Dear Temple Emanu-El,
Marita & I just returned from our 10-day volunteer mission trip to Israel. Some of our experiences we have shared on Facebook (personal, and TE page), and I suspect that we will share additional snippets and vignettes in sermons and TE gatherings over the next few weeks. Truth be told, this experience is one of the most profound we have ever had, and I suspect it will influence who we are as people for the rest of our lives.
We want to invite you to spend an hour with us over Zoom this Sunday night, 8:00pm. Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88389263023
We hope to share more deeply some of our encounters, examples of Israeli resilience, and our ‘take’ on the mood, hopes, and fears from the ground.
Things are moving quickly in Israel and on the international stage. That is why we would like to share our recent experiences with you, soon. You are invited.
There is one other thing that I would like to share with you at this moment. All over Israel, people are wearing clothing and necklaces in very visible ways that are meant to remind themselves, and one another, that our Captives in Gaza need to come home.
Many of us rail against the media, and international forces, who seem to have forgotten those held hostage by Hamas (there are still 129 there…we think).
We cry out, why is the world not putting united pressure on Hamas to release those kidnapped men, women, and children?
In this spirit, our TE rabbis have decided that every Friday night service, until further notice, we will have a prayer for our hostages.
Some believe that God ‘hears’ prayer, and perhaps what we say can influence an outcome. Others believe that prayers are meant for us, to keep our individual and communal focus on what is most important to us. In this way, we can be the change we want to see in the world. These two things are not mutually exclusive. I believe that both of these things happen at the same time and that through our prayers to ourselves, we become God’s agent on this earth.
By including a prayer for our Captives in every Shabbat service, we will make sure to keep their redemption, safety, and concern on OUR minds.
We will make sure that they are not forgotten.
For if we forget them, others will as well.
But if we remember their plight and remind ourselves (through prayer) that we have a responsibility to help get them back…perhaps that will make a tangible difference.
Am Yisrael Chai,
Rabbi Spike Anderson
