See below for information on events taking place this weekend to mark six months of captivity for the hostages remaining in Gaza, and to advocate for their release. | |
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In This Edition:
- Weekly Message
- Upcoming and Recent Events and Programs
- Events to Advocate for the Hostages, This Weekend
- Seder Sense Pre-Pesach Program, This Sunday
- Pesach Resources
- Women's Voices
- Israel Resources and Spotlighted Organizations
- Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Shemini
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Weekly Message:
Rallying Cries
Friends,
In this week's parsha, Parshat Shemini, we learn of Aaron's silence after the death of his two sons, who had brought a “foreign fire” before G-d. There is much discussion among commentators about Aaron's noted silence in reaction to the tragic loss of his children. Is it a silence of acceptance or consolation, as many suggest?
The Ramban offers that only after Aaron cries, screams, and shouts, and releases his anger to G-d, is he able to fall silent. This is the Aaron of action, who will be known as the lover and chaser of peace. Aaron is so close to G-d that he is ultimately able to go on in silence. But what about us?
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, in his book Kol Dodi Dofek, which deals with the pain of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, writes powerfully that a person who experiences tragedy “commits a criminal act if he allows his pain to go for naught and to remain without meaning or purpose.” The Rav states emphatically that we cannot sit silently in the face of tragedy – that to do so would be a tragedy in and of itself.
As the Rav would argue, when we declare “Never again” about the Holocaust, this does not change the fact that the world remained criminally silent in the face of that tragedy. But it also reminds us that we cannot stay silent about the tragedies happening now – that we must each stand up and take action. We must follow Aaron’s lead — scream, shout, protest, and let our emotions drive us to action.
This weekend, we have the opportunity and obligation to harness our painful emotions and make our voices heard, as we mark a shocking six months since the tragedies of October 7 and the continuing captivity of the hostages in Gaza.
It is a time to come together as a community – whether by attending the rallies taking place in New York City and Washington, DC; joining a Run4Lives community gathering, or seeking out other ways to not let the world forget – to not yet be silent.
With this in mind, below you will find information on upcoming and recent events and resources; women's voices and perspectives on the situation in Israel and the weekly parsha, and more suggested ways to support needs on the ground in Israel.
May we all soon share the peace that Aaron loved and pursued, in the community of Am Yisrael, with the safe return of the hostages, the IDF soldiers, and all who are in harm's way.
Shabbat Shalom and Besorot Tovot.
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Rallies for the Hostages, This Sunday, April 7
Noon, New York City
2:30 PM, Washington, DC
Local Communities Nationwide
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It is heartbreaking to be marking six months of captivity for the hostages in Gaza, and to still be pressing for their release. It is essential to keep the hostages in everyone's minds and prayers, and in the news. Time is running out. Each week, we learn of another hostage murdered in captivity, another report of the atrocities and sexual assaults that they have suffered. We can’t stop advocating for them. The support of our community members and partners is essential.
Please click on the graphics above for more information about the events taking place this Sunday, in New York City, Washington, DC, and many other communities. Join in person if you can, and and help spread the word.
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Peaceful Demonstration at Qatari Consulate
Friday Morning, April 5
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This Friday, April 5, at 9AM, at the Qatari Consulate in New York, 540 Madison Avenue, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum is also focusing its energies on gathering for a peaceful demonstration, to keep insisting that the Qataris use their unmatched political and financial leverage over Hamas to help negotiate the remaining hostages’ immediate release. The event will host and hear from the family of the hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. During his captivity, his third daughter was born.
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More Resources From
Hostages and Missing Families Forum New York
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In addition to its website at hostagesforumny.com, the Forum has just launched the following resources to help community members stay informed and up to date about what they can do:
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Jofa Partnering in Yeshivat Chovevei Torah's
Seder Sense Virtual Learning Program
This Sunday Evening, April 7
| This Sunday, April 7, Jofa is joining YCT and many communal partners to present Seder Sense: An Evening of Pesach Prep for Your Mind and Soul. It's a great opportunity to learn with excellent educators and start getting into the Pesach spirit! Please register at yctorah.org/seder. | |
With Pesach quickly approaching, don't forget to check out our Project Shir HaShirim/Pesach page for resources including:
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recordings to help you learn how to leyn Megillat Shir HaShirim
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a seder activities and enhancements handbook;
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“Seeing Ourselves in the Haggadah,” a discussion with Jordan Gorfinkel, Creator of “The Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel,”
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and several articles and blog posts by women, exploring different ideas and aspects of Pesach.
