Erev Tisha B’Av

A Letter to our friends...
Rabbi Ayala Miron
Kehillat Bavat Ayin
July 2006

Guy Kornblit is reading D’varim Torah portion
from a Torah scroll donated by temple Emanu-El
in Birmingham Alabama

“We gain a small victory in this war by keeping our daily life and sticking to our plans. This is why we have decided to go on and celebrate today. We are extending our support to our guests who came from the north, and sending our prayers to our soldiers, wherever they are.”

These were the words of Sabrina, the mother of Guy Kornblit, on the celebration of his Bar Mitzvah last Saturday afternoon in the town of Rosh HaAyin.

I think Sabrina’s words reflect the dilemma we find ourselves facing these days. How far do we divert from our routine in order to meet the new situation that is forced on us with such intensity?

The answer is naturally different if you live in the central part of the country or in the Sharon area, where Rosh HaAyin is, or if you happen to live in Shlomy or Haifa in the North, where the threat of the Katyusha missiles forces you to the shelter five, ten or twenty times a day.

My impression is that in the parts where we do not suffer from a direct threat, people are making a great, almost heroic, effort to continue with their routine and fulfill their daily duties. I strongly believe that this is an important ingredient of our inner strength.

Guy Kornblit’s Bar Mitzvah celebration is one example of the efforts we keep making to continue with our work and realize our plans. The guests came from close and far. Some live in the north and some have children serving in the army. They all decided to take a moment to celebrate. There were no last minute cancellations.

Guy read Parashat D’varim from a Torah donated to Kehilat Bavat Ayin of Rosh HaAyin by Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Alabama. We opened the ceremony with Sabrina relating to the special situation and sending her prayers to both the soldiers and citizens on the front lines. We concluded with Kadish to those who were killed during the days of the fighting.

We all struggled to find some consolation and inspiration in the Torah portion. One of the questions raised in relating to this portion, opening the Book of Deuteronomy, is: how do we carry on with our journey? Where do we find the strength to go on in our way through the “big and horrendous desert” mentioned in this portion?

Veiled in the opening verses of D’varim, and threaded throughout the whole book of Deuteronomy, in retelling the story of our journey, is a clue for a possible answer. It has to do with perspective. Standing on the mountain looking on the whole of the east valley of Jordan as well as the land of Cana’an on the other side, standing on the mountain that marks the end of the journey in the desert and the conclusion of his own personal journey, Moses’ words, D’varim, are adorned with vision, with the ability to see far both in time and in space.

We are not standing on a mountain right now. We might even feel we are in the bottom of a deep valley. There is talk about the IDF once again getting stuck in the "mud of Lebanon". In the face of that, we must strive for the inspiration that will allow us to gain perspective. In order to keep going and doing what we are called to do we have to be able to recover glimpses of the bigger picture, to retell the story of our journey, to re-member; that is, to become once again members of the Jewish people, struggling together to maintain a meaningful and decent existence, as the Torah portion states:

"אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל"

These are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel.

To give you a glimpse of how we are trying to become a part of “all of Israel” in these days:

This Friday we will be visiting the improvised camp in Nitzanim, hosting 2000 people from the North in big tents. We are “adopting a tent”, bringing cakes, drinks and Shabbat candles, and while our youth play with the children we will be listening to the stories and frustrations of the people. It seems this is what they need more than anything else: a listening ear.

Sunday morning a group of us will be working with children in Kfar Silver, a campground where the IMPJ (Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism) is now hosting 300 people. We will bring stories and art materials and try to invite the children to express their anxieties through creative work.
We are also adopting an army unit that is now engaged in the fighting, trying to learn what their needs are and meet them as much as we can, send them sweets and socks together with our most sincere prayers.

“Ose Shalom B’mromav hu Ya’ase Shalom Alenu v’al kol Israel”:

May the one who makes peace in heaven make peace upon us and all of Israel, and let us say: Amen.