Friday, November 15, as Jews were walking home from Tefillah (prayer) at Ma?arat Hamachpelah (Machpelah Cave) in Hevron, soldiers who were guarding them were ambushed and 12 were murdered. Thursday morning thereafter, as they did most mornings, Jews boarded a bus to head to work. Some were heading to school and some to the store. But the bus never arrived at any of their destinations. Instead, a terrorist linked to Hamas (what a surprise that was) boarded the same bus and took 11 more Jewish neshamot out of this world. Grandparent and grandchild, mothers, teens? in what has become an all-too-often repeated scene in Israel? laying under a sheet prior to being transported to a morgue. Again there are people sitting shiva for their children. Again there are people sitting shiva for spouses, parents, siblings and others.
In a week, we lost 23 neshamot. How? How can this continue and how do we cope? I want to make something clear to those of you reading this in Israel, we in the Galut (Exile) feel the tragedy every time it occurs. We cry alongside you? we mourn next to you. You may think you are forgotten by Acheinu Beit Yisrael, but it is not true. We are in pain with you.
So, what do we do? How do we react when, yet again, there is a massacre in our beloved Jewish family? Let?s first look at how the world reacts - with silence. In the 1940s, when millions of Jews were being slaughtered, there was silence. When Jews were being killed in Argentina, Spain or anywhere else in the world during our history, the world reacted the same way: Silence. The other day, a 14-year old Palestinian was throwing a gasoline bomb at Israeli soldiers. He was shot and killed. The world reacted. The ?holy? Kofi Anan (Secretary-General of the United Nations) ?condemned? the killing. Does he make a peep about Hevron? Does he publicly decry the slaughter of our people in a Jerusalem bus? Of course not. After all, the world can ?understand? the frustrated Palestinians and their ?cause.? In the English language, the prefix ?un-? means ?not?. How fitting. The UN: UN-reliable, UN-fair, UN-cooperative, UN-emotional, UN-neccessary, UN-intelligible, UN-sympathetic, UN-usual and UN-believable. They have made a mockery of world politics.
How do we as Jews react? Our hearts are broken yet again. If we shake our heads and say ?tsk, tsk? and move on, then we should be ashamed. If seeing the footage of weeping Jewish mourners yet again doesn?t touch us to the core, then we should be ashamed. If we don?t respond with some indignation to the UN (as pathetic as they are) as to their silence, we should be ashamed.
On the other hand, if you witness the carnage and it transforms you into a better person, if it encourages you to daven (pray) harder for your ?family? in Israel, if it causes you to have more conversations with the un-educated masses, if it causes you to get involved in Israel , if it causes you to get on a plane for a solidarity rally, or if it causes you to change your vacation plans and visit Israel in her time of need, then be proud of yourself. You won?t be part of the silent majority sitting on the sidelines.
Don?t let the murder of any more innocent kedoshim go un-noticed. Do something for Israel today. Do something for Israel tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Never stop. That email you haven?t written, that letter that hasn?t been written (to write the newspaper, to the president, the UN, etc., etc.), the phone call that hasn?t been made - all are complicity in silence. Pick up the phone and call a friend in Israel, tell them they are not alone. Go to your email box and send an email to friends/family in Israel and share their pain. Do anything, just don?t sit and do nothing. The world can ?understand? the ?frustration? of the Palestinians? What about the frustration of those who are actually civilized in the Middle East? What about our frustration?
Never again! It was the rallying cry after the Holocaust. Are we really living up to it?
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Rabbi Zev M. Shandalov serves as the rabbi of Kehilath Jacob Beth Samuel (KJBS) in Chicago, Illinois.
In a week, we lost 23 neshamot. How? How can this continue and how do we cope? I want to make something clear to those of you reading this in Israel, we in the Galut (Exile) feel the tragedy every time it occurs. We cry alongside you? we mourn next to you. You may think you are forgotten by Acheinu Beit Yisrael, but it is not true. We are in pain with you.
So, what do we do? How do we react when, yet again, there is a massacre in our beloved Jewish family? Let?s first look at how the world reacts - with silence. In the 1940s, when millions of Jews were being slaughtered, there was silence. When Jews were being killed in Argentina, Spain or anywhere else in the world during our history, the world reacted the same way: Silence. The other day, a 14-year old Palestinian was throwing a gasoline bomb at Israeli soldiers. He was shot and killed. The world reacted. The ?holy? Kofi Anan (Secretary-General of the United Nations) ?condemned? the killing. Does he make a peep about Hevron? Does he publicly decry the slaughter of our people in a Jerusalem bus? Of course not. After all, the world can ?understand? the frustrated Palestinians and their ?cause.? In the English language, the prefix ?un-? means ?not?. How fitting. The UN: UN-reliable, UN-fair, UN-cooperative, UN-emotional, UN-neccessary, UN-intelligible, UN-sympathetic, UN-usual and UN-believable. They have made a mockery of world politics.
How do we as Jews react? Our hearts are broken yet again. If we shake our heads and say ?tsk, tsk? and move on, then we should be ashamed. If seeing the footage of weeping Jewish mourners yet again doesn?t touch us to the core, then we should be ashamed. If we don?t respond with some indignation to the UN (as pathetic as they are) as to their silence, we should be ashamed.
On the other hand, if you witness the carnage and it transforms you into a better person, if it encourages you to daven (pray) harder for your ?family? in Israel, if it causes you to have more conversations with the un-educated masses, if it causes you to get involved in Israel , if it causes you to get on a plane for a solidarity rally, or if it causes you to change your vacation plans and visit Israel in her time of need, then be proud of yourself. You won?t be part of the silent majority sitting on the sidelines.
Don?t let the murder of any more innocent kedoshim go un-noticed. Do something for Israel today. Do something for Israel tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Never stop. That email you haven?t written, that letter that hasn?t been written (to write the newspaper, to the president, the UN, etc., etc.), the phone call that hasn?t been made - all are complicity in silence. Pick up the phone and call a friend in Israel, tell them they are not alone. Go to your email box and send an email to friends/family in Israel and share their pain. Do anything, just don?t sit and do nothing. The world can ?understand? the ?frustration? of the Palestinians? What about the frustration of those who are actually civilized in the Middle East? What about our frustration?
Never again! It was the rallying cry after the Holocaust. Are we really living up to it?
--------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Zev M. Shandalov serves as the rabbi of Kehilath Jacob Beth Samuel (KJBS) in Chicago, Illinois.