Tov L’hodot – It is Good to Celebrate Thanksgiving!
Given the Jewish origins of the quintessential American holiday of Thanksgiving (which is rooted in the Hebrew Bible and the Jewish holiday of Sukkot), it can be asked whether being thankful is more a religious or a secular value.
Isn’t expressing gratitude as secular – and obvious – as can be? After all, don’t we always – almost habitually – say ‘thank you’ to someone who holds the door for us, to the bus driver who waits for us as we run to catch the bus, to the waiter who brings us our food, to the physician who heals us, to the teacher who educates us, to the parent who raises us well and to the offspring who shows us the honor we deserve, to God who created us in His image? And if we don’t, shouldn’t we?
And on a deeper level, which of these ‘thank you’s’ is secular and which is religious? Can – or should – our ‘thank-you’s’ even lend themselves to a secular/religious distinction?
I suggest that the very act of ‘thanking’ permeates our secular lives, as it should; but the act of expressing gratitude – whether to man or to God – is driven by the religious imperative that it is the right thing to do. Indeed, it is a mitzvah (known as hakarat ha-tov) to have and express gratitude and appreciation to a deserving other. It is also a mitvzah to do so to God: Tov l’hodot LAdonai – it is good to give thanks to Adonai. And it is in the very nomenclature of Jews – Y’hudim – to be thankful (hodah, a root of the word Y’hudi, means gratitude).
While the holiday of Thanksgiving originated as the Pilgrims’ expression of gratitude to God, it has over the years – together with its attending secular customs and rituals – come to be seen as the American secular holiday of thanks. Beyond this, I also see Thanksgiving as yet another potent reminder of the Jewish obligation to be thankful, grateful, appreciative – not solely or exclusively to God, but also to those individuals who have done good for each of us and who we must in turn shower directly with thanks. Firmly rooted in its Jewish origins, Thanksgiving is clearly a religious reminder for us of the importance and righteousness of being grateful and saying ‘thank you,’ and provides yet another opportunity to mindfully direct our lives towards always fulfilling this mitzvah.
One more thing: it is obviously easier to be thankful to God when all is going well, more challenging perhaps when not. Our Jewish tradition teaches us that since Adonai is the creator of everything – good and bad alike, gratitude for the whole picture goes a long way in helping us to healthily absorb and deal simultaneously with the complexities, challenges, and blessings of life, enabling us to contextualize adversity within the larger landscape of the goodness of life. Being thankful can make us happier, being grateful can make us stronger, being appreciative can make us wiser.
Tov l’hodot – it is indeed good to give thanks.
Rabbi Jonathan Pearl, Ph.D.
Shana tova!
October 7th falls this year between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, during Aseret Y’mei T’shuvah (the Ten Days of Repentance). Last year it fell after the Yamim Noraim (High Holidays), at the end of Sukkot, on the 22nd of Tishrei which is the holiday of Sh’mini Atzeret/Simchat Torah.
Each of us likely remembers where we were and what we were doing on that dreadful day last year, a day and subsequent year that witnessed barbaric atrocities perpetrated against Am Yisrael by a depraved evil enemy, coupled with a tsunami of unhinged and pathological Jew/Israel hatred unleashed upon our people in Israel, here in NY, across the USA, and around the world.
Now, one year later, we are back here in shul together for the Yamim Noraim, now with the memories, aftermath, and ramifications of October 7th in mind. Among the many fallout questions that have come my way, one asks how we can joyously celebrate holidays and life-cycle events in the wake of October 7th (including the hostage situation, the precarious situation in Israel, and the spiraling IDF death count). One response reminds us to be grateful as we see things in perspective. We are not living during those centuries of exile when we were at the mercy of the foreign places we sojourned. We are grateful that today we are back home in the strong, independent, reconstituted Jewish State of Israel where goodness and heroism abound. Let us not take this for granted nor squander this miraculous gift.
