Monthly Archives: October 2023

Israelis, You are NOT Alone.

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Bring the hostages home from Gaza. #bringthemhomenow #bringthemallhome

I’ve been collecting sermons and articles and messages because 1. I want to appreciate the folks who are doing this hard, holy, loving work; and 2. I want to share these words. We cannot be silent, and we will stick together.

From Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback -“Es Brent,” It Burns: Grab a Bucket and Douse the Flames – Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback’s message from the LA Jewish Community Vigil for Israel hosted by Stephen Wise Temple on October 8, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&fbclid=IwAR31my2TVKKE-o19p35SVxaS68IPqyXc4mITpyErYsFxtGwKeZTCKDys2WA_aem_AaXnBK-oKSzwj-sCvkl-TFLrzFd3cNZQfRW9orG9hZ1A-1IUDCUOWv9uxM7VeUrF7U8&v=atXmTiDL5yI&feature=youtu.be&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

“Colonizers do not have thousands of years of history in the land they colonize – as the Jews do in the Land of Israel. Colonizers do have a home country that they can de-colonize to, unlike the Israelis.” – Rabbi Rachel Timoner – Shabbat B’reishit 5784 – Response to the Tragedy in Israel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKo0rxAZ_hc

From Rabbi Michelle Pearlman – “Here is a sermon I gave last Friday (10/20/2023). I asked our interfaith partners to come, and we had a packed house. We stand with Israel.” https://clipchamp.com/watch/qp0zvBArWC6

From Rabbi Jill Maderer – https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/israel-hamas-gaza-war-questions-humanity-20231020.html

More Messages:

From Dr. Rachel Adler – “I’m awed by the courage, generosity, and creativity of ordinary Israelis, protecting and caring for people who have suffered, when your so called ‘elected political leaders’ are about as useful as a broken arm. I hope we in the golah can learn from you.”

From Rabbi Karyn Kedar – “By day sixteen I put on my makeup again. Neutrals to even out the dark shadows. I reached for a soft grey eyeliner, just a bit of definition around the sadness. Mascara of course. So that my eyes would open. I can’t figure out if this is depression or mourning. But my eyes know. They know what they have seen and they know that this is so much more than war. You can eradicate a terrorist, even thousands. But only God knows how to eradicate evil. And God doesn’t know. But none of that is for me to say. I am only a poet, sitting on the lake’s edge. And the sun rises. And the blood kisses the horizon. And the turning of foam into itself. And the autumn tree turned burnt orange catches the fury. And the sounds, never ending sound of the illuminated waves, coming to shore, leaving again, returning again, leaving. And a man crosses the lake standing on a paddle board. I can’t see his features, just a silhouette upon the water, against the framing sky. I want to scream above the sound of the waves, I want to shout straight into the heart of beauty, I want to wail into the relentless sun rising and say: Don’t you know?! Don’t you know!!! This is a dangerous world. And in the morning, on the battlefield, the IDF commander orders his soldiers to brush their teeth and to shave their darkened face, lest they forget their humanity.”

From Rabbi Suzanne Singer – “Please let your friends know that we are heartbroken for them, that we stand 100% with Israel, and that we send them a cyber hug. Praying for peace soon and in our day.”

Articles to Read and Share:

Also from Rabbi Rachel Timoner – Do Not Take the Mezuzah Off Your Door – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/opinion/israelis-palestinians-torah-humanity.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

From Dara Horne – Why Jews Cannot Stop Shaking Right Now – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/opinion/hamas-israel-jews-massacre.html

From Dr. Stephen Windmueller: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/in-this-moment-israel-at-war/

After unthinkable horror, a new Jewish paradigm

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/ I really like The Atlantic. I know it costs money and the articles are not short. However, I really think their authors/editors are very thoughtful and thorough researchers. No paper or magazine is perfect, but the last time I was mad at one of their articles/journalists was three or more years ago, so I guess they are mostly reliable.

This is a very good book! https://jps.org/books/zionist-idea/ Hertzberg’s The Zionist Idea!

