Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah
October 12, 2023 27 Tishri 5784 BreisheetYesterday was starting off as another lousy day in an extraordinarily lousy week. I had my car jumpstarted the previous night, but the guy from AAA said the battery tested fine. As I started driving yesterday morning, though, the “check battery” light came on and the radio stopped playing. I coasted the last block as I pulled up to the car repair shop. When they asked me to move it to another spot, I had to explain that I couldn’t. So, as I was walking to the office from the car repair shop, a woman who was walking quite quickly passed me. She hesitated, stopped completely, turned around and said, “I just want you to know that I am praying for Israel. My friends and I have all been talking about it and we support Israel.” I said, “Thank you! That means so much to me!” She turned around and resumed her very quick walking. It was a truly amazing moment. It’s very easy to get caught up in the awfulness of the situation in Israel. It’s awful. There’s no getting around that. It’s also easy to get caught up in who has not spoken out in support of Israel and who has issued lousy “both sides” statements in response to the situation. There are plenty of those folks. But, there are also people all around us who have reached out to lift us up from our dark place. That woman on the street was just one. I have also heard from countless colleagues here in Summit who quickly realized the impact of this terrorist attack in Israel on Jews here in this country despite the geographic divide. We have also had political leaders who have spoken out forcefully and eloquently in support of Israel. I don’t think any of us could have asked for any more from President Biden’s statement. Right here in Summit, I got a personal phone call from our congressman, Tom Kean, Jr., who asked how his office could be of support to the Jewish community at this time. So, if you are not Jewish and you have somehow stumbled upon this blog post, then I want to thank you for your support of the Jewish people who are in pain right now. If you are a Jewish person who is focused on the people who haven’t reached out, I invite you to take a moment to appreciate those who have. They’re all around us. This has been a tough week, and more difficult days lie ahead. However, if we continue to lift one another up when we need it, we’ll all pull through. Am Yisrael Chai! Shalom, RAF.
留言