – religious and secular, in Israel and in the Diaspora, old and young.
Gift 8: Passion
Discovering and channeling your passion in life to make a difference in the world is the key to personal fulfillment. If you don’t make each day matter and don’t have the passion for how you spend your time and resources, you don’t have much at all. Each and every day, I strive to give my children and grandchildren the encouragement to discover their passion and purpose, and the support to channel that passion into careers, families, leadership, community and the country in which we all live.
As we look to begin anew in 2023, let us give and inspire all eight of these gifts – and many more – to enrich the lives of our young generations, strengthen our families and secure our common future. In doing so, together we can write a new chapter in the ancient story of the Jewish people.
Adam Milstein is an Israeli-American philanthropist, chairman of the Israeli-American Council, real estate entrepreneur and president of the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation.
This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post in 2017. It has been updated to fit the coming year.
Amen, Mr. Milstein. A wonderful list of gifts Jews ought to give one another, and to give to our children every day of the year. But I might add one other, absolutely essential article to your list: Torah. To learn and follow the Torah’s laws and to teach them diligently to our children is really the secret of our continued survival over several turbulent millennia and will continue to be so over several more, or for however long life as usual goes on prior to the coming of Moshiach.
I think that the writer does in fact imply Torah adherence and understanding in the various points he raises. I also think that , while admirable, this wish list is just that, especially in the US: a wish list. Before any Jew can begin to aspire to these noble goals, he must first recognise that he is a Jew. Too many American Jews seem to be trying not to be Jewish in an attempt to blend in and thus not be targeted by haters. Let’s start with this: Jews need to stand up and be counted. Be proud, be strong , and never ever apologise for being Jewish. We do not owe the world an explanation.
“Too many Jews trying not to be Jewish?”
They aren’t. They are atheist’s. Being a Jew is a religious identity.
My thoughts, too. However, Mr. Milstein forgets to give credit to the greatest asset of the Jews—-God. Oddly, Christians know that when you forget God he will forget you based on our reading and studying scripture written by Jews.
Today’s secular Jews are playing with fire replacing the Jewish faith with left wing politics. Christians have done the same, blowing off the church of Jesus Christ for sports on Sunday. Make no doubt about it, there’s going to be a Judgement Day for everyone. Everybody better read and study the Bible. The word “judgment” is mentioned 294 times.
I have a problem with pride as a gift because it is not focused around the fact that God is involved in our survival and is looked down upon in many Christian circles as self serving. Where is gratitude to God in this list? Just saying.
Where is gratitude, period? That, along with modesty, is one of the most important of Jewish characteristics. But gratitude to G0d is first. People who wake up and say “Modeh ani” personify that trait.
Another very important gift would be knowledge and literacy in basic Jewish sources and Jewish practices
I’ll listen to Adam Milstein when he stops cavorting with Christians. If Jewish pride is a priority for you, Adam,
then stop posting tributes to a religion which idolatrously worships a man.
Whoa. If Jesus wasn’t the Messiah, yes, it would be idolatrous to worship him. You need to carefully read the scriptures, especially the prophets. Start with Isaiah.
Really helpful comment, not.
Please remove comment to this by “real deal” thank you
BRAVO !
The Democratic Jewish elites are like an oxymoron – for, these days to be truly Jewish and also a Democrat don’t go together.
For all the J-Street members, Soros-like Jewish-born anti-Semites and morally bankrupt Schumers and Shiffs, those who have chosen to be a part pf leftist tyranny should be fought just as their non- Jewish born idealogical colleagues – as they are not just a threat to American democracy, but to Judeo-Christian values and to Western civilization itself.
If they are not contained, their illegal, immoral and subversive efforts (including their embracing our worst enemies like Iranian fanatics and CCP) – we will all go the way of the dinosaur.