Rabbi Howard Morrison

During the seven days of Sukkot, the Torah readings instructed the ancient Israelites to bring seventy offerings which corresponded to the notion that there were seventy nations in the world. These Jewish rituals evidenced Jewish concern and responsibility for the world at large.

Similarly, the first eleven chapters of the Torah describe universal narratives and myths. The Jewish part of the Torah begins in chapter twelve with Abram/Abraham. The prior chapters of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, the Tower of Babel, and more depict the worldly stage prior to the entry of the first Jewish family.

The afore-mentioned two examples demonstrate Jewish recognition and respect for the world at large. Now, Israel needs the nations of the world to understand, respect, and support Israel during an unprecedented time of horror and savagery. Anti-Semitism is on the rise world-wide. Last weekend, Hamas unleashed the worst evil Israel has seen within its sovereign borders, on Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah and on the English anniversary of the Yom Kippur war fifty years ago.

We, the Diaspora Jewish community, can and must help Israel now:

We must educate, if possible, those who are naive about Israel's rightful place in the Middle East. 

We must unite ourselves at a time when the very existence of Israel is in jeopardy. 

We must reach out to our brothers and sisters in Israel in solidarity.

We must give as much Tzedakah as we can.

We must communicate effectively with government leaders and media representatives.

We must pray - with the words of our Siddur, Scripture, or Psalms; or with the authentic cries from our hearts and souls.

Sadly, our Beth Emeth trip to Israel this Fall has been cancelled. It is just not safe for us to go, and it is unfair to expect those in Israel to look after us when their very lives are in peril. We hope to go soon after calm has been restored.

In the meantime, there is so much we can and must do. "Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh La'Zeh - All the Jewish people are bound one to the other."

Rabbi Howard Morrison