Another inspiring response has come from many victims’ families who have heartfeltly spoken out about the importance of Jewish life and continuity, highlighting the fine line between their own private and personal circumstances and feelings, as distinct from the larger Jewish picture, the greater Jewish good. While Jewish life has always embraced both the personal and the communal, with a delicate and wise balance between them, indeed our survival as a people has prioritized the peoplehood, the nationhood. That is how we have been able to overcome and outlive all the enmities and calamities we’ve always faced. Our unique way of life, myriad rituals and observances, and steadfast allegiance to God, Torah, and Israel — all of these affirm the central role each of us as individual Jews plays in the ongoing story of our people, while at the same time they all figure larger than each of us, outlasting each of us, and assuring our people’s eternity. Thus, by valuing the larger picture and our place in it, we are all enabled to fulfill the mitzvah of living the gamut of fully Jewish lives always. When some are personally pained at a particular time, we personally and communally comfort them – while at the same time fervently observing and joyously celebrating Jewish living with the whole House of Israel. With all the pain and loss we suffer, we also celebrate our righteous causes and victories.
That’s what we are doing here this year, as it has been for every year past and must be for every year to come. This is our inspiration, our comfort, our vision, our purpose, our unity, the substance of our very existence. This is how we can at all times say with sincerity, pride and conviction:
אשרינו מה טוב חלקינו ומה נעים גורלינו ומה יפה ירושתינו
Ashreynu, ma tov chelkeynu, uma na’im goraleynu, uma yafa y’rushateynu.
We are happy and fortunate! How good is our portion, how pleasant is our destiny, how beautiful is our heritage!
Especially during these Awesome Holy Days, during which time we seriously contemplate the existential realities, vicissitudes, and practicalities of life and death, Judaism reminds us to recognize and be grateful for all the goodness we have in our lives — to be happy with our good fortune. With October 7th and its aftermath still on our minds and in our hearts, just as it is always so with our entire history and destiny, I ask Adonai’s blessing for all of us as we join together to observe these Yamim Noraim with thankfulness for our peoplehood and for our good fortune — Ashreynu!
One means of manifesting appreciation for our portion, our destiny, and our heritage is to summon the courage and wherewithal to engage in honest and purposeful self evaluation in order to self improve. There’s no better ‘place’ to engage in this sacred endeavor on these sacred days than among your kehillah, your family, your people. May we always be there for each other, may we share in our enthusiasm and reverence for our tradition, creativity, and continuity, and may each of us, the Ashreynu community, and our entire people, be blessed with a meaningful and fruitful year of טוב, חיים, ושלום — goodness, life, and peace.
G’mar chatima tova. And Am Yisrael chai!
Rabbi Jonathan Pearl
Tishrei Torah Tease
Tishrei features a concentration of major Jewish holidays, all of which together fruitfully yield for us a deepened relationship with Judaism. Speaking of fruitful yields, a variety of fruits are present in significant ways across the spectrum of Jewish life, from Tanach to chagim (holidays), ritual to custom, peoplehood to nationalism.
Here is a multi-part Torah Tease about fruits in Jewish life, presented to you now as we near Rosh Hashanah, and to hopefully carry you through to Simchat Torah when the answers will be shared! Enjoy!
1. The answer may seem obvious, but think and explore again! -- What is the fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden? (Hint: How does the Torah actually refer to that fruit?)
2. Identify some Biblical characters whose names are fruits (include citations).
3. Identify some cities mentioned in Tanach whose names are fruits (include citations).
4. Name the Jewish holiday that has as entrenched custom (not law) to eat a specific fruit (dipped in something) – and name the fruit. Also, name the other fruit most associated with this holiday.
5. What Jewish holiday has as one of its official/alternate names a reference to fruits?
6. What fruit did the spies bring back from Israel to Moshe and the people of Israel?
7. Name 3 distinct Torah laws that have to do with fruits.
8. What fruit drinks are specifically mentioned in Tanach?
9. a. What is the first piece of fruit mentioned in Tanach?
b. What is the second general fruit-type mentioned in Tanach?
c. What is the first named fruit mentioned in Tanach?
