Australia’s Jewish community has always understood that its fortunes will rise and fall with the fortunes of the nation.
And so, when Jews gather in their holy places, they pray for the welfare of this country in a tradition that originates in 594BC, when the Jews lived in exile in Babylon.
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile,” wrote the Prophet Jeremiah, “… and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
These words, contained in a letter sent from Jerusalem to the leaders of the exiled community in Babylon, came at a time when the Jews faced a profound dilemma. Now also a people of the diaspora yet a distinct nation with enduring ties to their homeland, the Jews would need to reconcile their longing to return with their new reality of living as foreign subjects in distant lands.
Jeremiah’s decree became a pillar of Jewish life in exile. It counselled the Jews to see themselves as a part of the societies in which they lived and, most crucially, it compelled them to do good, not just for their own community, but for all citizens of the land – for in their welfare, they would find their own.
Read the article by Alex Rychvin in The Age.
[Alex Ryvchin is the director of public affairs for the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. This piece is based on a keynote address delivered at Old Parliament House at the launch of the ACT Jewish Community’s appeal for a new Jewish war memorial and museum. ]