Our Rendezvous with History

But the battle then was with Esau – and his different faces, the various faces of the West: Russia, France, and Europe in general (should also mention Greece, as we approach Chanukah). Initially the battle was to secure spiritual integrity. This required a certain measure of insulation from the world of “Esau.” As the years passed and we matured, and the universe continued to become more and more refined in the process, we reached a stage when we can enter the emancipated world of the West and not only would we not be compromised; we would transform, refine and spiritualize material secularism, turning the world into a home for the Divine.