Even though IDF troops are still actively engaged in battle and suffering losses each week, and notwithstanding the continued urgency felt for securing the release of the hostages, it feels a bit lighter and more hopeful on this trip to Israel.
Part of what contributes to this feeling is the purpose and mission of our group. In addition to demonstrating our solidarity and love, beyond learning about Israel and its history and connecting with our people here, we also have three young members of our group who will become bar and bat mitzvah tomorrow; chanting ancient words of Torah in the eternal city of Jerusalem. We’re here not just for solidarity but also for celebration.
It also feels like, despite the challenges and trauma, we are turning a corner finally and some sort of resolution is near. There is the joy of Hanukkah and a feeling of being able to breathe a bit more freely.
I had a wonderful “only in Israel” moment the other day. I was walking in Tel Aviv with my daughters and I found myself singing one of the songs we’ve been recording for our new Aaron Milken Center album—which is especially designed for young families to enjoy (although all ages will appreciate it as well, I think). One of the songs, composed by our own Dr. Tali Tadmor, featuring Cantor Emma and children from our school, is called “Yisrael She’li (My Israel)”. I was walking on the sidewalk, singing the song quietly, repeating these words of the chorus: Yisrael she’li, Yisrael she’li—My Israel (or even, “Israel Is Mine”) when a man about my age walking the other direction said with a smile, she’li gam kein—“Mine too!” I laughed and shouted back at him as he continued on his way: “Yisrael shelanu! Our Israel!”
And it is. Israel has and always will be the shared project of the Jewish People. Its opportunities and challenges, successes and failures, are shared as well.
As we celebrate Hanukkah and consider the close of the secular year of 2024, let’s keep hoping and working and yearning for the light. And let’s remain united in our love and commitment for, and to, one another. Israel is ours and we are Israel.
And together, Am Yisrael Chai V’kayam! The People of Israel Lives and Endures!
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukkah,
Rabbi Yoshi