This week’s double parsha, Vayakhel–Pekudei, addresses two timeless questions that shape every society: how a people builds its purpose and how leaders account for the power entrusted to them.

In the Torah, these questions emerge through the building of the Mishkan, where the talents, resources, and creativity of an entire people were dedicated to creating a dwelling place for God.

Today, these themes feel strikingly relevant. As the world debates the conflict surrounding Israel and Iran, the discussion is often framed only in political or military terms. But beneath the headlines lies a deeper question about responsibility, leadership, and moral clarity.

How societies use power — and how leaders account for it — ultimately shapes the kind of world we build.

My latest reflection connects Vayakhel–Pekudei, the Mishkan, and the moral challenges facing our time.

Why does the world tolerate Iran’s war against Israel?

The world is debating whether Israel’s war with Iran is justified.

But a more troubling question is rarely asked:

Why did the world tolerate Iran’s war against Israel for decades?

Why did the world tolerate Iran’s war against Israel for decades?

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran’s regime has openly called for the destruction of the Jewish state while building the military infrastructure to make that goal possible.

It armed Hezbollah in Lebanon. It funded Hamas in Gaza. Rockets, Tunnels, and October 7th !! It financed militias across Syria and Iraq.

It surrounded Israel with tens of thousands of rockets aimed at its cities.

And let’s not forgot the Houthis from Yemen.

And yet when Israel responds, the global conversation often begins with a different question:

Did Israel strike first?

The irony is striking.

For decades, one side has openly declared its intention to eliminate the other. Yet when the threatened state defends itself, the legitimacy of its response becomes the subject of international debate.

It is therefore almost irrelevant who fired the first missile in the latest confrontation. Israel’s actions come after decades of Iranian rhetoric, proxy warfare, and direct attacks.

The historical irony runs deeper. In Jewish history Persia holds a special place — the empire of King Cyrus that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, and the setting of the story of Purim. That ancient Persian land is today the modern state of Iran.

To understand why Israel is judged so uniquely, we must look beyond geopolitics and return to the deeper story of Jewish........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)