Rabbi's Message

It’s hard to believe what can happen from one Shabbat to the next.  Last Friday we were preparing for a joyous end to the holiday season, and this Friday that joy seems quite far away.  Our hearts and prayers continue to be with our brothers and sisters Israel.  The atrocities that Hamas committed on Israeli men, women and children (children!) are beyond appalling.  What is also appalling is the false moral equivalencies and "both sideism" that some seek to make.  There are no two sides to this story.  Hamas massacred innocent civilians.  There is no excuse for that, and anyone who is making excuses for this terrorist organization simply doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong.  I am grateful to President Biden and other leaders for making that clear in remarks this week.  As the situation continues, and inevitably gets more difficult, we must continue to acknowledge and encourage that clear-eyed support, no matter where it comes from.  But as we prepare for Shabbat this week, I want to express my pride in our community for coming together during this time.  I was so proud to see our South Jersey community come together at the Israel Solidarity Gathering to support Israel and each other this past Tuesday night.  There were 1500 people in person and another 1100 views on the livestream.  It is recorded and you can watch it here.  I am particularly grateful for the support of the five Christian pastors who reached out to me in support and solidarity, three of whom came to the gathering.  I am proud of everyone who has given tzedakah to help those in Israel.  We have created a page on our website with suggestions about where to give and other information.  I am especially proud of our high school students, especially those who have endured a very difficult week at Cherry Hill High School East.  Along with the leadership of the JCRC, ADL, and Federation, we have been working with the administration to address these issues and to hold them accountable for the moral education of their students.  It’s not easy to be a teenager these days, and this week it was even harder for so many of them.  We are proud of how they have stood up for Israel, and how they have tried to address the challenges in their school community.  One of our high school students, Alanna Stein, wrote a beautiful piece in Eastern Regional High School’s newspaper reflecting on her Confirmation Trip to Israel and the situation today.  I’d encourage you to read it here.  It is one of the many examples of strong moral leadership from our teens, which gives me great hope for our Jewish future.  At services this Shabbat, we will add special prayers for Israel, the more than 100 captives held by Hamas, and the IDF.  We will also support each other and reflect on the world through the lens of our Torah portion, Bereishit.  One of the best ways to support each other and Jews around the world during this difficult time is to show up.  There is an initiative to light an extra Shabbat candle for Israel this week.  I hope you will do that.  I also hope that you will come to shul this Shabbat because that’s what Jews do in times of crisis.  We come together in prayer and in community to support one another and to show our solidarity with Jews around the world, and especially in Israel.  On this Shabbat Bereishit, when we read about the creation of the world, may we remember that though we can’t control what happens in the world, we can control our response to it.  We respond to the events of the past week by standing together unequivocally and unapologetically with Israel.