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may live; that is to say for the general good and for the good of future generations.
These types of questions distract the mind of man from the essence of it all – from life
of the hour, which contains life eternal for insofar as life of the hour is itself real life,

it contains life eternal. **

The individual who seeks a new life for himself does not seek it the heavens or in the
air but rather in that same life which he is trying to renew by way of the work he does ,

by the conditions under which he lives and by the struggle he undertakes to remove
obstacles from his path.

There are those who think that one who seeks to live for the sake of life eternal has no
need for life of the hour. In their opinion, one who seeks to live for the sake of life

eternal is looked upon as a “sacrificial lamb”***, the atonement for the Jewish People.
He sacrifices his life in the here and now – hence he no longer lives. This viewpoint
appears to be heroic, yet in truth it is passive. It exists by force of a decision made in
the past, but true strength is constant activism.

Few are those who actually seek out new life, more than a few are “sacrificial
offerings”, and many more seek a new life in thought only.* New life requires ongoing
activism, for passivity will not bring the renaissance of a people. One who wishes to live
a life for the sake of the eternal is neither a sacrificial lamb, nor an atonement for the
Jewish people. Neither does he sacrifice his own life of the hour, for life of the hour in

the here and now which has a purpose is, in fact, life eternal.

There are two paths before us in the Land of Israel: the path of life in Exile with Exilic
wisdom, with its Exilic feeling and rationale and with the force of Exilic actions as
distinct from the path of renaissance which we wish to follow. Let each one choose

whichever he will choose, but let him be aware what he has chosen, and let him know
that whoever has chosen the path of renaissance will not follow the path of Exile. Exile
is always Exile, and in the Land of Israel there is no less Exile than anywhere else. The
price for choosing renaissance is giving up the way of life in Exile and in truth, this is

not a heavy price to pay. One must not think that he who desires the life of the future
must deprive himself of life in the here and now.

One who desires life must seek life, but he must seek it in a different manner. He must
seek a different life, that is to say, a life with/for another purpose. The lover is

satisfied with a piece of dry bread and a humble tent together with his beloved more
so than with a life of delights in the palace of a king without her, for only life in
proximity to his beloved is for him real life. He who loves also seeks luxury and
abundance in life, but only while close to his beloved and anything which distances him
from his beloved distances him from his life. And so it is with spiritual love. One who
desires a life impressed with the stamp of the renaissance chooses that life whether it

is a good life or a humble life and spurns life which is not impressed with the stamp of

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