A New Year’s Resolution, Ongoing Resolve, and Returning to What Matters Most
Shalom everyone, and a happy (if sobering) new year to you,
I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays with family and friends.
I went back to re-read what I shared with all of you last month. I wish I could report that the situation in the Middle East had progressed towards a solution, but as I write this, there is no resolution in sight.
Wanting to hear a first-hand account of the situation, I welcomed the opportunity to see and hear the conversation with a group of teenagers who attend the Leo Baeck School in Haifa, organized by Marah and led by both her and Rabbi Niles.
For those of you who did not attend our Zoom conversation – if I’m being candid about this, only a few of us participated when ideally it should have been many more – here is a quick recap:
Initial disbelief was such that one student, on hearing the news from her mother and unable to fathom what was happening, went back to sleep, only to awake to the shock of witnessing what was taking place in her country.
Another student’s father was meant to serve as adult supervision at the Nova festival, where so much of the terror took place, but luckily sensed that something was amiss and turned his car around, avoiding near certain death or capture.
Some of those with whom we spoke already were serving in the army, some were preparing to join, and to a person all of them were, at best, one step removed from knowing someone who either is fighting or has died in combat. Everyone is affected by the conflict.
Haifa-based Leo Baeck is in the North, so the school is doing all it can to help those from the south who are dealing with the consequences of January 7 and its aftermath.
The school quickly opened a day care center to aid now single-parent families whose loved ones were displaced, who are serving in the army as soldiers or reserves, or who have lost loved ones. Supplies are collected and daily drills are conducted, ensuring the ability to get to a shelter in 90 seconds or less, should the need arise.
Make no mistake about it: this is a country at war; all of us need to say a prayer for our brothers and sisters in our beleaguered spiritual home.
When I spoke at the Interfaith Council’s Thanksgiving service, I made a point of affirming our congregation’s resolve, pointing out “We cannot live in fear, and cannot hide, and so we won’t.”
This past Saturday I sadly was unable to attend Jordan Massey’s Bar Mitzvah, but still managed to view it remotely on Zoom.
The room was full of family, friends, and synagogue members, all of whom could witness just how amazingly awesome Jordan is, not just with his incredibly deft command of Hebrew – he is conversant way beyond his years – along with his knowledge of every aspect of the morning service, but also with his witty and fluent Drash, accompanied by peals of laughter from those who were in attendance.
If ever there is evidence of what our congregation is all about, it was manifest that morning.
The truth is, we need more of this – more participation, more sense of community, and yes, more laughter. Now more than ever we must remain resolved and steadfast, coming together at Friday evening services, at one of our many activity groups, at any other way that connects us more fully with CBS.
Let me close by sharing my one resolution for the New Year: to return to what matters most, meaning to be more committed than ever to the members of this congregation. I hope you join me, and look forward to seeing many of you at this Friday evening’s service. Until then,
