Stop Reacting. Start Leading: Hillel’s Framework for Jewish Strength

Jewish communities today are exhausted.

Exhausted from explaining.

Exhausted from defending.

Exhausted from waiting for someone… anyone… to show up with the perfect solution to antisemitism.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

There is no cavalry coming.

Not from governments.

Not from universities.

Not from well-meaning people who think “raising awareness” is somehow a strategy.

If we want a different outcome, we need a different posture; one rooted not in reaction but in leadership. And for that, we need to turn not to the latest think-tank report, but to one of the oldest and clearest roadmaps we have:

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am only for myself, what am I?

And if not now, when?”

- Hillel the Elder, Pirkei Avot 1:14

And yes - while this piece is somewhat informed by my years in the Hillel movement, we should all be grateful that this Hillel didn’t require a logo lockup, a branding guide, or quarterly donor stewardship. He simply gave us a framework for Jewish power that still holds, 2,000 years later.

Here’s what it demands of us today.

1. Pride: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”

Jewish pride is not a marketing campaign.

It’s not a hashtag.

It’s not the fluffy section of your strategic plan.

Pride is the foundation of Jewish resilience.

When communities centre Jewish pride… unapologetic, joyful, rooted pride… something shifts:

• People stand taller.

• Students find their voices.

• Parents feel steadier.

• Antisemites lose the ability to make us shrink.

Young Jews especially are hungry for this: authenticity, confidence, belonging, a sense of rootedness. They don’t want fear-based messaging. They don’t want PR spin.

They want something true:

You come from somewhere. You belong to something. And we don’t hide.

Jewish pride isn’t a luxury response to antisemitism.

It’s the first response.

2. Partnership: “If I am only for myself, what am I?”

Let’s state the obvious:

We cannot fight antisemitism alone.

Not morally.

Not strategically.

Not numerically.

When antisemitism rises, many communities instinctively retreat inward. That’s understandable, but it’s also unsustainable. Hillel’s second clause reminds us that Jewish strength has always been relational. Partnership is part of our DNA.

But partnership doesn’t mean performative allyship or transactional “coalitions.” It means:

• real relationships, built before the crisis

• trust that goes both ways

• shared moral commitments

• allies who act - not just empathise

We don’t need more allies who issue statements.

We need accomplices, people willing to take risks with us.

When we build relationships from a place of clarity rather than desperation, we stop asking:

“Who will stand with us?”

and start asking:

“Who do we want to build a better world with?”

3. Power: “If not now, when?”

Power is a word that makes some Jews flinch.

But Jewish power - healthy, grounded, values-driven power - is essential.

And let’s be clear:

Jewish power is not aggression.

Jewish power is agency.

Power is the ability to:

• organise

• educate

• respond

• protect

• lead

• act before someone else decides for us

Too often, communities wait.

Wait for clarity.

Wait for consensus.

Wait for “the national organisations” to figure it out.

Wait for the next workshop on how to respond to antisemitism.

But Jewish history teaches a hard lesson:

Waiting has never worked in our favour.

Hillel’s third clause is the antidote to paralysis:

Stop waiting. Start acting.

Action doesn’t require shouting the loudest. It requires being the most clear.

Power is not the opposite of humility.

Power is the opposite of helplessness.

From Surviving to Thriving.

Pride.

Partnership.

Power.

These aren’t just responses to antisemitism, they are a blueprint for Jewish flourishing.

Pride that strengthens our core identity.

Partnership that extends our communal reach.

Power that turns fear into agency.

This is how we move from reacting to leading.

From exhaustion to confidence.

From crisis-management to community-building.

Hillel didn’t give us a theory.He gave us a challenge:

Know who you are.

Show up for others.

Act before the moment passes.

It’s time to thrive. Not just survive.

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This article is adapted from a sermon I delivered at to the Beth Israel Congregation in Kingston on the second day of Rosh Hashanah 5783 (2022).

You can watch the original talk here.

I recently published a new infographic with some practical tips on how students can employ this philosophical approach to activate their campuses to defend Jewish students and fight antisemitism. You can see that post here.