10. Isn’t it interesting that the Israeli sabra fruit is not mentioned in Tanach, but the watermelon is! Where is it mentioned, and in what context?
11. Thinking in terms of homophones, what fruit is explosive?
12. In another play-on-words, the Torah describes Moshe’s character by what word that with a different spelling is a fruit?
13. What Jewish holiday has a specific fruit as one of its primary symbols? How is that fruit referred to in Tanach? How is it referred to in common Jewish parlance?
14. Identify some passages in Tanach that use particular fruits in metaphors or similes.
15. Identify particular Tanach proverbs that use fruits as vehicles for lessons taught.
16. Which 3 Jewish holidays are commonly associated with shiv’at haminim (the seven species)? How many and which of the shivat haminim are fruits?
17. Name some specific b’rachot (blessings) associated with fruits and fruit trees.
18. What fruit-name is also the name of an object that adorns the top of many Torah scrolls?
19. What binds the English word ‘fruits’ with its Hebrew counterpart?
Elul Reflection
Dear Friends,
I hope your summer has been very good!
As we are excitedly readying to embark on this coming new year together at Ashreynu, I eagerly anticipate seeing all of you again and experiencing the wonders of our Judaism, and our special community, together.
With two September Shabbatot featuring b’nei mitzvah celebrations (on the 7th and the 21st), MASKIT starting in September, and the High Holidays and Sukkot coming in October, we are raring to go!
As we enter the month of Elul with all this wonderful Jewish Ashreynu energy in the air, we embrace this season of s’lichot and introspection with strength and anticipation. With these feelings in mind, I did want to let you know that I had a bit of a bicycle accident recently and was injured enough to require some surgery soon. Thank God it’s nothing life-threatening, but it is significant enough to need to be dealt with. I plan to be at our upcoming events and to celebrate them together with you as I keep healing, b”h, towards full recovery. In this context, we recall that this season features many attributes – one of them is that of reflection. I reflect deeply on the gratitude I have for having come out of this incident spared of far worse that could have happened.
As we approach the New Year, may each of us have the vision and wherewithal to reflect on all that for which we should be grateful – and then actually be grateful for it!
Even as we are in this joyously anticipatory time and reflective frame of mind, our hearts are heavy with sadness at the ongoing hostage-holding, injuring, torture, and murder, since October 7th, of thousands of Jews (including the recent murder of six hostages, an American Jew among them) and others with them, by the depraved and vicious enemy; as well as the wounding and deaths of hundreds of brave Israeli soldiers defending our Jewish homeland and its people. We pray that the victims' souls be bound up in the bond of eternal life, that the hostages be unconditionally released, that the wounded know a r'fuah shleimah soon, and that the families of all these be embraced and comforted within the whole family of Israel.
We pray that the enemy will soon be defeated, and that Israel’s triumph ensures her ability to live and thrive in her land in safety and tranquility. May we all be blessed and strengthened by the unity we share in our love of Israel – to see the Jewish nation, land, and people at home in peace.
The Hebrew letters of the month Elul (אלול) are often thought of as an acronym consisting of the Hebrew words אני לדודי ודודי לי – ani l’dod v’dodi li – “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” I take the love of Elul to refer here to Ahavat Yisrael – love of the people of Israel; to the value of v’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha – loving your compatriot as yourself; and to the concept of kol Yisrael areivin zeh bazeh – all Jews are responsible for one another. As we enter the month of Elul, let us keep all this in mind and realize how fortunate we are at Ashreynu to always be there for one another, looking forward now to gathering together again to celebrate Jewish life with great strength, honor, and delight.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Bivracha,
Rabbi Pearl
T’filah for the Month of Av
This Shabbat we bless the coming new month of Av, which begins on Monday. During this month, while we take one day (Tisha B’Av -- 9th of Av) to fast in commemoration of some major tragedies of our past, we just as surely take all the other days to be consoled, to appreciate our miraculous ongoing survivals, and to celebrate our remarkable continuing triumphs! We also take one day (Tu B’Av -- 15th of Av) to revel in the beauty and vitality of the Jewish values of love and family.
