Each morning, after reciting the Sh’ma upon waking, my thoughts turn first to the children and families whose daily routines have been disrupted—missing school and waiting in bomb shelters—as this uncertain chapter unfolds. In these moments, as the conflict continues across the Middle East and the future feels unclear, our community holds loved ones close in our hearts—family and friends in Israel and in Iran whose lives are touched by fear and instability.
Jewish tradition offers a powerful teaching from the Psalms:
“בַּקֵּשׁ שָׁלוֹם וְרָדְפֵהוּ”
Bakeish shalom v’rodfeihu — Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34).
The rabbis teach that peace is so precious that it must be pursued. Sometimes peace comes to us, but more often we must run after it—refusing despair and refusing indifference, committing ourselves again and again to the sacred work of building a more whole and compassionate world, a world free of antisemitism, tyranny, baseless hatred, and unnecessary violence.
Today we pray for the safety of all who are in danger. We pray for our family and friends in Israel and in Iran. We pray for civilians, for children, for all those living under the shadow of rockets and fear. And we pray for wisdom and compassion to guide the path toward protecting life and restoring a new chapter of peace.
From our Wise community, our hearts extend outward—to those we love, to our Jewish family across the world, and to all people whose lives are bound up in this moment. May we be among those who seek peace and pursue it—in our prayers, in our words, and in our actions.
And so, let us begin the week with a word of hopeful prayer, holding close the ancient and timeless words of our tradition:
עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו, הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵּבֵל
Oseh shalom bimromav, Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yisrael v’al kol yoshvei tevel. May the One who makes peace in the heavens bring peace to us, to all Israel, and to all who dwell on earth.
May peace spread from our sacred community outward—to our loved ones, to the region of our ancestral homeland, and to all four corners of the earth.
— Cantor Emma Lutz