In his address to the United Nation’s General Assembly today, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu had some pointed words to share. While defending Israel’s right to exist and demanding recognition as a Jewish state, he also extended a hand in peace.
He said that it’s time to speak plainly and openly. In the Middle East, it’s called talking dugri. Dugri is Israeli slang (taken from Arabic!) for “straightforward.” It means “telling it like it is” and not “beating around the bush.”
Netanyahu himself took a moment to share where he draws the courage to speak so proudly and forcefully to the United Nations. He spoke of a meeting he had with the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1984 when he was the Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. The Rebbe told him that the U.N. is a house of many lies, but that the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide even in the darkest place (click here for video). Thus, he came to the United Nations to speak the truth.
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This speech reminded me of the opening words of this week’s Torah portions, Nitzavim-Vayelech: “ You stand upright this day, all of you, before the L-rd your G-d: Your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, and all the men of Israel; your little ones, your wives, and your stranger that is in your camp, from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water.”
The word nitzavim is translated as “stand upright,” after which the parsha is named.
So what is so critical about standing upright? And how do we draw the strength to stand tall in a world gone amok?
The rest of the verse gives it away: if we truly aspire to stand upright – proud, honest and full of conviction – it is when all the Jewish people stick together.
When a Chassidic Rebbe and a Jewish prime minister share a message, it looms large. We don’t stand tall because of who we are individually. We reach the greatest heights and tap into the deepest reservoirs of determination when we are part of Am Yisrael.
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As we prepare for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, let us remember that standing proud before G-d is only possible if we stand united. And standing united just might require talking dugri – with ourselves.