While the onslaught against us is seemingly never-ending with threats ongoing in every generation, of ever-greater import and impact is our eternal steadfast resolve, strength, faith, and vision for achieving victory and peace. We offer this t’fillah now with great hope and confidence, with deep ahavat Yisrael, and with emunah shleima in God, in our people, and in the unequivocal rightness and justness of our cause.
יְהִי רְצוֹן יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ, שֶׁהַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה וְהֶחֳדָשִׁים הַבָּאִים יָבִיאוּ לא"י -- לְאֶזְרָחֶיהָ וּלְתוֹשָׁבֶיהָ הַנֶּאֱמָנִים, לְחַיָּלֶיהָ וּלְכָל מָגִנֶּיהָ, וּלְכֹל עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל -- נֶחָמָה, רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה בַּגּוּף וּבַנֶּפֶשׁ הַפְּרָטִי וְהַקְּהִלָּתִי, וְנִצָּחוֹן מָלֵא שֶׁיָּבִיא עִמּוֹ שַׁלְוָה, בְּרָכָה, אַהֲבָה וַחֲבֵרוּת אַמִּיצָה בֵּין אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה לְרֵעֵהוּ, שִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם, וְעֵת שָׁלוֹם. אָמֵן.
May it be Your will Adonai, our God and God of our ancestors, that this month and the coming months bring to Eretz Yisrael -- her citizens and faithful inhabitants, her soldiers and all her defenders, and to Am Yisrael -- comfort and consolation, complete healing to body and soul both personal and communal, and total victory that will bring with it tranquility, blessing, strong love and camaraderie between each of us and our compatriots, everlasting joy, and a time of peace. Amein.
It’s Been Quite a Year
“For everything there is a season” – a time for the rat-race and a time for the slow-pace, a time for labor and a time for play, a time to be active and a time to reflect on our activity, a time for sorrow and a time for joy, a time to be busy and a time to rest.
Our brothers and sisters in our homeland of Israel were hit last October by a devastating and horrific blow, the direct and rippling effects of which – both in Israel and for Jews worldwide – still strongly manifest all around us. Simultaneously, while coping with all this, the joys of life go on, as they should. We have seen and been part of – here, in Israel, worldwide, and specifically at Ashreynu – a year filled with much activity, lots of joy, intergenerational camaraderie with people of all ages and backgrounds, and many celebrations and various milestones marked. We merited helping to fulfill that song of hope which proclaims, to paraphrase the Biblical verses, that ‘there will be heard in this shul the sounds of life and happiness, song and joy, groom and bride, and the sounds of our children and successive generations who will carry us ever-forward.’ It is beautiful to see all that is happening at our shul, and I express deep and profound thanks to Ashreynu’s stellar founding team, its wonderful members, and to all who give of their time, resources, energy, and enthusiasm to keep things positively going and growing at our unique shul and community.
So now we take a breath… and reflect… and never forget… and plan even more for next year.
Summer is here, and many things slow down. While we keep at the forefront of our consciousness the ongoing, multi-front onslaught against the Jewish State and the Jewish People, both near and far, our attention naturally and appropriately also turns towards some relaxation, recreation, and vacation activities of all kinds. We make plans to catch up on things undone during the year – reading books, completing projects, cleaning house – when we lacked any time and a leisurely state of mind to do them. We arrange for family (immediate and extended) and friends to spend more time together. The children have their special plans for the summer, as do parents. We eagerly anticipate spending some time away from the hustle and bustle of the long and challenging year.
