October 9, 2023
Dear friends,
It’s hard to describe the surreal feeling of celebrating one of the most joyous days of the Jewish year, singing and dancing with the Torah, while terrible, horrifying events were unfolding in Israel. Because I do not usually look at news on Shabbat, the word reached me first on Saturday morning when a kind Vermont neighbor asked me about my family. I reached out immediately to the one grandson in Israel who doesn’t observe Shabbat, and he let me know that while all my family is safe, a grandson and a grandson-in-law have been called up to the reserves.
At the beginning of the Simchat Torah service, Rabbi David and Rabbi Alison and I offered the beautiful poem of Yehudah Amichai, “Wildpeace.” I do, now and always, pray for peace in Israel and in the world. Still, there are the times when war may be the only response—as Ecclesiastes wrote, there is a season for everything. There are times to debate the causes of conflict, the history, the suffering on one side or another. Now is not that time.
As members of Am Yisrael, we are all so interconnected that we are probably only one or two degrees of separation from a murder, kidnapping, or other atrocity. We are probably closer to these connections than many of us were to the deaths on 9/11. Now we have only a few essential tasks: to support the Israeli soldiers and the Israeli people; to send financial support to alleviate suffering or to assist in the war effort; to speak out for justice and against antisemitism; and to pray.
One traditional prayer for times like this is Psalm 121, Esa Einai, which ends:
The LORD will guard you from all harm;
He will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your going and coming
now and forever.
(For the full prayer CLICK HERE.)
Many new prayers are being written as well. Here is a link to one.
It’s hard not to feel helpless in these circumstances. Fight that feeling, and do what you can. I am available to speak with anyone who simply needs support or to process what is going on. I stand with Israel and with you.
L’Shalom (toward peace),
Cantor Kate