We hope that these resources will help enhance your participation and expand your experience of the chag.
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Shabbaton Shivyoni Recap
Last Weekend, March 29-31
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Pictured above, from left to right:
Daphne Lazar Price, Executive Director, Jofa; the Shalshelet Shivyoni student board members: Tal Bresler, Cara Lopatin, Judah Guggenheim, and Yaakov Segal;
Rabbi Micha'el Rosenberg, and Rabbi Miriam-Simma Walfish, Hadar faculty.
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Last weekend, a diverse group of more than 75 college students from across the U.S. gathered at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut for another great Shabbaton Shivyoni -- the second annual shabbaton of Shalshelet Shivyoni, the student-led intercollegiate community dedicated to halacha and inclusion.
The shabbaton included egalitarian and partnership minyan tefillah, as well as thoughtful shiurim and discussions led by featured speakers, including Jofa's Executive Director, Daphne Lazar Price, and Hadar faculty, Rabbi Miriam-Simma Walfish and Rabbi Micha'el Rosenberg. Participants came away feeling uplifted, enlightened, and inspired.
Find out more at ShalsheletShivyoni.org!
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Here we continue raising women's voices and insights about what has been happening during this time and how they are finding meaning in it. We hope that these writings provide you with new perspectives, and inspire you to write and share your own insights:
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As we approach the holiday of our national freedom, the hostages who are still not free weigh heavily our minds, and we keep seeking out ways to help.
Please check our Supporting Israel: Ways to Help Now page, where we continue adding ways to stay connected and engaged with what is happening in Israel and what we can do - including raising the voices and stories of how girls and women are impacted, how they are responding, and ways we can support them.
The page includes resources for fighting antisemitism; advocating; staying informed; keeping attention on the hostages; finding comfort in rituals; ways to contribute; talking to kids about Israel; reaching out; mental health; community gatherings, tefillot, and more.
We will also keep spotlighting additional resources in this weekly email and our social feeds, and adding them to our Israel page. We hope that each week you'll find something that speaks to you, helps you stay connected, take action, raise your voice -- in Israel, around the world, and in your own home and community.
| Spotlighted Israel Resources | We continue highlighting resources and organizations each week that you can turn to for information, support, or to contribute toward direct needs on the ground in Israel. Please see our Supporting Israel page for our continually growing list. |  |
NATAL: Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center specializes in the field of war and terror related trauma. NATAL aims to advance the resiliency of Israeli society through treatment, prevention, public awareness, and research. Established in 1998, NATAL's core programming and services include a helpline, clinical unit, community outreach, social therapeutic club, veterans testimonial center, research and evaluation unit, and multidisciplinary trauma studies center. NATAL's services are available across the country and to all Israeli citizens regardless of religion, ethnic background, color, age, gender, or socioeconomic status. NATAL also offers international trainings and partnerships, emergency and crisis preparedness resources, and more. To date, NATAL’s services have touched the lives of over 350,000 men, women, and children.
ELI: The Israel Association for Child Protection protects Israel’s children and breaks the intergenerational cycle of abuse through a broad spectrum of services, including crisis intervention, an emergency hotline, therapy, prevention programs in schools, professional education, and community awareness. On October 7, hundreds of Israeli children witnessed the unimaginable. ELI responded quickly with crisis intervention for more than 1,000 adults and 700 children; 96 of the children had lost one parent; 20 lost both. Some watched their parents perish in the most barbaric fashion. Of the 100 children for whom ELI continues to provide therapy, at least 12 girls were sexually abused by terrorists.
ELI has been treating trauma and family violence in Israel for over 40 years. Since October 9, it has been on the front lines at the Dead Sea, the Greater Jerusalem area, and other areas where victims have been evacuated, providing emergency therapeutic trauma intervention to survivors and evacuees from towns along the Gaza border. ELI first focused on restoring basic abilities to function: to speak, eat, drink, and sleep. Now ELI aims to provide long-term therapeutic intervention to at least 100 surviving children and family members, or as many as resources allow.
| Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Shemini | |
Jews around the world are reading and studying Parshat Shemini this week. Here are a few divrei Torah by women on this week's parsha:
| Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach | |
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