Of course, we need not wait for summer vacation to enjoy the opportunity to be with family and friends, catch up on reading, to relax and take respite from everyday activities. We have this opportunity every week – on the sacred and special day of Shabbat! – to come together with those important to us, to pray, sing, learn, eat, rest, shpatzir, play, chat, renew, reflect, appreciate, delight – as Rabbi Leo Baeck described it, “seclusion from the world in the midst of the world.” Welcoming and embracing Shabbat each week is something to truly consider taking advantage of on a regular basis.
Any vacation period we are afforded during the summer is something to relish to the fullest. It is just worth bearing in mind that at all times – during the year as well as during vacation – the lessons and guidelines of our heritage (many of which we contemplate, explore and discuss often in shul) should always guide us in our daily lives, whatever the season.
Bivracha,
Rabbi Pearl
No photo-ops or briefings: My personal mission to Israel
Opinion: I went to Israel to be involved in supporting, loving, helping and standing with our Israeli brothers and sisters, the nation, its leaders, and its various defense and security forces read more on Ynetnews.com
Pesach This Year
Having recently returned from my own personal mission of support to Israel, I reflected on what it will be like to observe Pesach (Passover) in Israel this year. Or, phrased in a timely familiar cadence, why is this year different from other years?
Certainly, the events and aftermath of the October 7th pogrom have figured heavily in the minds, hearts, souls, and daily lives of many Jews the world over. In many places outside of Israel we are experiencing surges of unhinged Jew-hatred, alarmingly reminiscent of precursors to some of the worst times in our history. This will likely be felt and figured-in at s’darim (plural of seder) far and wide.
Yet in Israel, the center of it all – ‘Eternal Worldwide Jewish Headquarters,’ if you will – it will be on a different level. After all, it is the Land of Israel – the Jewish homeland, the journey’s-end of the Pesach saga – that is the locus and focus of the newfangled worldwide Jew-hatred.
The purpose of leaving Egypt was indissolubly bound with the specific destination of Israel. The Jewish story of Pesach has no purpose if it is severed from this core, if it is reinterpreted to omit or marginalize the centrality of Israel.
Yes, our story of Pesach recounts the beginnings of our history from Avraham Avinu (and Sarah Imeinu), and surely highlights the miracles, achievements, lessons, and jubilation of our leaving Egypt and slavery behind. But the story of Pesach and of the Jewish people only finds its fulfillment in then receiving the Torah at Sinai and then returning to and reinhabiting our land, the Land of Israel. All this is recounted in the words and songs of the haggadah recited and sung during the seder.
With Israel under relentless attack in word and deed by so many foes (and, as it turns out, even by some fair-weather friends), Israelis living in the destination land of the Pesach journey – the land which fulfilled the Pesach purpose – must feel now a special sense of mission and resolve. It is they who are keeping Israel alive and safe not only as the Jewish homeland for all the Jews who are already there, but also as the destination land for all Jews not yet there. This is an awesome responsibility, one that is terribly challenging and too often so very painful, yet always sacred and, hopefully, overall mostly joyous, gratifying, and rewarding.
And yes, even in – or particularly in – these circumstances, it is vital to keep in mind and observe the mitzvah of fully celebrating and reveling in the joy and the profound themes of this great Jewish holiday. As we have learned before, even in difficult times “it is a great mitzvah to be in happiness always.” Indeed, all of this comprises the magnificent Jewish experience.
May it be Your will, Adonai our God, that we not have to wait לשנה הבאה – l’shanah haba’ah – for next year, but rather now, לשנה הזאת – l’shanah hazot – for this year, that we are worthy and blessed to realize: this year our enemies are unconditionally and absolutely defeated, this year the hostages come home, this year we honor the memories of the victims of October 7th by achieving total victory, this year we treasure Israel our homeland, this year we live Jewish life as very proud Jews, and לשנה הזאת בירושלים - this year in Yerushalayim!
