Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss made Aliyah from Manchester in 1985. He served for over 30 years as rabbi of Kfar Haroeh and Emek Hefer, and today is a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, representing it on various interreligious committees. He currently serves as rabbi of Bnei Brak and Givat Shmuel.
When we read the Book of Yonah each year on Yom Kippur, the story is the same.
But the message changes. The message changes depending on the storms of history. Depending on the storms in our lives. Depending on the storms our people face.
This year, as I read Sefer Yonah, one passage struck me like lightning.
Yonah is on the boat. A storm rages around him. The sailors are terrified.
They ask him: “Who are you? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country?”
Jonah 1:8. Listen carefully:
No matter what they asked—profession, birthplace, nationality, people—his answer never wavered:
Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
His profession? Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
His birthplace? Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
His nationality? Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
His people? Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
This is not repetition. This is defiance. This is strength.
This is identity. This is pride. This is faith.
In the midst of a storm, when all else is uncertain, Yonah stands firm.
He reminds us: your essence is your faith.
Your identity is your pride.
Your loyalty is your shield.
We live today in storms. Hatred rises. Antisemitism spreads.
Across the world, people think they can solve the storm by throwing out the Jonah.
By sacrificing Israel.
By empowering those who call openly for the elimination of Jews.
To those nations, I say: Shame! Shame! Shame!
Britain—proud, imperial Britain—
You wrote the Balfour Declaration and then slammed your doors on desperate Jewish refugees.
You drew borders with a pencil in one hand and a gin-and-tonic in the other.
You let Jews die rather than let them enter your Mandate.
And now you lecture the Jewish state?
Go back and reconcile with your own streets of knife crime, antisemitism, and extremism before you wag your finger at us!
France—Liberté, égalité, fraternité—unless you are Jewish.
Tens of thousands deported by your Vichy regime. Vel d’Hiv. A stain that never washed away.
Today, Jews are attacked in your streets. Synagogues under guard.
And you still lecture Israel?
You are morally bankrupt. You are culturally collapsing.
Spain—so-called neutral, yet steeped in centuries of persecution.
The Inquisition hunted Jews until almost the 19th century.
You expelled, tortured, and silenced our people for generations.
And now you lecture Israel?
Shame on you!
But we answer like Yonah:
"Ivri anochi", and I serve the Almighty God!
I am a Jew! I am a Hebrew! I stand proud!
We have given more to the world than any nation in history—
In morality! In medicine! In science! In spirit!
In war, we have never sunk to the cruelty of others.
We send aid even to our enemies.
We do not bow. We do not hide.
And now, to our children:
You are growing up in a world of lies and hatred.
You see antisemitism in your schools. You see it in your streets. You see it in your communities.
And yet, you must stand tall:
Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
You are Hebrews! You are Jews!
You are proud! You are honest! You are strong! You are great!
God will protect you! God will never abandon you!
Everywhere you go—Europe, America, South Africa, South America—carry your identity high.
Never be embarrassed. Never be shy. Never be afraid.
We answer the lies and distortions:
Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
We survive the storms! We survive the hatred!
We survive the attacks! We survive the lies!
We survive because truth endures!
We survive because Hashem’s covenant is eternal!
They tried to enslave us in Egypt—we survived!
They tried to burn us in the fires of the Inquisition—we survived!
They tried to silence us in the ghettos—we survived!
They tried to annihilate us in the crematoria of Auschwitz—we survived!
And today, when terror groups call for our destruction,
When nations attempt to weaken Israel,
Our answer is the same:
Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
We survive with courage! We survive with pride!
We survive with faith! We survive with our heads held high!
We live! We build! We plant! We create! We bring light into the world!
We stand in the storm, but we are not swept away!
For we are Am Yisrael! And Am Yisrael chai!
And so we say, to our children, to the nations, and to ourselves:
Ivri anochi, and I serve the Almighty God!
I am a Hebrew, and I serve the Almighty God