Chaverim y'karim - dear friends,

Since Sunday, I have been inundated with substacks, blog-posts, newsletters ... with topics ranging from the hostage release in Israel to events in Washington, DC. I cannot believe the volume of what has come into my Inbox. I guess since I have received so much, I figured I might as well put another email into yours! Plus - you won’t want to miss some upcoming events. 

Hostage Release

Below, you will find some reflective posts about the hostage release. As significant as the swearing in of President Trump has been, my eyes and heart are in the East and I actually have had a hard time focusing on the legislative and executive transfer of power in our nation's capital. But that doesn't mean I'm not watching at times. At a minimum, we know how deeply important a smooth transfer of power is for our country - and how deadly it can be when not calm.

The hostage release could easily also be called a “Hostage Release in Exchange for freed Palestinian Terrorists.” The current ceasefire and exchange of hostages for terrorists is a brutal result of a brutal enemy. The Israeli response has been uniform gratitude for the safety of Israelis who are still alive. But the Israeli disgust is high over a ratio that allowed for THIRTY Palestinian terrorists - some convicted for murder - to be set free for ONE non-military Israeli citizen or foreign national who was stolen in their pajamas from their home. 30:1 only shows how much the Jewish State values life and how much the Jewish people's enemy is committed to our downfall and a cult of death. May there be safety for all remaining hostages and in the words of this week's Torah portion, "Let My People Go!" Dead or alive, there remain 94 hostages and Israelis are holding their breath going into Shabbat to see who will come home, please God alive, tomorrow.

A New Administration

To no one's surprise - from Left or Right - the week in Washington has been a flurry of events, Executive Orders, and calls that the world is on fire (beyond the ACTUAL fires as in Los Angeles that still need significant attention). Besides Elon’s gesture (did he have to do that?), in my rabbi-world, I have seen or been sent videos and comments about a Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, who gave a sermon at the National Prayer Service that concluded with sharply-directed words to the President. Of all I have read and seen about the sermon, I particularly value a podcast by Reverend Adam Hamilton of Kansas City, MO, "Making Sense of Faith: A Message to President Trump." Reverend Hamilton is a friend of my wife with whom she had a chance to work during her years as a rabbi in Kansas City. Reverend Hamilton’s weekly podcast is wise and insightful as he addresses the role of preacher at that special Inauguration week service, which he was in 2013, speaking to the second term Obama administration. Not surprisingly, the Reverend’s remarks reference Jesus and New Testament - but the lesson is solid and important regardless of our theological differences! You might like a column written by a colleague, Rabbi Micah Streiffer, who reflects on the role of clergy as prophet and priest.

Based on my own circles of friends and associates - and whom I follow on-line - I am hearing people who are elated with President Trump's return to the Oval Office and people who are quite certain this is the end of democracy and America. Incidentally, I have little doubt I would have written that same line had Harris won the election. There is what to worry about and I know that concerns are real, heart-felt, and potentially life-threatening. We live in a democracy that will be judged not only by how the majority implements its agenda but also based on how the minority is protected and governed. I have faith in our system and the massive corpus of elected officials nationwide and until we know otherwise, I believe in speaking up when necessary, forming meaningful alliances with partners locally from different political parties, and supporting governmental and civic workers who maintain order for our towns and states, and donating generously to non-profit agencies doing the work we, individually, value. 

There is always room for a quote from Jefferson (and Lincoln)

To quote one of my favorite among the nation’s Founders, Thomas Jefferson, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." 

Maybe that would be a good line for presidents (and other elected officials) by which to swear? I note two critical parts of this quote. First: Jefferson, however metaphorically, swore on the altar of God. A believer in God, Jefferson knew there was a Higher Authority to whom he must answer. THAT is why George Washington instituted the first national prayer service on his first morning in office. Secondly, the worst kind of tyranny is that over the mind. The Jewish people come from a heritage that absolutely answers to a Higher Authority and more than just affirms diversity of opinion, it demands, respects, and celebrates intellectual rigor. Hence, why I have always felt that Jefferson would have made a great Talmud scholar. But more importantly why we - no matter for whom we voted - need to make sure that we are not so entrenched in our side that we fail to recognize, understand, and find room to compromise with the other side. As Jefferson noted in his First Inaugural Address, "Not every difference of opinion is a difference of principle."

I am a deep believer in America, in our governmental system, in the foundational documents of this country, and in the cool, wise minds of intellectuals whom I pray will influence the proper halls, channels, rooms, and spaces of power. 

No roller coasters for me 

My wife taught me an important lesson: not to get on emotional roller coasters of people around me. I liked that lesson and I try to operate accordingly. I find life is much smoother when I just stay on the platform and let the roller coasters glide by. Sometimes I am more successful than other times.

Friends, we have a lot on our plates as Americans and as Jews. Our best bet is to treat one another - friend and foe alike - with love and with a commitment to make a great America. America is great. It actually always has been. That doesn’t mean that every American, every President, and/or every policy, law, statute, and ordinance has been great. We are flawed and fallible. Our nation has committed horrible errors and committed egregious tragedies in its past. And we have - by and large - acknowledged, atoned, repaired, and changed our ways (the critical parts of teshuvah / repentance).

There is no other nation like ours - which I say as an American and as a Jew. I am a proud American and a proud Jew. We have work to do (another line I would have said regardless of who got sworn in last Monday). So, let’s get ready for Shabbes now … and roll up our sleeves to set to work to make certain America fulfills the greatness laid out in the Declaration of Independence 249 years ago. 

My prayer this Shabbat 

Ribono shel olam, Master of the Universe, grant the Jewish people a peaceful Shabbat. May there be the release of more hostages, safe and whole. May our enemies seek to love their children and their homes more than they seek to destroy ours. May the Palestinians who have committed atrocities but are nonetheless set free in this ceasefire treasure their freedom and not seek further reckless and violent paths. 

God who sits on high, may you inhabit the hearts, minds, souls of those in positions of great power and strength in these United States. May the President and his Administration develop and nuture the divine gifts you have planted in their hearts - to work from love, to create from compassion, and to inspire from high minded ideals embedded in our nation’s sacred documents. God who gives man and woman earthly powers, may your creatures have humility and integrity as they go to govern and make decisions that impact millions within our borders and billions beyond. 

As the great Abraham Lincoln said upon taking his second term as this nation’s President, “With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Kein y'hi ratzon - may it be God's will and may we make it our own. Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Mark Cohn

rabbicohn@tsholom.org 

A prayer for the hostages' return - May It Be.

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Pictured above - Powerful art showing the Jewish Priestly Blessing with the bandaged hand and missing fingers of released hostage Emily Damari. It was made by Moshe Shapira, father of Aner Shapira, who was murdered by Hamas on October 7 after hurling out seven of their grenades to save multiple lives in a bomb shelter. The eighth sadly exploded, killing him. (Michael Dickson, StandWithUs)