To Be A Torah Jew

A Jew must always ask onesself: When will my actions be of the same caliber of holiness and spirit as those of my forbearers?

Pride in ancestry is necessary and commendable. But if it only remains a matter of pride without advancing the covenant, commitments and goals of those who went before us, then that pride of ancestry is almost worthless. It leads only to assimilation, anonymity and eventually the disappearance of the knowledge of ones own ancestry itself.

All of Jewish history testifies to this truism of Jewish life, both in individual and communal terms.

Excerpt from the writings of Rabbi Berel Wein