Rabbi's Message

As I write, the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appears that it will soon become official.  If it does, and all goes well, then the first three of the 33 hostages to be released in the first stage could be returning home by Sunday.  While we are immensely grateful for these children, women, elderly, and ill human beings to be returning home after 467 days in captivity, we also must recognize that this ordeal is far from over.  It is not known how many of these 33 hostages are alive, and there are 61 more hostages (whose status is also unclear) that remain in Gaza.  Their fate will not be determined until the second and third stages of this deal are negotiated in the weeks to come.

Additionally, as part of this deal, Israel will release more than 1,000 prisoners, many of whom have blood on their hands.  It is a painful compromise, but one that we hope will be the beginning of the end of this long national nightmare.  In the For Heaven’s Sake podcast from the Hartman Institute, Rabbi Donniel Hartman notes that the task to bring the hostages home was given an operational name in Hebrew, Derekh Eretz.  Derekh Eretz literally means “the path to the land.”  Which seems appropriate.  But Derekh Eretz in our tradition means something even more powerful.  Rabbi Hartman translates it as “common decency.”  Rabbinic texts have a saying:  Derekh Eretz kadmah l’Torah – “Common decency comes before Torah.”  Commentaries understand this to mean that Derekh Eretz is a prerequisite to our obligations of the mitzvot from the Torah.  In other words, being a mensch, which includes understanding your obligations to others, comes first.  Despite the risks that come with this deal, making it is the right thing to do.  It is simply Derekh Eretz, common decency, for the families, the country, and the Jewish people, to bring the hostages home.  This deal will hopefully be finalized as we prepare to begin the book of Shemot, Exodus, this Shabbat.  It seems appropriate because Shemot is the book that begins the long process by which the Israelites come home from Egypt.  It is a long process, full of successes and challenges, but ultimately, the Israelites arrive back in the land of Israel.  So, too, it has been a long and arduous journey for hostages and the hostage families, for Israelis, and for all of us.  For 467 days, we have prayed, donated, visited, and advocated for their release.  And we will continue to do so until all 94 hostages are home and families are reunited and able to begin to rebuild their lives and their homes.

There is still a long road ahead, no doubt with starts and stops, but we pray that a process has begun to end the suffering and ultimately to provide a vision for a more peaceful Middle East.