Rabbi Howard Morrison

Today, I wear a poppy. We remember all Canadians who made the ultimate sacrifice for our peace and well-being. We honor all the veterans who served and wish them well.

Today, I wear a yellow star, bearing the words "never again." We remember the anniversary of Kristallnacht two days ago, and we say "never again" is now as Israel and Jews around the world stand in peril, enduring a silence or hatred from much of the world at large.

Today, we read Parshat Chayei Sarah. In it, a generation comes to an end. The deaths of Sarah and Abraham are both recorded in today's Torah lesson. The middle section, however, focuses on the next generation, the generation of Isaac. He will be the definitive patriarch who never leaves his homeland, who maintains a steadfast faith to his heritage and his place of origin.

As the Parsha bridges two generations, we today do the same. We recall the horrors of the Shoah just over 80 years ago. In the last eight decades, we have said "never again" will such hatred be unleashed against our people. Who could have thought that during this week of the anniversary of Kristallnact (Nov 9, 1938), that world-wide Jew-hatred is back, with such words as "gas the Jews, cut off their heads, from the river to the sea." Jews at risk in a Russian airport. Jews at risk at university campuses, blockaded in a library at Cornell university, Jews accosted at Concordia, and made to live in fear in neighborhoods throughout the world?

Over 80 years later, we will not be defeated. In Israel, the unifying expression is "Yachad Nenatzeach - Together, we will be victorious." In a bold and courageous move, Israel delegates at the U.N. are wearing the yellow badge, imposed on Jews during the Shoah, but which now reads "Never Again."

While Jews live today in Israel and around the world, most Jews are proud to call ourselves Zionists, meaning we believe in the land of Israel as the rightful and sovereign homeland of the Jewish people. In this regard, we pay homage to the second patriarch of our history, the one who called Israel his home throughout his entire life - Yitzchak Avinu, Isaac our patriarch. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison