Rabbi's Chayva's Chat

In every evening service, we add a blessing after the Shema which, unlike the other blessings around the Shema, has no morning version: Hashkiveinu. We pray that God extend a sukkat shalom, a shelter (a sukkah) of peace, over us, all of the community of Israel, and Jerusalem. In services recently, I invited people to share one of their shelters of peace. There was a pause, as there often is at such a prompt. And then, one person said, “Here - coming here for services.” “Me too,” said another. “Agreed,” said a third, and a fourth. This is being a holy community: being the sukkat shalom, the shelter of peace, for one another and the world around us.

This has felt more acute than usual over the last six months. Many of us have felt threatened and embattled by the protests, graffiti, murals, news headlines, social media posts, and off-handed comments by everyone from colleagues to cafe baristas. I want Am Tikvah to be a place where we can take shelter from all that - a place where we can have conversations about Israel, but we won’t be emotionally ambushed.

There is a risk, however, of becoming the sort of space where only one opinion is acceptable. It’s a natural risk, because one person’s perspective can be another’s trigger. That risk is particularly high in periods of transition, when collective opinion has coalesced and painful turning point events are still recent and raw.

I felt that shift this week, when aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in a deconflicted zone of northern Gaza by the IDF. The official responses amplified the notability of the event. Netanyahu acknowledged the event as a tragic mistake by the Israel Defense Forces. The leaders of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland - all allies of Israel - issued condemnations. President Biden’s statement used unusually strong language: “This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed. This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal.” (President Biden continues to support the war.) I understand if this raises feelings of Israel being under an unfair level of scrutiny, and also, I don’t want us to overlook that this incident was tragic (by Israel’s own admission).

How do we hold this as a community? What do you say in this moment? The most important thing for us as a community is that we maintain the ability to talk about it.

I do not believe that we need to pretend like it did not happen or that it was not tragic; we can acknowledge those and still deeply love Israel, for we know that Israel is much, much bigger than this war. If discussion becomes upsetting, please remember to take a deep breath and prioritize being in community above proving right or wrong. I also want us to respect someone’s choice to not talk about it. If someone asks to avoid the topic, I encourage us to respect others’ initiative to manage and protect their mental and spiritual health.

I wish I could continue this conversation with you over Shabbat, but I will be out of town for the next few days as I travel to see the solar eclipse. If you want to make time to talk, please email me and we’ll find time when I get back, and if you have an emergency, please contact the office.

Going forward, we must hold this war, with its challenge and tragedies, under Am Tikvah’s sukkat shalom, our shelter of peace. May our prayers for a shelter of peace hold both our gratitude for the sheltering community we have, and our hope that we will build that shelter in every new circumstance we encounter. Blessed are you, Adonai our God, who leads us in every time and place, and who spreads Your shelter of peace over us and all the world.