|
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem
An old friend invited me to join a group in the Old City to hand out dates and water to Muslims in East Jerusalem ending their Ramadan fast on Thursday night. We met at Sh’ar Chadash, the New Gate, close to a Franciscan Monastery where a small Jewish group joined several monks and set up a table with 100s of dates, bottles of water, candy and nuts, which we placed in baskets and wandered down towards Damascus Gate. We wished the throngs entering the Old City “Ramadam kareem” as we offered them the treats. We were met by grateful smiles and “todah” and “shukran” - thank you in Hebrew and Arabic. There was something powerful and redemptive about Christians and Jews serving Muslims in this city that is so divided, so traumatized, and so central for all three faiths. Perhaps it was just a purely symbolic act, but, as my friend Rachel said, it was heart-opening to share this experience, this moment. We need more open hearts towards one another.
Rachel Amaru and I were picked up later that evening by Bruce Shaffer (all the Boulder connections) to join him in his weekly visit to the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood to the family of Uriel Baruch, one of the hostages from October 7th who was at the Supernova music festival. There have been gatherings there every Thursday night for all these months and only recently forensic reports have confirmed that Uriel was killed on that awful day and his body taken into Gaza. The Baruch family sat shiva, which has only just ended, and through this brutal pain, there is celebration and gratitude for his life and it is hard to describe the warmth, depth, openness and faith of this family in their grieving, and the way they honor the legacy and memory of their son, brother, husband, uncle, father, friend. Every day of the shiva 1500 people came to support them. There was laughter, study, prayer, stories and deep connecting until 1am. It was inspiring to be in this circle. The family have created stickers with Uriel depicted as an angel with various slogans to capture his essence; one of which says in Hebrew; "they will not take away this joy from you." That's how they want to remember him.
As I prepare for Shabbat in Jerusalem, a city that feels almost back to normal on the outside, but where there is no normal anymore, I have so many reflections from this week and beyond. I was in London before coming to Israel and spent three hours with my friend Jonathan Glazer whose controversial Oscar speech I wrote about earlier. I don’t want to share too much about this encounter, other than to say that we are working hard to remain friends and we cried together as we shared what was true for us. I will say though, that however Jonathan’s remarks have been interpreted, he is a proud Jew who loves Israel, and is sad that his speech hurt and divided people, even if he stands by his words. He has certainly not renounced his Jewishness! That is all I can say.
There is no question about the humanitarian crisis and suffering in Gaza and that innocent people are dying, and the appalling tragedy of the deaths of 7 international aid workers with World Central Kitchen this week is horrific. We are unlikely to know the full story for a while, but it is impossible for me to believe that it was deliberate and, yes, awful things happen in war. WCK is a remarkable organization doing incredible work around the world and, like many, I have made a donation in the aftermath of this ghastly incident.
In Tel Aviv, I had dinner with Tamar, a single mother, who was at the Supernova Festival with four other single moms. They all survived, but are forever changed and will never be able to forget the unimaginable trauma of that day and their harrowing escape, hiding in bunkers, driving through fields, seeing dead and mutilated bodies. No words.
I spent time with friend Rebecca whose twin daughters, who I have known their whole lives, are both serving in the IDF; Mikka in the Department of History, researching, investigating and documenting everything that has been happening in this war, and Shaya who is a combat paramedic and has been many times into Gaza. I spoke to them both and they have grown up fast. It is deeply painful for Mikka, who has cousins and friends in England, that people outside Israel in her generation just don’t get what is like for Israelis living though this and the realities of it all post October 7th. I was in the house when Shaya came back from her base tired and hungry in her uniform and with her gun over her shoulder, casually placing the M16 on the kitchen table. I watched this young woman who I knew as a baby, routinely dismantle this weapon into three parts, putting them in different rooms in the house according to protocol. A normal act that was so shocking for me to witness. Shaya thought she had the whole weekend off to be with her family, but was called back up the next morning to go to the north. There is a lot of anxiety here about an escalation on the northern border and many troops are deployed there now. This is all part of the reality of fear and trauma beneath the illusion of normal life.
As always, I feel so deeply connected to this place and its people and am so grateful to be spending Shabbat in Jerusalem, and will carry with me all of the people I met this week, the stories I heard, the memories of the aid workers, the anguish and pain and heartbreak, the resilience, the courage and the inspiration and those who refuse to give up hope.
Shabbat Shalom and many blessings,
Rabbi Marc
|
