As a Jew, the brutal war that Israel has faced during this past year causes me to feel pain and anger. I feel pain for all of those people, young and old, who experienced the evil pogrom of October 7th.  I feel pain as I look at the faces of children and elderly people who lost dear ones who loved them and whom they loved. Yes, it was painful to see the beautiful faces of young Israel soldiers, boys and girls, who lost their lives in Gaza. And even as I know of the significant support for Hamas among the Palestinian population, I feel pain for the good and decent people among the Palestinians who crave both for a better life and for peaceful coexistence with Israel.

And as a Jew, I feel anger and resentment. Anger that much of the world is so ignorant and believes that there is virtue in what this interpretation of Islam emphasizes when it comes to killing Jews. I feel angry that “Never Again” became “Once Again,” at least in spirit and intent.  And I’m angry because anti-Semitism has again emerged as acceptable in too many places and among too many people.

So what message do I bring you on this Shabbat? I bring you the message that to be a Jew is to embrace and live a precious heritage that seeks to make our world, not Jewish, but more humane….and more “godly” if you will.

And that message was conveyed to me by something unique that I recently saw of Facebook. It was a group of Israeli soldiers, amidst the destruction of Gaza, singing an Israeli song that speaks of peace, and does so in both Hebrew and Arabic. They expressed both joy and hope as they sang the words that speak of the ideal of living peacefully together. Yes, this too is the Israeli army: young people who resent what they have to do to defend the land and the people who are dear to them. There was something so beautiful and hopeful about that scene, but only for those who yearn for a more civilized world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi David Greenberg