8 | APRIL 7 • 2022 

student corner
Mind and Soul Together 
F

or the last few years, 
the United States has 
been polarized with 
conflict. Both politically and 
philosophically, it is a fact that 
the U.S. makes 
for a country of 
disagreement 
in the present. 
However, this is 
something that 
can be fixed and 
adjusted. Now is 
the time to do it. 
As a Hillel student, I have 
learned so much about repair-
ing the broken and healing 
the vulnerable. In addition, 
Hillel has taught me ways to 
think critically to help my 
community both positively 
and effectively, using my mind 
and my soul. As I embark into 
my final weeks at Hillel, I am 
grateful for the experiences 
that the school has given me 
and the lessons for life that I 
have learned.

One of those treasures was 
our trip to Washington, D.C., 
where we spent hours learn-
ing about important history 
and facts about America. We 
visited monuments, museums 
and memorials to expand our 
knowledge on the history of 
our country. We also had deep 
conversations in which we 
learned a lot about each other. 
Finally, we shared laughs with 
each other throughout our 
meals, on the bus and in our 
rooms. 
Throughout these events, 
Hillel was educating our minds 
by teaching us lessons and 
developing our souls by letting 
us build connections with each 
other. Hillel has nurtured us 
into capable and intelligent 
young adults who can use both 
their minds and souls to move 
forward to the next step and 
into tomorrow. And by stim-
ulating our minds and souls, 
Hillel has ensured us that all 

of us can grow to be the lead-
ers of our community. This is 
how Hillel has instructed their 
students in the classical genera-
tional tradition of Hillel. 
Today, as I continue to watch 
the tragedy that is happening 
in Ukraine unfold, I can use 
Hillel’s mind and soul lesson in 
order to help all Ukrainians. I 
can use the tools Hillel has gift-
ed me to make a difference, an 
effect, an impact on Ukraine. 
And it doesn’t necessarily have 
to be large, but something to 
help the situation. It is vital 
that we do not simply look the 
other way and think that it is 
not happening to us, but that 
we feel bothered and disturbed 
by the crisis. Because I feel 
unsettled, I feel motivated to 
help and make a difference in 
any manner possible. 
It is not just me that must 
apply the “Hillel lesson” to 
himself. It must be our whole 
community, extended-com-

munity, state and ultimately 
the country. We must, togeth-
er, look at what real tragedy 
and conflict is and move 
beyond ours. If we do this, we 
can bring peace to the world 
and bring justice to all civil-
ians, including Ukrainians. 
I challenge all of my class-
mates to apply the “mind and 
soul” lesson to themselves. 
We must listen to the words 
of Golda Meir, “It isn’t really 
important to decide when you 
are very young just exactly 
what you want to become 
when you grow up. It is much 
more important to decide on 
the way you want to live.” 
As we listen to these words, 
we realize that it is our time to 
make a difference. Forward, 
with mind and soul, better 
together. 

Zeev Maine is an eighth-grader at 

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan 

Detroit.

Zeev Maine

PURELY COMMENTARY

target was hit, and the control-
ler fills out an Excel sheet, and 
they move onto the next target.
The other path, which is the 
total opposite of the banality 
of the job, is the feeling of a 
real hatred for the enemy. It’s 
natural to feel that you hate 
someone who wants to kill you 
… but if we think about it, there 
is a fine line between the will 
to go into battle and beat your 
opponent and hating him as a 
person. From my perspective, 
there is no reason to hate an 
entire population of any orga-
nized group (such as a state 
or any other governing body) 
just because their leaders have 
decided to go to war. This is 

an especially important point 
when thinking about how sol-
diers express themselves within 
the civil discourse.

CIVILIANS IN ISRAEL
I recently attended a briefing 
by an Israeli official, who 
told us that there are Russian 
and Ukrainian teens that live 
together in a boarding pro-
gram in Israel. He shared the 
complexity they now have 
between them. For me, this 
is very saddening. Why on 
earth would two teens, living 
in Israel, become enemies just 
because their states are at war? 
Don’t get me wrong, I am not 
so naive. It’s natural to feel con-

nected to your country’s narra-
tive, but extrapolating conflicts 
just creates more conflict.
When we dehumanize peo-
ple from the other side, just 
because they are from the other 
side, we dehumanize ourselves. 
You don’t need to look hard to 
find ordinary people writing 
memes on social media, cursing 
and demonizing Russians (civil-
ians or soldiers). 
I was fortunate to serve in the 
Israeli Air Force, which relies 
on the Israeli Defense Forces 
Code of Ethics. This code gives 
an unproportionable weight 
toward the decision making 
of soldiers in the battlefield, 
regarding the morality of their 

actions and the importance of 
innocent lives.
I truly hope this war will 
end today. It’s horrible, it’s sad, 
it’s devastating. Unfortunately, 
it seems like it will continue 
longer than we wish. While 
it is happening, our morality 
comes into effect as we try to 
stop the invasion and the kill-
ing of innocent civilians while 
staying humane ourselves in 
the way we think, speak, write, 
and educate ourselves and 
others, about the situation. 

Yiftah Leket is Detroit’s communi-

ty shaliach (emissary) from Israel. 

This essay was first published by 

Federation’s Israel and Overseas 

Department.

Maintaining Humanity in War continued from page 4

