Rabbi's Message

Shalom from Jerusalem!  Actually, by the time you read this, I will hopefully have landed back home.  It has been a very full three weeks in Israel.  Most of my time was spent in the beit midrash (study hall) at the Hartman Institute discussing texts and ideas about Israel today and Jewish Peoplehood.  If you’d like to get a taste of some of the conversations I’ve had and teachers I’ve learned with, you can check out the Hartman website for podcasts, articles, and other resources.  I look forward to bringing these important conversations to our community this year. 
 
As I mentioned, I am concluding my three weeks in Israel, and now we are beginning another three-week period. These are the three weeks between the Hebrew dates 17th of Tammuz and 9th of Av.  Each of these fast days commemorates several tragedies in the history of our people, and their connection lies in the year 70 CE.  It was in that year, on the 17th of Tammuz, that the walls of the ancient Jerusalem Temple were breached by the Romans. Then, three weeks later, on the 9th of Av, the Temple was destroyed.  This period of three weeks is known as Bein HaMetzarim – “Between the Straits.”  This year bein hametzarim feels like an apt description of our moment.  Like the breaching of the Temple’s walls almost 2,000 years ago, on October 7, walls in Israel were breached physically and emotionally.  It is hard to convey how much it can still feel like it is October 2023 here.  120 hostages remain in Gaza, thousands of men, women, and children are still displaced from their homes in the South and the North, rockets and drones continue to attack Israel from Gaza, Hezbollah in the North, and even from Yemen, as we tragically saw earlier this week.  Additionally, as I wrote two weeks ago, soldiers continue to be called up for reserve duty, disrupting families and the Israeli economy.  Israel is still very much “between the straits.”  Still, there are so many incredible examples of resilience and hope.  In my last email, I shared three of these stories, and I will share three more of the many that I encountered during my time here.
 
One of our sessions last week was with an incredible woman named Dr.CochavElkayam-Levy. Dr.Elkayam-Levy is an expert in International Humanitarian Law at the Hebrew University.  After October 7, she expected her colleagues in humanitarian work around the world to join her in condemning Hamas’s sexual violence against women.  Instead, she mostly heard crickets.  The stories of what happened to women on October 7 were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever heard, and what made them even worse was how much Israeli women’s voices have been doubted and shut down in the international humanitarian community.  These past 9 months Dr. Elkayam-Levy has dedicated herself to documenting and chronicling Hamas’s systemic use of rape and sexual violence against women.  She is doing unbelievably difficult yet essential work, and she is committed to making sure that Israeli women’s voices are heard.  Here is a Times of Israel podcast where Dr. Elkayam-Levy talks about her work. It is graphic at times, so listener discretion is advised.  She also invited us to share this invitation with our communities to a WhatsApp group that posts updates about her work and ways to help.  Her commitment to truth and to ensuring that Israeli women’s voices are heard is an incredible example of resilience.  
 
Another incredible example of resilience is Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.  I posted on Facebook about getting to know her husband, Jon, and attending the Torah dedication ceremony at their community in Jerusalem.  A couple of days ago, Rachel came to speak with our group.   I imagine that many of you have heard her speak in interviews or at the November rally in DC.  She is currently in DC with other US-Israeli hostage families to continue to press for a deal that will lead to their loved ones' release.  Rachel spoke about how her faith, Shabbat, and prayer have anchored her throughout this whole ordeal.  She also told us about Hersh.  She told stories for us to get to know him and said that he is the most respectful and kind son.  She spoke about the fine line between hope and despair and her belief that “hope is mandatory.”  She wouldn’t be able to get up and keep fighting for Hersh’s release without it.  And she asked for our help.  She said that she has been told by people at the highest levels of the US government that phone calls and messages we send to our members of Congress and the White House really make a difference.  She asked us to share with our communities this website, www.oneminaday.com.  It provides information and the script to call our representative every day to advocate for the hostages’ release.  Please check out the website and make a quite call every day.  It does make a difference.
 
Finally, I also had the opportunity to catch up with two people who grew up in our community and are making a difference in Israel.  Rachel and I had coffee with Rebecca Isenberg, who made Aliyah and joined the IDF almost two years ago.  She now trains and onboards new commanders and was recently promoted.  It was so wonderful to see Becca and hear first-hand about all that she has accomplished and the difference she is making in Israel.  I also had dinner earlier this week with another TBS alum, Greg Waxman.  Greg made Aliyah in 2019.  He is a combat engineer in the IDF and just got out of Gaza a few weeks ago.  It is so wonderful to see students grow into adults, and it is especially wonderful to hear about their commitment to Israel and the Jewish people.  I am glad that I was able to tell Becca and Greg how proud we are of all of them, just like we are of all our alumni and members who work for the safety and thriving of the Jewish people in Israel, the US, and around the world.  
 
Israel isn’t the only place that finds itself “between the straits” at this moment.  I am sure that, after I land back in the US, I will more acutely feel the challenges we face (have I missed anything? ).  But, as my friend and teacher Rabbi Avi Orlow points out, there is a major difference between the historical “between the straits” we commemorate and our world at this moment.  We know that, almost 2,000 years ago, the story of the 17th of Tammuz ends with the destruction of the Temple on Tisha B’av.  Like the 17th of Tammuz, October 7 also marked a breaching of the walls, but it does not need to lead to the same disastrous fate.  We are still in the midst of writing our story.  People like Dr. Elkayam-Levy, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Becca, Greg, and many others are incredible examples of the many people and communities, like our own, that are doing whatever we can to help us write a better, safer, and more joyous story.  This is the work that we are each tasked with at our moment in history.  We each must do our part so that when our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can be proud and happy with the legacy that we left for them.
 
I am grateful to my colleagues at TBS and our leadership for this wonderful opportunity to study in the Rabbinic Leadership Intensive at the Hartman Institute. I look forward to being back in shul this Shabbat and learning from Rabbi Alicia Rothamel as she continues our Summer Shul rabbi speaker series. I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom.