To share a personal story of Ahavat Yisrael, on a visit to Israel with my family we were enjoying drinks outside a café on Yaffa Street. We suddenly heard a loud boom and saw people running followed by another boom. Before we had time to process what was going on we were grabbed by people and taken into the café. I then noticed a young man who was a café employee standing at the door, rifle in hand telling everyone to stay back. He closed the metal doors and kept watch to ensure all our safety. Thankfully, it turned out not to be an act of terror and was sorted out within a short time by the police. The area immediately resumed the positive and active atmosphere that existed prior to the incident. I chatted with a shop owner about how we were ushered to safety by others who could have quickly run inside themselves and about the young man who protected us all at the door. The shop owner stated simply: “We are Jews, family. This is what we do.”
Not surprisingly, In Ottawa I’ve heard variations of this statement and seen it in action many times. We are a diverse community with many different abilities and experiences. It is this diversity that makes our community strong and allows us to thrive and grow. We are different but united by our concern for each other as every Jew stood at Mount Sinai, where G-d gave us the Torah as a united Jewish nation, we remain one people, united by one G-d.
Shabbat Shalom,
Alice
