Land of Milk, Honey, Stings, and Tears

Two public statements on Israel, the land where my heart lives

(The collective voice of my people and my homeland singing together “Al Kol Aleh,” “All These Things.)

Want to help? Three places I am suggesting friends donate:

Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, caring for most of the wounded. The closest major hospital to the Gaza border.

Kibbutz Support Fund, giving directly to those recovering from the slaughters that Hamas perpetrated against Israel’s southern kibbutzim. (Scroll down and fill out the form to donate to the southern kibbutzim.)

Givat Haviva: Please donate in the memory of Awad Darawshe zt”l. Let us always honor the righteous and keep their memories alive through tzedakah. (Donate at the top of the page)

My public address to the JCA Community Vigil for Israel:

In the words of our prophet of fire, the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel, David Ben Gurion "Suffering makes a people greater, and we have suffered much." We have suffered much. We are gathered here today because the Jewish heart is broken. Our family in Israel has been murdered, mutilated, raped, and terrified. We are watching this tragedy in real time, witnessing with abject horror the greatest mass murder of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust. Our family has been slaughtered.  We cannot and must not be silent. 

At this moment, we are not only suffering from Hamas’ war crimes, but from the sin of Timhon Levav, a moral confusion of the heart. Less than twenty four hours after the Hamas’ atrocities began, 36 student groups from Harvard wrote “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” On Sunday, progressive groups chanted en masse on the streets of Manhattan, “resistance is justified.” America’s most privileged, self-proclaimed voices for social justice assert without equivocation: When Hamas kidnaps Israeli babies and murders their parents before their eyes, when Hamas rapes Israeli party goers and drags their mutilated bodies across the streets of Gaza, Israel, they claim, is responsible. Timhon Levav – Moral confusion of the heart, bred and cultivated on America’s most vaulted campuses, wrapping classical, genocidal antisemitism in academic jargon, shrouded in the cover of institutional prestige. 

Timhon Levav – a moral confusion of the heart, a sin that justifies the most abject evil, a sin we must condemn and resist, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us in polite society. We must be able to at least muster the moral courage of President Biden who spoke in no uncertain terms, “The brutality of Hamas — this bloodthirstiness — brings to mind the worst — the worst rampages of ISIS. This is terrorism. But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new....So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel.  We stand with Israel.  And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack. There is no justification for terrorism.  There is no excuse.” No matter what our social discomfort, it pales in comparison to what the family of Amir Tibon (who we welcomed to Waterville a few years ago)  suffered in their safe room in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, keeping their children silent for over 12 hours to evade the notice of the terrorists who came to kill them.

But moral confusion doesn’t just come from moral relativism or the flat out endorsement of terrorism. It also comes from being unable to see the good that is gathering around us. On Sunday night as I was writing checks to Israeli hospitals, one of my kids asked, “Ima – what are you doing?” I responded, “Writing checks to help our family in Israel.” She responded, “Well, Ima, the mailman will probably throw it in the garbage when he knows what it is for.” I gave her a quizzical look -“Why are you saying that, honey?” I asked. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Because you know, everyone hates us for being Jewish.”  She took my breath away. No, no, that is not true, I told her. From the Waterville girl scouts that joined us at Simchat Torah, the local Catholic parish that joined us for Tu Bishvat, to the nearly fifty percent of our congregation that isn’t Jewish but has thrown in their fate with us in the most real and intimate ways. Timhon Levav – moral confusion of the heart. We need to acknowledge our friends and allies.  There has been so much love and support that I have received from the most unexpected corners.  From professors I never would have expected to extend a loving word in this context, from the administration at my college, Colby, that has proactively reached out with ways to support, from local allies that have left scores of messages on the synagogue’s voicemail box. 

But most of all, there was the note I received from a friend, an Arab-Palestinian Israeli. I reached out to see if she was ok. She expressed horror and outrage. And that, my family is not timhon levav - moral confusion – it is levav chochma, a truly wise heart.

Dear God, let us heed the word of the psalmist:

לִמְנ֣וֹת יָ֭מֵינוּ כֵּ֣ן הוֹדַ֑ע וְ֝נָבִ֗א לְבַ֣ב חׇכְמָֽה׃

Teach us to count our days rightly, that we may obtain a wise heart.

God let us not lose heart in speaking out for our people and standing by their side. Dear God, let us not succumb to moral confusion. God let us not lose sight of our blessings and our friends, even when they show up in the most unlikely of places.  You have made us strong, you have made us an am sigula, a royal and majestic people.  May the fires of the trial make us even stronger, melding us together --please, finally – with a truly unified heart, glorifying You, Your people, and the multitude of gifts you have given us.  Am Yisrael Hai – We, the Jewish people, live.

An Editorial from the Waterville Morning Sentinel:

On Saturday, October 7th, 2023, during the Jewish festival of Simchat Torah (when we rejoice in the gift of our Bible) and our Sabbath, thousands of Israelis were raped, kidnapped, mutilated, and murdered during a day dedicated to celebration and rest. This attack was reminiscent of the Yom Kippur war, fifty years ago, when Israel’s enemies exploited the Jewish people’s holiest day in order to exact the highest possible death toll. The perpetrators of this most recent attack were members of Hamas, a group the United States government and the European Union designate a terrorist organization. Hamas is supported, trained, and armed by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hamas and the Iranian government share a messianic, genocidal theology that encourages and celebrates the oppression, abuse, and subjugation of religious minorities in the Middle East, with a specific, murderous focus on Jews. We saw that theology in action this past weekend. For those of us in the local Jewish community, many of those victims and their families are our friends and family. We are in mourning.

Let me be clear. People of conscience, regardless of their political leanings and opinions, should neither justify nor minimize what happened. The number of Jews killed this past weekend represented the largest number of Jewish murders in a single day since the Holocaust. The world witnessed the abduction of Israeli infants and toddlers, the public rape of dozens of Israeli women whose mutilated bodies were paraded around the streets of Gaza, and the kidnapping of elderly and disabled senior citizens (one of whom was a renowned feminist peace activist.) The perpetrators engaged in these war crimes without distinction and with visible glee. 

This was not political resistance for the sake of liberation – it was orgiastic violence. None of these war crimes will lead to a more free and dignified life for innocent Palestinians who rightly thirst for freedom and security. If the past is prologue, the people of Gaza will suffer tremendously in the coming weeks, both as the result of Israeli counter measures and continued authoritarian Hamas rule. 

Speaking personally, I am praying and working for justice and peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The path toward that end is not simple, clear, or easy. For those of us who want to play a productive role, we would be wise to support those Palestinians and Israelis doing the hard, complicated labor of building relationships that can lead to a better future, and building trust to facilitate the difficult steps necessary for establishing a just peace. 

As always during times of war in Israel, Diaspora Jewish institutions become targets of violence and vandalism. Beth Israel Congregation has been the home for Jewish life in Waterville for over a century, and for the most part, has always enjoyed the warm embrace of the greater Waterville community. We hope that you will join us at our open house to celebrate the renovation of our building. This event will provide an opportunity to learn more about our culture, faith, and commitment, while showing solidarity with your local Jewish community, who are both scared and in pain. We know that true security comes from deep and loving relationships with our Waterville neighbors. The Waterville police department will also be there for everyone’s protection. I look forward to seeing you by our side.