Chag Pesach kasher v’sameiach – a happy Pesach to all!
Rabbi Jonathan Pearl
Celebrating Chanukah Even (Especially) Now
Dear Friends,
With Chanukah upon us at this particularly difficult time in our Jewish lives, it is vital and inspiring to recall our miraculous survival in the face of near extinction at the hands of foes some 2,000 years ago.
We are in the midst of experiencing the far-reaching consequences of the recent unfathomable genocidal pogrom against Israel’s Jews (with non-Jewish Israeli and non-Israeli friends in their midst who were tragically trapped in the horrors) perpetrated by the depraved Jihadist Hamas, the widespread support it received, and the explosion of seething Jew-hatred in words and action unleashed against Jews worldwide – anywhere and everywhere.
This is a profound moment for us to once again take stock of the wonder of our distinct Jewish heritage and history, to rededicate ourselves to it, and to celebrate our pride in Judaism, in the Land of Israel, and in our ability to survive against overwhelming odds. And with the current circumstances in mind and heart, it is also a most fitting time to recall, with gratitude, the heroism of the Makabim (Maccabees), their willingness and determination to confront the enemy, the distress, and negativity; to reject the easy way out and instead to stand up for what is right.
The powerful Syrian Greeks wanted to obliterate Jewish life and living, seeking to do away with Jewish values and observances, history and destiny, morals and ethics. They defiled the Beit HaMikdash (holy Temple), and forbade the Jews from practicing their religion, on pain of death. Facing these perilous circumstances, the Chashmonai (Hasmonean) family, led by Matityahu and his 5 sons – the most famous of whom was Y’hudah haMakabi (Judah Maccabee) took on this battle of survival and, with God’s help, miraculously they won! Upon their victory, the Makabim spent time cleaning, rebuilding, and purifying the Beit HaMikdash. When they were ready to rededicate the Beit HaMikdash and relight the menorah, they could not find enough oil. But miraculously, the tiny bit of oil they did manage to find lasted for the days of rededication.
The miracles of the Chanukah are celebrated to this day, but most important and inspiring are the powerful lasting messages of the Chanukah story:
* We celebrate and embrace the Makabim’s burning desire to stand up for who they were – Jews! – and what they believed; their fight to reclaim and revitalize Judaism and its practice; and the triumph of the virtuous few over the tyrannical empire that sought to destroy them.
* We celebrate and embrace our Chanukah story’s enduring messages of thriving survival, proud Jewish identity, national allegiance, the importance of battling for what is right, the triumph of good over evil, and ultimately, devotion to Adonai.
* We celebrate our homeland – Eretz Yisrael, Tziyon, Y’rushalayim, and the entire Land of Israel, defended by the Makabim so long ago, as the eternal land of the Jewish people.
* We celebrate חג האורים (Chag HaUrim), the Festival of Lights, highlighting the light emanating from the Chanukah candles that increases each night. The intensity of that light extols the Jewish imperative to vanquish darkness with light, to love good and hate evil; and its luminescence gives us the courage and strength of our ancestors to uphold and be true to their and our shared convictions, inspiring us to do all in our power to add to the bright wonder of family, Judaism, and celebration in our lives, and in the lives of those whom we know and love. As a congregation, we thank all those who help to do this for our k’hilah, keeping its paths always warmly and brightly illuminated. As the Jewish People, we proudly and unequivocally support and stand as one with our brothers and sisters in Israel and with the State of Israel.
With a mix of painful and joyous emotions today, we pray that the sacred lights of Chanukah provide us with the comfort, sustenance, and guidance to make the right choices; that we may be granted the wisdom to see and understand the astonishing and lasting potential in just one cruise of pure oil, and in each individual; and that may we be worthy descendants of what we have inherited and worthy progenitors of what is yet to come.
