In several weeks, we’ll be traveling to Israel on a Unity mission, and we invite you to join us. You can find more information and register HERE.
One of the important elements of our mission will be visiting IDF soldiers recovering from serious wounds at Tel Hashomer hospital. I’d like to share a story from the Rabbi of a synagogue in my neighborhood who just returned from Israel, and who also visited soldiers at Tel Hashomer. He related that he’d heard of a soldier from a Hesder Yeshiva - blending army service and torah learning - recovering there, who had been well regarded by all of his comrades, and who apparently had lost his smartphone at some point. He didn’t have the means to replace it, making it difficult for him to be in touch with his family, as we all take for granted. So the Rabbi and a few others purchased a smartphone, brought it on their visit and gave it to the soldier. He was taken aback and humbled. But after a few minutes he said, “Rabbi, I am very grateful and I don’t want to offend, but is it OK if I give this phone away?” He went on “There’s a Chayal Boded in my unit, a Lone Soldier, whose entire family is overseas, and he has lost his phone as well. My family can come and see me here well enough, and eventually I’ll go home. I can manage.That’s impossible for him, so I’d like to give him this phone.”
Of course, the Rabbi and his group arranged to get him an additional phone.
This little story says something important, that we can all learn from. There’s no sense denying that these months have been hard not only because of the events of October 7th and the losses inherent in war. We’ve all gone through some sense of disappointment, disillusion, and shaken confidence in the leadership in many current and past elements of the Israeli government that will have to investigate and take responsibility for their failures leading to the current situation, and also for the outcomes of decisions taken since 10/7.
Instilling confidence in leadership there has never been more challenging. But like many of the journalists and commentators I respect most in Israel, people like Haviv Rettig Gur and Matti Friedman, I (and the Rabbi in the story) see the emergence of a generation - hundreds of thousands strong - of young men and women who have determined to sacrifice all for their people and their country and most of all their comrades. A generation that went to war not for six days, or forty days, but for nine months and counting. A generation that is determined, focused, inspired, and relentless in defending Israel and the Jewish people. This is a generation that will, in years to come, provide the clear eyed and unifying leadership that Israel and the Jewish people need.
It’s our responsibility to sustain and encourage our sisters and brothers to set the stage for that leadership. It is already manifesting itself, whether from a hospital bed, in a grassroots social service organization, or in binding communities together at the neighborhood level. Eventually, this ethos - which has never disappeared, only withdrew to the background - will once again prevail in Israel.
Come join us as we learn about and celebrate this and other manifestations of Israel’s resilience. Again, you can learn more and register HERE.