The Wisdom to See - Warsaw 1942/3 - Dror – Freedom. The Dror movement empowered its members to have the wisdom to see the injustice and evil controlling their fate and the need to make a change. Dror had the wisdom to see a different reality at a time where everybody else was blind to the truth and the crumbling world in which they lived. They decided to challenge, to resist and to empower. They decided to choose life and choose education. The decision to take a six week seminar in the midst of a holocaust and all the dangers it encountered; the commitment to education being the only way forward. They still saw the value of education and the sheer necessity of it even in the darkest, most sinister of days. They saw the need for preparation for life in Eretz Yisrael at a time when this seemed an impossible dream, such was their desire to pioneer and change. Today is no different. Open your eyes to the possibility of empowerment of yourself and others to have the wisdom to see the injustices of the world today, less blatant as they may seem, and to see that a change is possible. The youth are the ones with the power to make a change.

The Courage to Want - There are people that have the wisdom to see, but not many have the courage to want. They see the injustices of the world yet don’t see it as a realistic challenge that can be overcome. What does this mean? It means the courage to want to choose good, to choose education, to choose to be part of something, a youth movement, an ideal and a desire for a better world. Dror had the courage to want to maintain a moral code in an immoral world. The youth had the courage to remember that they were still humans, humans with the capacity of choice and reason. They didn't succumb to the bystanders, those who saw evil all around them and chose to do nothing. The youth had the courage to want to make a difference, the wisdom to know the Zionist revolution was possible and the courage to want to want it to be not a dream but a reality. They had the courage to want society to take on a different direction. This was proven in their soup kitchens, their communal lifestyles, their moral decisions. While the rest of society was turning inwards and forgetting the value of life, they sought freedom and responsibility for the individual and society. They had the courage to want to resist and fight injustice. The courage to demonstrate the potential and power of the youth. Again, today is no different. The injustice may be more obscure but the values hold firm. Desire justice out of a love for it and try and have the courage to want to overcome today's obstacles. Show the power of youth.

The Power to Act - The last wish of my life has been fulfilled. Jewish self-defense has become a fact." These were Mordechai Anilevitz's last words. The power of the youth pioneered a revolution in the Jewish People. The capacity for self-determination and freedom had arrived and laid the seeds for the Zionist revolution. The power to act is having the wisdom and courage to see and want a different reality and actually doing something about it. Giving yourself the responsibility and the right to make a change. In this instance, it was taking responsibility for the entire Jewish People and illustrated the power of youth in society. It is clear the youth only had the power to act because of their education, their movement and their values. Zivia Lebetkin, Dror member made this extremely clear: "Your entire being is centered on the Movement which has given life meaning and purpose and the strength to overcome." The youth in the ghetto uprising actualized their movement education that was so important to them, connected to their Jewish history and when the Germans returned to the ghetto in April 1943 ensured that 'Jewish self-defense became a fact.'  The Dror youth movement, along with the other youth, realised that something had to be done, to resist and to be pioneers. They resisted in their collective actions, not just in their words - through their welfare of society and their home on Dzelna Street which became a community centre, their values of education and love of justice and care for each member of their movement and for love of the Jewish People and the ability for it to be a light unto the nations.

Let's talk about today. We as members of Habonim Dror must realise our ancestry and take inspiration from the fact we come from a movement which defied all odds. A movement which pioneered change, desired life and took responsibility. The challenges of today are different, hidden but are only to be overcome by the same pioneering youth standing up, taking responsibility and having the power to act. What can we do? We need to change ourselves, challenge what society tells us and take responsibility. These sound like big words but little actions by year round commitment to the movement can be a start in the right direction. Take responsibility for ourselves, our society and the Jewish People. To shape our youth movement to be ours and Zionism to be ours.