As we celebrate the joyous festival of Chanukah this year even amidst the heart-rending and challenging nature of these times, we recall the Makabim’s victory of long ago, and in this light we wish for our modern state, people, and army of Israel unequivocal, complete, lasting, and eternal victory. Am Yisrael chai v’kayam! -- עם ישראל חי וקיים!
My best wishes to each of you for a Happy Chanukah!
Rabbi Jonathan Pearl
A Prayer for the New Month:
As we begin the new Hebrew month of Marcheshvan, Rabbi Pearl wrote this prayer to share with you, for all of us to draw strength and comfort from it during these very difficult times. He has already shared it with family and friends in Israel and elsewhere, and invites you to also share it as you may wish. Am Yisrael chai!
שהחודש הזה יביא לא"י (ארץ ישראל), לאזרחיה ולתושיביה הנאמנים, לחייליה ולכל מגיניה, ולכל עם ישראל נחמה, רפואה שלמה בגוף ובנפש הפרטי והקהילתי, וניצחון מלא שיביא עימו שלווה, ברכה, אהבה וחברות אמיצה בין איש ואישה לרעהו, ולכולם שמחת עולם,
ועת שלום
A Prayer for the New Month:
May it be Your will that this month and the coming months bring to Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel), her citizens and faithful inhabitants, her soldiers and all her defenders, and to Am Yisrael, comfort and consolation, complete healing to body and soulm both personal and communal, and a complete victory that will bring with it tranquility, blessing, strong love, and camaraderie between each of us and our compatriots; everlasting joy, and a time of peace.
“How Are You?” Coping at this Difficult Time
Dear Friends,
“How are you?”
As we are attempting to comprehend and cope with the barbaric pogrom unleashed by the evil creatures of Hamas (and its cohorts) on innocent civilians, on Israel, and on the Jewish People on October 7th, we find ourselves groping for what to do and say.
While “How are you?” might seem – and often is – merely a trite and even dismissive utterance, those same words during these unsettling and uneasy times are perhaps among the most heartfelt and caring we can say. Of course we’re not okay! But from that baseline, we are still living, thinking, feeling, hearing, and experiencing so much, and trying to process it all. Yes, besides our being ‘not okay,’ I really do want to go further and know how you are, how your family and friends in Israel are, and how we can best be there for each other here and in Israel.
Please know that if you want to talk, I am but a phone call or email away. And be assured that we will continue to gather and strengthen each other in prayer, in song, in support, in camaraderie, as we proudly express our Jewishness and love of Israel together. I also plan to hold some talking sessions with members of our kehillah to help clarify some of the relevant history of Israel and the Jewish People, to help put various matters in perspective (without divisive politics), and to help us all stand confident, proud, and strong.
And for you to have during these trying times, I offer you here below just a few of the myriad Jewish words of wisdom, mostly from Tanach, that have helped to sustain, comfort, and bolster our people through it all, over the millennia.
Bivracha,
Rabbi Pearl
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עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי וּמִתְקַיֵּם, וּבִנְיַן אָב הוּא: וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּיְיָ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם חַיִּים כֻּלְּכֶם הַיּוֹם:
Am Yisrael Chai! ‘The People of Israel lives and will always live,’ based on the verse: “But you who hold fast to Adonai your God are alive every one of you this day” (D’varim 4:4) From Responsa of Mayim Chayim.
Am Yisrael Chai
אִישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ יַעְזֹרוּ וּלְאָחִיו יֹאמַר חֲזָק:
Everyone helped his compatriot, and everyone said to his sibling: ‘Be strong.’ Yisha’yahu 51:6
Ish et rei-ei-hu ya’azoru u-l’achiv yomar ‘chazak.’
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ שֶתּוֹצִיאֵנִוּ מֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָהּ.
