The photo below is precious to me and quite timely for a few reasons. If you couldn’t tell, it’s of me and my mom Hermene (of blessed memory). With Mother’s Day this weekend, I’m thinking of her especially and reflecting on the painful truth that this will be the 22nd such celebration since her untimely death.
The photograph is precious to me as well because it was taken on my very first visit to Israel in 1978. Yesterday, we celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. For me, this is all connected. My mother’s parents, Julia and Jake, were devoted Zionists who transmitted their love of the Jewish State to my mom and her sister, and then to their grandchildren. They were the ones who took us on that first visit as a family. (And, not surprisingly, their own love of Israel developed in no small part because of the Zionist activities of their parents.)
Love for our community and our people is invariably rooted in the love we experience in our own families. My love for and connection to Israel was nurtured from my childhood, and since that first visit in 1978, I’ve been back dozens and dozens of times. I lived in Jerusalem as a rabbinical student, I met and fell in love with Jacqueline there, and, eventually, we made aliya as a family in 2009. Israel has been very, very good to me.
Although we ultimately decided to move back to the United States to be closer to loved ones here, Israel remains core to our identity. The pandemic has made it difficult to return for visits and we cannot wait to go “home” this summer to see friends and loved ones.
On this Shabbat that falls between Yom Ha’atzmaut and Mother’s Day, let us give thanks both for the love of family that makes our individual lives possible, and the love (and sacrifice) of a People that makes our collective, national life possible.
Am Yisrael Chai—may we and our People live, flourish, and continue to strive to fulfill our mission of being God’s partners in the perfection of our world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback