Shabbat Shalom ~ Matot-Maasei

Dear WJC Family,

I hope everyone has been having a great summer. Tami and I certainly made the most out of our month of July, starting with the inspiring Ride for the Living to support JCC Krakow and then exploring Central Europe (Budapest, Vienna, Slovenia, and Venice). We learned so many amazing things about the region and about the Jews who lived there in the Middle Ages that I am hoping to run a Central Europe trip from WJC after our Morocco trip. Stay tuned for information as it develops and if you happen to be interested, let me know. Also, to read more about the experience of the Ride for the Living, check out Howard Husock’s article about the experience that was published in the The New York Post by clicking here. What you read may surprise you!

Of course, as amazing and inspiring as our travels were, the situation in Israel and around the world was never far from our minds and was often in our faces. Whether walking past an Antisemitic rally in Vienna on Shabbat (it’s is awfully disturbing to see a rally and hear Antisemites yelling against the “Juden” in German) or seeing this Palestinian flag hanging outside the gate of the original Jewish ghetto in Venice (the message seems clear), we were confronted time and again with the new realities in which we live. Then to come home and two days later see Palestinian protestors blocking the entrance to Orienta at rush hour – terribly sobering.

And on this, the 300th day (as of this writing) of the captivity of Omer Neutra, Hersh Polin-Goldberg, Liri Albag and so many more, we pray as hard as ever for their safe return. As we prepare for the High Holidays and the year ahead, these realities are heavily on the minds of the clergy and staff of WJC. Be on the lookout for programs, services, and speakers addressing the new and amplified challenges and concerns of the last year.

And even as we hold the people of Israel in our prayers (especially during these tense days) and Jewish college students in our hearts, let’s not forget all the reasons to be hopeful. Over the course of our travels there were many people who noticed Tami wearing a piece of tape with the number of days hostages have been held in Gaza and shared a supportive comment. At the JCC in Krakow and the JCC in Budapest we heard stories about people finding their way to Judaism (so many Europeans have hidden Jewish heritage and are only learning about it now) and how the local communities have supported the Jewish communities during this time of pain and fear. As one speaker reminded us in Krakow, usually when people commit acts of civil disobedience, it is because their point-of-view is unpopular. It is important not to mistake volume for validity or extremism for popularity. There is still lots of reason to hope and pray for better days ahead.

I must say it feels nice to be home and pray in our chapel with our community again. I hope you’ll join us for our summer davening this Shabbat and join with me and our community in prayer and fellowship. I am looking forward to catching up with all of you and hearing about your summer so far. I will be speaking on Friday night and teaching on Saturday evening and am so looking forward to hearing our lay leaders daven and teach on Saturday morning. I am so grateful to all of you who have stepped up to volunteer at services and especially to the summer davening coordinators Cindy Heller and Amy Bennet!

See you in shul,