May it be Your will, Adonai our God, that You remove us from darkness to light Morning Prayers
Y’hi ratzon milfanecha Adonai Eloheinu she-to-tzi-ei-ni mei-a-fei-la l’orah
נֵצַח יִשְֹרָאֵל לֹא יְשַׁקֵּר
The Eternity of Israel does not deceive (colloquially: Israel/the Jewish people are eternal) I Shmuel 15:29
Netzach Yisrael lo y’shakeir
חֲזָק חֲזָק וְנִתְחַזֵק
Be strong, and let us strengthen one another Liturgy upon completing public reading of each Book of the Torah
Chazak chazak v’nitchazeik
הוֹי הָאֹמְרִים לָרַע טוֹב וְלַטּוֹב רָע שָׂמִים חֹשֶׁךְ לְאוֹר וְאוֹר לְחֹשֶׁךְ שָׂמִים מַר לְמָתוֹק וּמָתוֹק לְמָר
Woe to those who say of the evil that it is good and of the good that it is evil; who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who present bitter as sweet and sweet as bitter. Yisha’yahu 5:20
Hoi ha-omrim lara tov v’latov ra; samim choshech l’or v’or l’choshech; samim mar l’matok u-matok l’mar
הֲלָנוּ אַתָּה אִם־לְצָרֵֽינוּ: Are you for us or for our enemies? Y’hoshu’a 5:13
Halanu ata im l’tzoreinu
מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹֽהָלֶיךָ יַֽעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל:
How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel B’midbar 24:5
Ma tovu ohalecha Ya’akov mish-k’notecha Yisrael
אַשְׁרֵֽינוּ, מַה טּוֹב חֶלְקֵֽנוּ, וּמַה נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵֽנוּ, וּמַה יָּפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵֽנוּ.
We are fortunate — how good is our portion, how pleasant is our destiny, and how beautiful is our heritage. Morning liturgy
Ashreinu mah tov chel-keinu u-mah na’im go-ra-leinu u-mah yafa y’rushateinu
כָּל יִשְרָאֵל עֲרֵבִים זֶה בָּזֶה
All Jews are responsible for one another Talmud, Sh’vu’ot 39:a
Kol Yisrael a-rei-vin zeh bazeh
עוֹד יִשָּׁמַע... בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה וּבְחֻצוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַם קוֹל שָׂשׂוֹן וְקוֹל שִׂמְחָה
We will continue to hear... in the cities of Yehuda and the outskirts of Y’rushalayim, the voice of joy and the voice of happiness Yirmiyahu, chapter 33
Od yishama b’arei Y’hudah u-v’chutzot Y’rushalayim kol sason v’kol simcha
עֵת לֶאֱהֹב וְעֵת לִשְנֹא עֵת מִלְחָמָה וְעֵת שָלוֹם
A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace Kohelet 3:8
Eit le-e-hov v’eit lis-no, eit milchama v’eit shalom
כְּגִבּוֹרִים יְרֻצוּן כְּאַנְשֵׁי מִלְחָמָה יַֽעֲלוּ חוֹמָה וְאִישׁ בִּדְרָכָיו יֵֽלֵכוּן וְלֹא יְעַבְּטוּן אֹֽרְחוֹתָֽם:
Like mighty heroes they run, they climb the wall as men of war; everyone marches on his paths and they do not break their ranks. Yoeil 2:7
K’giborim y’rutzun k’anshei milchama ya’alu choma v’ish bidrachav yeileichun v’lo y’abtun orchotam
עֵֽת־צָרָה הִיא לְיַֽעֲקֹב וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵֽׁעַ
It is a time of trouble for Ya’akov; but [Am Yisrael] shall be saved out of it. Yirmiyahu 30:7
Eit tzara hi l’Ya’akov u-mimena yivashei’a
יְיָ עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן יְיָ יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם
Adonai will give strength to his people; Adonai will bless his people with peace. T’hillim 29:11
Adonai oz l’amo yitein Adonai y’vareich et amo vashalom