Integrity & Ambition: The Torah’s Blueprint for Shining in a Broken World

Daily Jewish Thought

In this class, Rabbi Bernath drew a powerful line from Hitler’s Germany to Hamas today, using a hidden diary entry of the Lubavitcher Rebbe dated September 11, 1941. The Rebbe reflected on why kosher fish require both fins and scales, teaching that these symbolize two essential traits for Jewish life: ambition (fins) and integrity (scales).

-Nazi Germany had ambition without integrity — brilliance used for destruction.

-Radical Islam represents integrity without ambition — piety warped into death and stagnation.

-The Jewish mission is to embody both: to live with moral armor and to harness our talents fully, so we don’t just survive, we shine.

The lesson is timeless: G-d doesn’t only want us to be “good”; He wants us to transform the world with goodness, courage, and light.

Key Takeaways

1. Integrity without ambition leads to stagnation or fanaticism.
2. Ambition without integrity leads to brilliance that destroys.
3. A kosher life = both: moral protection (scales) + bold drive (fins).
4. Jewish history and today’s crises prove: our task is to shine with values intact.
5. G-d calls us not only to resist evil, but to increase Torah, life, and light.

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