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Right now, there is nothing more upsetting than getting pictures from my Israeli relatives with the whole family in their safe room or bomb shelter. At the same time there is nothing more uplifting. While the family is forced to cram itself into a small space, for increasingly long periods of time, in the photos they are always smiling. In the videos the kids are coloring or drawing pictures, and the adults are sending messages of love. When we ask how they are, they joke about their situation and invariably turn the conversation to express concern for our well-being due to the increased antisemitism in the world. Israelis are a wonder. The Jewish people are incomparable and indestructible.
The world has been living with Iran’s threats and actions since 1979. How is it that now, a tiny nation, a nation comprised of the one, true, minority in this world, is the nation forced to confront the evil and deal with it? And yet, that is exactly what is happening.
God willing Israel will be able to erase the threats posed by Iran. While, we have no real idea what the result of Israel’s actions will be. What I do know is that the world should be thanking Israel for attempting to do what larger, wealthier, and better equipped countries should have done long ago.
We must stand firmly in support of Israel, as our Jewish homeland faces the challenges now unfolding there. There are certain Psalms that are recited when we are in peril. With such uncertainty in Israel and around the world, now is such a time. At all our services we recite either Psalms 121 or Psalm 130. You can find them here:
https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.121?lang=bi
https://www.sefaria.org/Psalms.130?lang=bi
Among other things, these beautiful pieces of Text remind us that God is ever present and stands with us.
At services we also recite the following 2 prayers:
1) The Prayer for Members of the Israel Defense Force
May God Who blessed our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah - bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May Adonai cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed be God, preserve and rescue our fighting men and women from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may God send blessing and success in their every endeavor.
May God grant our fighting forces salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Adonai, your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.
Amen; and
2) A Prayer for the State of Israel
Avinu She-Bashamayim, Rock and Redeemer of the people Israel:
Bless the State of Israel, with its promise of redemption. Shield it with Your love; spread over it the shelter of Your peace. Guide its leaders and advisors with Your light and Your truth. Help them with your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of those who defend our Holy Land. Deliver them; crown their efforts with triumph. Bless the Land with peace, and its inhabitants with lasting joy.
And let us say: Amen.
Join us for services to help us pray for our homeland and our people. If you cannot join us, then please print the Psalms and prayers above. We need each other now perhaps more than we have needed each other in a very long time.
May God keep everyone safe, whether they are in the air, on land, at sea, or in shelters. And may we see the day soon when all remaining hostages are returned.
One way to bring strength to Israel is by increasing the strength of our own community and Jewish communities everywhere. Show solidarity by
1) Joining us for beach services this week on 24th Street just down from the JCC
2) Joining us for the Welcome Back Brunch this Sunday, June 22nd at 10:00; and 3) supporting all our programming this season as we celebrate 75 years of Faith, Family, Friends and Fun.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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