Rabbi Siegel recently pointed out the irony of naming this week's parasha, "Va-yehi" ("He lived"), since we conclude our reading of the first book of the Torah and the saga of the patriarchs with a detailed description of the death of the final patriarch, Yaakov, as well as the death of his son, Yosef. In that same d'var Torah (delivered last Sunday at the morning minyan) Rabbi Siegel also noted how so many respond to a personal tragedy - such as the death of a loved one - by rising to the occasion in a way that not only reaffirms our commitment to core values but elevates us (as well as others) spiritually if not in other ways.
I would like to take Rabbi Siegel's message one step further and point out that moments of stress, anxiety and tragedy often pave the way for emerging greatness. During these last several weeks I have been in constant contact with family and friends - especially my wife and children - first, as missiles launched from Gaza exploded next to them in Ashkelon and then when the soldiers among them (in particular our son, Itamar) were sent into Gaza to protect the citizens of Israel. And - despite the tensions resulting from living under the threat of terrorist attacks - I have watched them rise to the occasion.
I do not need to justify Israel's actions in this space - we all know how tragic this war is and we all know that Israel had no other choice in order to defend its population. But I am concerned that with the negative media blitz generated by biased media critics that our young people do not enjoy enough opportunities to take pride in Israel, its leaders and its people - and are taught instead to reject the legitimacy of the Jewish state and its policies.
Therefore we need to speak about the great things done - even in wartime - by our Israeli cousins. The fact that humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza is a fact that must be learned by our young people. The fact that the Israeli government took measures to text message and call the residents of Gaza prior to attacking their neighborhoods in order to give them time to evacuate and save their lives proves that Israel is not out to destroy the Palestinian people - only the ruthless terrorists.
We need to inform our young people about the impact on the lives of Israelis of hearing 10-20 air raid sirens per day signaling that they need to move into the shelters and safe rooms within 15 seconds in order to guarantee their safety. The attacks against Ashkelon, which began days before Israel began its air assault on Gaza, has resulted in my wife, Chana, our children and her parents spending more time in bomb shelters these last few weeks than we did during the many years we all lived in Ashkelon.
And we need to celebrate our heroes in Israel. Not only the young people proudly defending the country as soldiers in the IDF but those who voluntarily come from all over the country in order to bring hope to those sitting terrified in community shelters. I am especially proud of the members of NOAM (Israel's USY) who abandoned the safety of their lives in different parts of the country and now sit in the Ashkelon shelters in order to calm and hug frightened children along with members of Kehillat Netzach Israel (our sister Masorti/Conservative synagogue in Ashkelon).
We will do this - we will inform and educate ourselves and our young people. They will know the truth about the conflict in Gaza by joining us at the rally which will take place this TONIGHT here at Anshe Emet Synagogue. I urge every adult to come and to bring with you every child in your home so that they will know how precious Israel is to all of us. When we speak of life and death matters we not only need to rally behind Israel in the war against the terrorists of Gaza, we need to cultivate the pride and love for Israel which needs to be permanently etched in the hearts of our children and youth.
We learn from our sages in Pirke Avot, "In a place where there no are people, try to be the person." We must step up and rise to the occasion by filling the void with our bodies and our voices tonight, Thursday, January 8 at 7:00 PM.(please see the very next article for more information!)
With love of Israel,
Rabbi Matt Futterman |
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