Dear TBZ Community:
This is the last Shabbat of the year! And the last week of the year 5784! We are on the cusp of a New Year – an opportunity to start anew, to lift our hopes and wishes, and to reset. Our tradition invites us to dig deep into our own actions and choices, so we can make the best of what will come.
One understanding of Rosh Hashanah is that on this day adam harishon, the first human being, was created, which means that the world was created on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. Based on this understanding, the celebration of the New Year is the celebration of humanity; in the days leading up to it, the world is created for humanity to inhabit. From this perspective, next week is not just the last week of the year, and something that we will leave behind, but it is the week of the creation of the world, the moments before our creation. The moment of possibility for something new…
This notion that everything is possible, that all can change, that a new world and new humanity can exist, is so powerful and so needed – even more so when we don’t see that possibility ahead of us. It is a powerful way to drive us to make the choices we have to make, both collectively and individually.
Parashat Nitzavim, the Torah portion we read this week, is always relevant to this time of the year, prior to the High Holiday. It teaches about the possibility to choose, choosing good over evil, choosing life over death.
רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַיּוֹם אֶת־הַחַיִּים וְאֶת־הַטּוֹב וְאֶת־הַמָּוֶת וְאֶת־הָרָע
See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity (Deuteronomy 30:15).
הַעִדֹתִי בָכֶם הַיּוֹם אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים לְמַעַן תִּחְיֶה אַתָּה וְזַרְעֶךָ
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life – if you and your offspring would live (Deuteronomy 30:19)…
Last night at TBZ, we hosted the Parents Circle – Families Forum at a moving event, co-sponsored by many Boston area congregations and organizations. The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of more than 750 bereaved families. Their common bond is that they have lost a close family member to the conflict. But instead of choosing revenge, they have chosen a path of reconciliation. Through their educational activities, these bereaved members have joined together to take tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis on journeys of reconciliation. It is often raw and always emotional. But out of these interactions comes change. Not the kind of change that makes headlines, but a more personal and profound shift in perspective. As a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace organization, the PCFF models constructive dialogue around shared values. Even since October 7, 2023, its staff, members, and thousands of participants are still committed to peace and a way forward that centers on empathy and humanization. The PCFF focuses on the shared value of the sanctity of human life. This conversation brings our attention to the values that Palestinians and Israelis can agree upon even in the darkest of times. Last night we were honored to welcome Robi Damelin and Laila Alsheikh, who shared their stories.
Robi is the Spokesperson International Relations Manager for the PCFF and joined the organization after her son was killed by a Palestinian sniper. All her work on the ground, both in Palestine and Israel and internationally, is geared towards non-violence and reconciliation as a means to end the occupation. Laila lives in Bethlehem in the West Bank. In 2002, her 6-month-old son, Qussay, became ill and Israeli soldiers prevented Laila from taking him to the hospital for more than five hours. Qussay soon died from the lack of timely treatment. Laila joined the PCFF in 2016. Following her son’s death, she never thought of revenge, but rather has devoted her time and energy to ensuring a better, more peaceful future for her children.
Yesterday, as I listened to their stories, to the ways they believe dialogue and reconciliation is the only way forward, as I heard them talk about facing the people who were responsible for the death of their children, I thought this is a true manifestation of בָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים – what choosing life, choosing humanity means. When facing death, the death of their most beloved, they did not choose revenge, they did not choose hatred, they chose bettering humanity for themselves and for others. They chose to focus on what humanity can be and can become.
I am inspired by Laila and Robi, by their strength and resilience, and by the radical and daring choice of choosing humanity. May we all be inspired to choose humanity, to choose blessing, to choose dignity.
May God bring blessing and comfort to all of us and our loved ones. May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity. May all those who are ill find healing.
May the hostages soon be returned to their families and friends; may peace prevail and may the leaders of the world know to prioritize life. May those who are working for peace be granted strength and courage to continue their sacred work, and may we soon see peace and dignity for all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia
P.S: You can watch last night’s powerful event on TBZ’s YouTube channel.