Recited in our homes as we welcome Shabbat, on our bimah at b’nai mitzvah and holidays – the Priestly Benediction is right there in this week’s Torah portion, Naso. It’s a text I’ve studied many times before.

May God bless you and keep you.

May the light of God’s love shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

May God bestow favor upon you and grant you peace, wholeness, shalom.

These verses feel different now. I’m reflecting on them 30,000 feet in the air, flying El Al over Europe on my way back “home.”

This is my fourth trip to Israel since October 7, and with the war still raging, I’ve received dozens of “red alerts” during the flight over WiFi informing me that Hezbollah is once again firing rockets into northern Israel.

So much of what is happening right now is beyond our control, beyond our ability to influence meaningfully. We will of course continue to advocate and educate, write letters to our elected officials and provide whatever support we can to our families and friends in Israel.

But beyond these efforts, I find great comfort and strength in prayer. I find meaning especially in saying words that hundreds of generations of Jews have said before me, words that our tradition tells us God instructed Aaron and his children to invoke in blessing Am Yisrael, our ancestors and our descendants as well. On this flight, heading into this Shabbat – I am reflecting on what this blessing might offer us now, in this moment. I imagine these ancient words expanding to include our current hopes:

May God bless you and keep you.

Far from war and the hard things it entails, things like sacrificing your own body to protect the lives of others…

Far from rockets and shrapnel falling from the sky…

Far from massacres, tunnels, and the apathy of much of the world…

Far from all those who seek your harm…

May the light of God’s love shine upon you and be gracious unto you. 

Even in your suffering, know that God sees you. 

In your pain, know that you are part of a People that will never forget you or abandon you. 

Know that you are loved with an unending love. 

May God bestow favor upon you and grant you peace, wholeness, shalom.

Peace is what we long for.

Peace is not only the absence of war.

Peace is a sense of equanimity, even in the midst of conflict.

It is the belief that there is meaning to our struggle, purpose to our pain.

It is a sense of wholeness, found in feelings of profound connection and unity.

May these ancient words, and these contemporary hopes, provide strength for us and for all Israel. 

Am Yisrael Chai!

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Yoshi