Some feel good stuff:

THIS is my favorite article. It is not 100% happy because war is bad, but it’s a good article. It’s obviously horrible and tragic, BUT it does really emphasize the toughness of Israelis. It aims to give readers a small bit of hope. https://www.timesofisrael.com/coffee-and-cookies-how-a-hostage-kept-her-terrorist-captors-distracted-till-rescue/

This is the video with David Broza and the soldier Osher Beniso singing “You’ve Got a Friend” – https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyddXevNh6j/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D And this is the article about what happened next – https://newsrnd.com/tech/2023-10-17-after-singing-with-david-broza-and-getting-emotional—the-soldier-received-a-scholarship-to-study-at-%22rimon%22—voila!-culture.BJBZtQ0jWa.html

I know this article is not about Israel, but it’s about the murder of a American synagogue president during this terrible old war. Please read it if you have the so-called bandwidth. it’s important. https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/samantha-woll-murder-peace-nixon-phillies-20231024.html

Why I’m a Zionist

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In the 1920s, my bubbe (Bubi) escaped Poland. She left behind her best friend and cousin Libby. Ida Rubin arrived in Ellis Island with her family in 1921. It was a long road to Los Angeles – including stays in Chicago, Illinois; and parts of Florida and Connecticut. Libby left Poland later, and her ship took her to Israel.

In 1987, my father decided to plan a family trip to Israel. Our tour guide listened to this story from my Aunt Sema, my father, and my Bubi, and decided to make the connection happen. Yossi the Magical Tour Guide made some phone calls (because 1987) and found Libby Haimovsky in Jerusalem!

My dad rented a car and drove my bubi, my aunt, my mom, and me miraculously straight to Libby’s door (even without Waze or a GPS because 1987). My bubi only spoke Yiddish and English. Libby only spoke Yiddish and Hebrew. It was a joyous reunion for the grandmothers and a good beginning for the rest of us. This was my introduction to Israel and to my Israeli cousins.

Years later, my Israeli cousin Avi (z”l) visited me many times in New York City, Los Angeles, and even Austin, Texas! My parents and Avi shared a love of travel and of opera. When I was in Israel, Avi was always my home away from home, my tour guide, my restaurant guru, and my doctor. I met up with my other cousins through Avi for shabbat, for hannukah, and even for a wedding once. When Avi lived in Amsterdam, working as an orthodontist, his parents, his sister Anat, and her kids took care of me in Israel.

When my American cousins Jamie and Mark and I visited Israel five summers ago, Anat’s kids (Alon, Hadar, and Uri) took us through the shuk and on the shiny new train in Jerusalem. Anat even took us all for a beach day. We ate a delicious, meaningful Shabbat dinner at Moshe and Ruti’s house all together – not my first and hopefully not my last!

Since then, Anat’s kids are mostly in charge of keeping in touch with us (the American cousins). They send photos and holiday greetings on behalf of the Israeli side of the family.

This week, their job has gotten harder, but our American family really appreciate their hard work in sending us family updates and their own takes on current events.

Israel saved my bubi’s cousin Libby and her family. I like to believe that my bubi is glad we are still close enough for international telephone calls and to share a beach day in Tel Aviv, even now that our grandmothers have long-since died. I’m so grateful that Libby’s family escaped Poland and arrived in Israel safely. I’m so grateful that her grandchildren, her great grandchildren, and I are still family.

[Friends, I forgot how to put a photograph here! Help! If you want to see a photograph of the 1987 Polish Bubi/Savta Reunion – go to My Instagram!]

Sending Tzedakah to Israel – Getting the Biggest Bang for your Mitzvah Dollar

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My friend R. Yoshi Zweiback, our teacher Danny Siegel, and my friends and colleagues at Kavod have trained me to do tzedakah in a particularly thoughtful way. [The definition of tzedakah comes from the Hebrew root tzedek – “justice.” Tzedakah is righteous giving. Jews are obligated to repair what is broken in the world. Tzedakah is doing this kind of repair with monetary donations.] Kavod embraces tzedakah organizations with low overhead. I look for organizations that use their money/donations efficiently and effectively. For example, I don’t want to pay for fancy stationery or certificates. Of course, organizations need offices and stationery, but I want most of the money to go to serving/helping people. I look for organizations with “grassroots” – responsive humans who are grounded in the work and who are responsive to the people they serve.

For those of you who want to give stuff instead of money: My father has been working in shipping and customs all over the world for 60 years. It is better to send money because: 1. It’s safer to receive money electronically than to go to the post office during a war. [Also, lots of offices including the post office close during attacks so your stuff would just sit in some storeroom.] 2. The people you are trying to help, you’ve now given them an errand to do AND they will probably have to pay customs fees AND fill out forms. 3. If you send money, you give the recipients (a.) the dignity of CHOOSING what they need/want and (b.) money for the local economy on the ground.

