Thursday is Yizkor — a day in which we see threads of the Kaddish . . . foretelling our death or our lives?
Greenblatt: “We are stronger as one people than as fragmented groups.”
(Death or Life, choose life)
This on Shabbat, we see the Ezekiel prophecies, from the Haftara: (see here) from the end of Book of Ezekiel, ending of Chapter 38 . . . .
וְהִתְגַּדִּלְתִּי֙ וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתִּ֔י וְנ֣וֹדַעְתִּ֔י לְעֵינֵ֖י גּוֹיִ֣ם רַבִּ֑ים וְיָדְע֖וּ כִּֽי־אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}
Thus will I manifest My greatness and My holiness, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations. And they shall know that I am GOD.
then, Ezekiel, Chapter 39
וְאֶת־שֵׁ֨ם קׇדְשִׁ֜י אוֹדִ֗יעַ בְּתוֹךְ֙ עַמִּ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְלֹא־אַחֵ֥ל אֶת־שֵׁם־קׇדְשִׁ֖י ע֑וֹד וְיָדְע֤וּ הַגּוֹיִם֙ כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה קָד֖וֹשׁ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
I will make My holy name known among My people Israel, and never again will I let My holy name be profaned. And the nations shall know that I, GOD, am holy in Israel.
In this Holiday season, a season in which we ask to be inscribed in the Book of Life, what are our considerations, what is our path forward? Are we alone as we continue? As we look around, not only to the Jewish People (AM Yisrael) but also to our friends, if we still have them, “Are we alone on the road to Emmaus?”
Essentially, are we together on this roadway to life, to the future, or are we alone?
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An important message for our consideration: Our unity or our demise . . . .
One People:
Link: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/our-enemies-thought-they-could-break-us/
In The Times of Israel, former White House Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt spotlights the ways in which the Jewish community has found unity and common ground in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks. “We have always had a sense that fellow Jews, no matter how distant their beliefs or practices, deserve some form of embrace. But now we are hugging each other tighter than ever.
It’s not just symbolic – it’s an act of survival. We know that those who hate us, those who wish to see the Jewish people eradicated, will exploit any cracks in our coalition. If they can divide us, they believe they can destroy us. But this unity, forged in pain and resilience, has shown them otherwise. We will not allow our disagreements to weaken our resolve or our commitment to each other.
Those who seek our destruction do not care whether we are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or secular. They do not care if we vote left or right, or if we support one political policy or another. To them, we are all Jews. And because of this, we must recognize that our strength lies in our togetherness.
We are stronger as one people than as fragmented groups.”
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I do love the fact that many people, especially in the arts, academia and within the current ‘progressive’ circles, all of whom are upset that ‘antisemitism’ is now encouraging young Jews to return to their people – the Jewish People – to learn more about our Jewish heritage, about our people (‘Am Yisrael’) and Judaism — to now embrace and renew long dormant commitments to our people.
To these young people who now see the ‘woke’ and the ‘progressives’ for what they truly are . . . we welcome you home to your people, Am Yiosrael, the Jewish People.
Do not fret over the haters, for in time, they will be gone and we will live and thrive and . . . I promise, “we will dance again.”
In keeping with the Chag . . . I sign only in ‘Joy,’
