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The Grave Sin of Assimilation: A Wake-Up Call to Our People

by Ram ben Ze'ev


The Grave Sin of Assimilation: A Wake-Up Call to Our People
The Grave Sin of Assimilation: A Wake-Up Call to Our People

We are not like the Nations. We were never meant to be. The commandment is clear: והייתם לי סגלה מכל העמים – “And you shall be to Me a treasure from among all the peoples” (שמות Shemot 19:5). We were chosen by G-D, not because of our numbers or our might, but because of our mission: ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש – “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (שמות Shemot 19:6). Holy – קדוש – does not mean simply righteous or pure; it means separate, distinct, set apart. Yet what have we become?


Across the globe, and even within the borders of ארץ ישראל (Eretz Yisrael – the Land of Israel), we witness a heartbreaking betrayal: Jews abandoning their identity, their Torah, and their kedushah (קדושה – holiness), all in the name of comfort, acceptance, or worse, financial gain. Assimilation is not just a sociological concern. It is a spiritual crisis. It is avon (עון – iniquity). It is a chillul HaShem (חילול השם – desecration of G-D’s Name) on a grand scale.



The Torah’s Warning

Moshe Rabbenu warns us repeatedly in the Torah about the danger of mingling with the Nations. In דברים (Devarim – Deuteronomy) 7:3-4, the command is explicit:


ולא תתחתן בם... כי יסיר את בנך מאחרי ועבדו אלהים אחרים


Do not intermarry with them... for he will turn your child away from following Me, and they will serve other gods.


The Torah does not mince words. Assimilation leads to avodah zarah (עבודה זרה – idolatry).


And in our generation, the modern forms of idolatry are no less destructive: secularism, careerism, moral relativism, and the idolisation of personal freedom above Divine law. We are not permitted to blend in. We are commanded to stand apart.



The Holy Zohar on Separation

The Holy Zohar makes it clear that the Jewish soul is not cut from the same cloth as the souls of the Nations. In the Holy Zohar, Vayikra 93a, it states:


ישראל נפקין מגופא דמלכא


Israel comes forth from the body of the King.


Our neshama (נשמה – soul) is rooted in Elokut (אלקות – Divinity). We are not simply another nation among many. To behave as such is to deny our very essence.


Later, the Holy Zohar explains in Shemot 33a that when Israel seeks to resemble the Nations, it causes concealment of the Divine Presence – the Shekhinah (שכינה) withdraws. There is no greater tragedy.


Tanya and the Tragedy of the Divided Soul

In Tanya, the Alter Rebbe explains in Chapter 19 that the Jewish soul, no matter how far it strays, retains a spark of Divine fire. But assimilation buries that spark under layers of mud. In Iggeret HaTeshuvah, Chapter 4, the Alter Rebbe warns that the soul that engages in sin severs itself temporarily from the source of life, like a limb cut off from the body.


And what is assimilation if not the ultimate act of soul-severance? It is a form of spiritual suicide – not only for the individual but for their children and generations to come.


The Deception of Tel Aviv and the Mirror of Exile

We must speak plainly: parts of Tel Aviv and other so-called "modern" Jewish communities are adopting lifestyles, ideologies, and social norms that are antithetical to Torah. This is not enlightenment; it is darkness dressed as light. It is the repetition of the sin of the Erev Rav, who wanted to worship G-D their own way, on their own terms.



Whether in Paris, New York, London, or Tel Aviv, when a Jew seeks to be accepted by the Nations by abandoning Torah, they do not elevate the Nations – they lower themselves. ואבדיל אתכם מן העמים להיות לי – “And I have separated you from the nations to be Mine” (ויקרא Vayikra 20:26).


We are not a universal people. We are a covenantal people. We are not supposed to be absorbed. We are meant to illuminate.


The Modern Day Test and Our Response

Why do so many assimilate today? Because it is easier. Because exile is hard. Because Torah observance is demanding. But the test of our generation is not whether we can survive genocide – Baruch HaShem, we have. The test today is more subtle: can we survive success? Can we remain faithful to HaShem when the Nations offer us degrees, jobs, praise, and comfort in exchange for our silence?


Let it be clear: every Jew who blends in rather than stands apart, who forgets that he is a bearer of the Divine covenant, is not only sinning against HaShem – he is betraying every ancestor who died for being a Jew.


A Call to Return

Return to Torah. Return to kedushah. Return to yourself. This is not only possible – it is urgent. The gates of teshuvah (תשובה – return) are open, but they do not remain open forever.



In the words of the Holy Zohar, Vayikra 10b: תא חזי מאי כתיב ישראל אשר בך אתפאר – “Come and see what is written: ‘Israel, in whom I will be glorified’” (ישעיהו Yeshayahu 49:3).


HaShem’s glory in this world depends on us. Do not trade your soul for applause. Do not sell your birthright for a seat at someone else's table.


Let us rise as גוי קדוש – a holy nation, distinct and unwavering. Not only for ourselves, but for the Nations who look to us as the light. They do not need us to be like them. They need us to be ourselves – for the sake of the covenant.


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