If a person you know can only think of stuff and/or when things start running out on the ground, it’s best to choose an organization that is sending the stuff professionally with expertise in logistics and customs. I do remember once my dad telling me about an organization sending clean drinking water to Darfur. They filled shipping containers with large military grade bags of water. Then, they left the shipping containers there for people to use as shelter. Here is group of experts making sure Israeli soldiers get what they need no matter what shortages crop up – https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/IsraelEmergencyFund#tab3_sec2 (from Rabbi Susan Silverman)

If someone needs to DO something, contact your elected officials and ask for their help in bringing the Israeli hostages home! https://www.nif.org/press-releases/nif-ceo-bring-them-home/ Please do not let people forget the Israeli hostages in Gaza. #bringthemhomenow #bringthemallhome

Do Read! Discuss! Educate! If someone doesn’t have money and they want to do something, I’m a big fan of study sessions with a history book or some recent articles. Education and thoughtful discussions are always good for the world. I recommend The Zionist Idea, by Hertzberg and/or haaretz.com or https://www.972mag.com/ Learning is a Jewish value. It will only make the world better.

DONATIONS: I hate this helpless feeling so….my friend Hadar, who is the most liberal Israeli I know, is my source for tzedakah organizations. She recommends: https://beactive.co.il/project/73912 – It is very responsive, very grassroots, and very Israeli. I have a good friend who has been at the Kaplan Street protests for months, and she is the one who picked this org.

I’m researching a fundraiser for Kibbutz Nir Oz. So far, it seems good. https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/kibbutzniroz – my Jerusalem cousin picked this one. She is heart broken about how the terrorists essentially erased the whole kibbutz. I would really like help learning more about this org – if anyone is good at research/reviews for tzedakah orgs, please comment below! Thank you!

I LOVE this organization with my whole heart – https://www.bet-uri.org.il/copy-of-home – They are a residential care facility for people with all kinds of challenges. Beit Uri is responsible and effective and wonderful. They are a grand residential care home for people of all ages who live with all kinds of special needs. At Beit Uri there are 12 bomb shelters / safe rooms that serve 130 residents and 50 staff. Some shelters are in need of renovations such as plumbing, ventilation, door frames, and doors. Your donation will certainly help with this effort.

I like UnXceptable – https://www.unxeptable.org – This is the small org, started by the people protesting at Kaplan Street week after week, month after month for JUSTICE and EQUALITY in the legal system. Lately, they’ve been more focused on sending out valuable, current information/news. [I know the spelling is annoying. I’m sorry.]

And Combatants for Peace – https://afcfp.org/ – You can trust them. I have a friend who works there. [Hi, Gili!]

For spiritual care for Israelis – I’m super interested in this organization – https://www.livuiruchani.org.il/english! If you know someone there or you can do some research, I would love to hear more. Please advise.

My Israeli cousins sent me this one – https://israeltraumacoalition.org/en/ – ITC – Israel Trauma Coalition. Their slogan is “Response. Preparedness. Resilience.” Please share this with your friends and neighbors – even if you cannot give.

I also really like this organization – United Hatzalah! https://israelrescue.org/ They have interesting stories/news on their website, and they do creative, responsive work.

Some of our friends/family/neighbors only trust big, traditional organizations with name recognition. Here are my recs for those:

NIF – try New Israel Fund! You can trust Daniel Sokatch – I’ve known him forever! Daniel’s emails are truly helpful, informative, excellent. Get on that list!

JNF has an emergency fund that people like. https://my.jnf.org/israel-resilience-campaign [My family did give them a donation in honor of my Jerusalem cousins but they are so much clunkier and slower than my first choice – Be Active. They are actually MAILING us a certificate, etc. I had already gotten my confirmation/invoice email from Be Active when JNF was actually CALLING me back to confirm something.]

MDA – This is a very concrete one – https://www.mdais.org/en – Magen David Adom provides emergency response services, ambulances, and more.

Politics & Education – If you can, please make sure everyone you know knows that AIPAC loves Republicans. Never give them your contact info or your money. If someone says something positive to me about AIPAC, I act like they said a dirty word and respond: “Honey, I think you mean NEW ISRAEL FUND (NIF). Bless your heart.“

With gratitude and with prayers for peace, RSEL

Mr. Rogers told us to: “Look for the helpers.”

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https://beactive.co.il/project/73912

If you hate Israel, if you are anti-Zionist, if you hate Jews, please simply block this website. I don’t want to argue with anyone now. I am sad and miserable. I feel sick and heart-broken. Please don’t try to explain war or colonialism to me. If you have some empathy, please try to be a helper. Thank you. With prayers for peace for all, Susan