This week, we marked the end of the Shloshim period of mourning, 30 days after the unfathomable atrocities that occurred in Israel on October 7th. At the same time, this is the week we read the Torah portion which includes Abraham’s burial of Sarah. Abraham, a stranger who journeyed to Canaan from far away, wants to bury his wife in the ancient city of Hebron. The Hittites, who were then in the land, would have happily given Abraham a burial place free of charge—a generous offer, but one that could be rescinded as it was a gift and not a business deal. Instead, Abraham insists on purchasing a burial plot in a cave in the field of Machpelah facing the city of Hebron.
Today, we, Abraham’s descendants, are back in our ancient land, and the Hittites are relegated to the history books.
Our connection to this sliver of space is ancient and eternal, but over the last 30 days, countless people have questioned our legitimacy in this land. Once again, we must defend our claim that, since the days of Abraham thousands of years ago, we have never turned our backs on the land of our ancestors.
Thirty days after the horrors of that Black Shabbat, we have gained renewed perspective on the meaning of the words in our national anthem, HaTikvah: to be a free people in our land. Seventy-five years since the modern State of Israel was declared, we are still forced to fight to be a free people. In the weeks since October 7th, we still mourn our dead, the names we know and the names we may never know for sure because their remains are unidentifiable. While we sit in this sorrow, we hold hope that the 240+ hostages held by Hamas will be returned.
After thirty days of mourning, Jewish tradition holds that it is time to venture out into public again. Unfortunately, we have not had such a luxury, nor could we have a peaceful shiva. We continue to mourn just as we fight for our place in the world. Join us this Friday, along with Jews worldwide, to welcome in Shabbat. As we join our voices together for a Southern Soul Shabbat, we collectively pray for a world where we can once and for all live in peace.
